LONDON (AP) — Peter Green, the dexterous blues guitarist who led the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac in a career shortened by psychedelic drugs and mental illness, has died. He was 73.
The law firm, Swan Turton, announced the death in a statement Saturday. It said he died “peacefully in his sleep.″ A further statement will be provided in the coming days.
Green, to some listeners, was the best of the British blues guitarists of the 1960s. B.B. King once said Green “has the sweetest tone I ever heard. He was the only one who gave me the cold sweats.”
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Fleetwood Mac through the years
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Fleetwood Mac through the years
Members of Fleetwood Mac hold their awards after the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Monday, Jan. 12, 1998, in New York. From left, are: Peter Green; John McVie; Stevie Nicks; Christine McVie; Mick Fleetwood; and Lindsey Buckingham. (AP Photo/Adam Nadel)
1968: (L-R) John McVie, Jeremy Spencer, Peter Green, Danny Kirwan and Mick Fleetwood of the rock group "Fleetwood Mac" pose for a portrait holding Pan Am bags in 1968. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
1968: (L-R) Jeremy Spencer, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Danny Kirwan and Peter Green of the rock group "Fleetwood Mac" pose for a portrait in 1968. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
17th June 1968: Blues, rock 'n' roll and progressive pop influenced band Fleetwood Mac, when their instrumental single 'Albatross' was topping the British charts. The line up is, from left to right; Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and John McVie. (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images)
1968: (Clockwise from top left) John McVie, Danny Kirwan, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and Jeremy Spencer of the rock group "Fleetwood Mac" pose for a portrait in 1968. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
UNSPECIFIED - JANUARY 01: Photo of Peter GREEN and Jeremy SPENCER and Mick FLEETWOOD and Danny KIRWAN and John McVIE and FLEETWOOD MAC; Posed group portrait L-R John McVie, Danny Kirwan, Mick Fleetwood, Jeremy Spencer and Peter Green (back) (Photo by RB/Redferns)
UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 01: BBC TV CENTRE Photo of Peter GREEN and FLEETWOOD MAC, L-R. Danny Kirwan, John McVie, Peter Green (wearing robe), Jeremy Spencer, Mick Fleetwood - performing on TV Show (Photo by Ivan Keeman/Redferns)
UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 01: BBC TV CENTRE Photo of Peter GREEN and FLEETWOOD MAC, L-R: Danny Kirwan, Peter Green (wearing robe), Jeremy Spencer, Mick Fleetwood performing on TV Show (Photo by Ivan Keeman/Redferns)
LOS ANGELES - MARCH 21: (L-R) Mick Fleetwood, Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan, John McVie and Peter Green (top) of the rock group 'Fleetwood Mac' pose for a portrait on March 21, 1970 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Fleetwood Mac Mick Fleetwood With Stevie Nicks , Christine Mcvie , John Mcvie And Lindsey Buckingham The American Music Awards At Civic Center In Los Angeles 01-16-1978 Credit: Phil Roach/Ipol/Globe/Mediapunch /IPX
Fleetwood Mac Mick Fleetwood With Stevie Nicks , Christine Mcvie , John Mcvie And Lindsey Buckingham The American Music Awards At Civic Center In Los Angeles 01-16-1978 Credit: Phil Roach/Ipol/Globe/Mediapunch /IPX
Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac performing live in Philadelphia, PA in 1979. Credit: Scott Weiner / MediaPunch /IPX
Members of the rock and roll group Fleetwood Mac pose at a news conference in West Hollywood, Ca., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 1987. The group announced the departure of guitarist-songwriter Lindsey Buckingham, the addition of two new members and plans for a concert tour. From left to right are, Rick Vito, new member; Christine McVie; Mick Fleetwood; Stevie Nicks; Billy Burnette, new member; and John McVie. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
DETROIT, MI - MAY 23: American guitarist Lindsey Buckingham of the group Fleetwood Mac plays on stage during the Tusk Tour on May 23, 1980 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Credit: Ross Marino Archive / MediaPunch /IPX
FLEETWOOD MAC.The Inaugural Rock the Vote Party. 1993 Credit: 4269851Globe Photos/MediaPunch /IPX
Stevie Nicks performing, photo
Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, second from left, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie, right, of Fleetwood Mac, appear as the first act of the 2003 NBC "Today Show" Summer Concert Series, on New York's Rockefeller Plaza, Friday April 18, 2003. The band is scheduled to begin a tour on May 7 in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks, right, and Jon McVie, left, perform their song "The Chain" Wednesday, May 7, 2003, at the Value City Arena, in Columbus, Ohio. The album "Say You Will" is their first new material since 1987. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)
Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood performs in their first stop of the "Unleashed 2009" tour in Pittsburgh, Sunday, March 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
AUSTRALIA - MARCH 04: Photo of Lindsey BUCKINGHAM and FLEETWOOD MAC; Lindsey Buckingham performing live onstage at Sydney Entertainment Centre (Photo by Bob King/Redferns)
Legendary band Fleetwood Mac receives from the RIAA a special career award representing 50 million in U.S. sales, including their current release "Say You Will." L to R: Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and John McVie. ***Exclusive*** (Photo by L. Cohen/WireImage)
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Green also made a mark as a composer, with “Albatross,” and as a songwriter, with “Oh Well” and “Black Magic Woman.”
He crashed out of the band in 1971. Even so, Mick Fleetwood said in an interview with The Associated Press in 2017 that Green deserves the lion’s share of the credit for the band’s success.
“Peter was asked why did he call the band Fleetwood Mac. He said, ‘Well, you know I thought maybe I’d move on at some point and I wanted Mick and John (McVie) to have a band.’ End of story, explaining how generous he was,” said Fleetwood, who described Green as a standout in an era of great guitar work.
Indeed, Green was so fundamental to the band that in its early days it was called Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac.
