Fleetwood Mac guitarist Danny Kirwan dies at 68

London

FLEETWOOD Mac guitarist Danny Kirwan, a pillar of the wildly successful group in its early years, died in London last Friday at the age of 68.

The band's co-founder Mick Fleetwood said in a Facebook post: "Danny was a huge force in our early years. His love for the Blues led him to being asked to join Fleetwood Mac in 1968, where he made his musical home for many years."

The British-American band spiralled from a blues outfit to the world's biggest pop band in the 1970s, selling more than 100 million albums.

Kirwan was only a teenager when he joined in 1968, but his talent was apparent to the band's guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer, bassist John McVie and drummer Fleetwood.

His work was featured on five albums beginning with Then Play On, a bluesy 1969 record on which he shared writing and lead guitarist duties with Green. He wrote half of the tracks on the band's 1972 album, Bare Trees. During four years with the band, Kirwan composed thoughtful instrumentals and performed inventive harmonies. Onstage, he was known for his vibrato.

Fleetwood's post said: "Danny's true legacy, in my mind, will forever live on in the music he wrote and played so beautifully as a part of the foundation of Fleetwood Mac, that has now endured for over fifty years.

"Thank you, Danny Kirwan. You will forever be missed!" he added.

In an interview last year, Fleetwood said: "Danny had pure, resonant note comprehension. Many guitarists make the vibrato sound like a dying cow or a mosquito in heat. Danny had an unbelievable touch."

Kirwan struggled with alcoholism and was fired from the band in 1972. This reportedly followed a tantrum on tour during which he smashed his Gibson Les Paul guitar.

His departure came as Fleetwood Mac was transitioning from its foundation in bluesy rock to the more melodic, California pop-rock the band came to epitomise in the 1970s.

Kirwan played a role in that transition but had left the band before Stevie Nicks joined it; before the release of hit albums like the chart-topping Rumours and the experimental Tusk; and before the debut of singles like Go Your Own Way, Rhiannon and Don't Stop. AFP, NYTIMES