There are many legendary bands from England, but few groups have achieved the longevity of Fleetwood Mac. Peter Green, a founder of Fleetwood Mac, passed away on July 25, 2020. His family confirmed the death to BBC. They stated that Green had passed away in his sleep. He was 73.
Peter Green was playing professionally by the age of 15, while he was working for various shipping companies in London. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in the British blues movement, which originated in the late 1950s but reached peak popularity in the 1960s.
Fleetwood Mac is one of the best-selling bands in the world and they have sold over 120 million records. Green was widely considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of his era, and several lists have him as one of the best guitarists of all time. B.B. King has praised his guitar playing. King famously stated that “he was the only one that gave me the cold sweats.”
When Eric Clapton left John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Green filled in as a full-time member when he was only twenty years old. Mayall famously stated that while Green wasn’t better than Eric Clapton at the time, that he had faith that he would become the best guitarist in the world in due time. Mojo Magazine, in 1996, called him the third-greatest guitarist of all time.
Green then founded Fleetwood Mac (with Mick Fleetwood) and made a name for himself as a songwriter. Green later left the group and moved in with family due to issues with drugs and mental illness. Friends of Green have claimed that it was an LSD trip in 1970 that led to his mental health decline. He was later diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Peter Green is famous for the Fleetwood Mac song “Albatross”, which is an instrumental but was a number-one hit in the UK. Other famous Green songs include “Oh Well”, “Man Of The World”, and “The Green Manalishi.”
Eric Clapton has also praised the way that Green played guitar, as well. Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame over twenty years ago, in 1998. Green’s songs have been covered by some of the most well-known musicians in the world. Green wrote “Black Magic Woman”, for example, which was famously covered by Santana. Other artists/bands that have covered Peter Green’s songs include Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Judas Priest, Black Crowes, Gary Moore, and more. Several members of the famous rock band Radiohead have also cited Green as an influence.
After Green left Fleetwood Mac, he recorded several solo albums that were moderately successful. He later recorded music with the Peter Green Splinter Group, and the blues band released several albums from 1997 to 2004. He then moved to Sweden for some time. He began touring again as “Peter Green In Friends” after 2009. Green was also the subject of a 2009 BBC documentary called Peter Green: Man Of The World.
