Early Fleetwood Mac member Bob Welch commits suicide

Former Fleetwood Mac singer/guitarist Bob Welch was found dead Thursday (6/7) in his Nashville home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Welch's wife, Wendy, found the 66-year-old musician, who had left a suicide note before shooting himself in the chest. The L.A. native had been dealing with undisclosed health problems, according to published reports.

Mick Fleetwood, one of Fleetwood Mac's founding members and the manager of Welch's solo career, was surprised by the news.

"He was a very, very profoundly intelligent human being and always in good humor, which is why this is so unbelievably shocking," Fleetwood told Reuters. "He was a huge part of our history which sometimes gets forgotten ... mostly his legacy would be his songwriting abilities that he brought to Fleetwood Mac, which will survive all of us. If you look into our musical history, you'll see a huge period that was completely ensconced in Bob's work."

Welch joined Fleetwood Mac in 1971 and performed with the group through the 1974 release "Heroes Are Hard to Find," after which he was replaced by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

Welch released his platinum-selling solo debut, "French Kiss," in 1977. The effort included several hit songs, such as "Sentimental Lady," "Ebony Eyes" and "Hot Love, Cold World." His most recent album, "His Fleetwood Mac Years and Beyond, Vol. 2," surfaced in 2006 and featured previously unreleased material.