Bob Welch, one of the first members of the rock group Fleetwood Mac, who enjoy a successful solo career with hits like "Eyes of Ebony", died Thursday apparent suicide at his home in Nashville. He was 66.

Police said Welch's body was found by his wife Wendy with a single gunshot wound to the chest, and he left a suicide note. Welch suffered from health problems, but the police did not disclose what those issues were.

Mick Fleetwood, one of the founding members of Fleetwood Mac and the manager of Welch during his solo career, he remained in close contact with his former partner in the group for many years and he told Reuters, that Welch's suicide was "unbelievably out of character."

"He was very, very deeply intelligent man, and always in a good mood, which is why it is so incredibly shocking," he said.

"He was a huge part of our history, which is sometimes forgotten ... mostly his legacy will be his ability to songs that he brought Fleetwood Mac, who will live for all of us," said Fleetwood.

"If you look at our musical history, you will see a vast period, which was fully penetrated in the work of Bob."

Welch is the second member of Fleetwood Mac, to die this year. In January, another former guitarist Bob Weston, died in London from the gastro-intestinal bleeding, at the age of 64 years.

Welch was born on August 31, 1945 in Los Angeles movie producer father, Robert L. Welch and actress mother, Templeton Fox. He moved to Paris to study French at the Sorbonne, then returned to Los Angeles in the early 1970s.

He was invited to join Fleetwood Mac after the departure of founder Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer. He played guitar and was lead singer in the group from 1971 to 1974, working on five of his early albums, including 1971 "Future Games" 1972 "Bare Trees" and 1973 in "a mystery to me."

This was after the departure of the Welch Group in 1975, that Fleetwood Mac went on to learn it the largest measure of fame on such albums in 1977 in "Rumors" with the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in the group.

Knicks issued a statement calling the death of Welch's "devastating."

"It was an amazing player, he guitar was funny, sweet, and he was smart, I am very sorry for the family and so for a family of Fleetwood Mac, so, so sad," said Nix.

Welch had quarreled with his former comrades group after suing the group in 1994 for unpaid royalties, which led to his expulsion from a rock band and roll induction in 1998.

Singer and guitarist formed the hard rock group called Paris in 1975, releasing two albums, "Paris" and "Hunting sales," before disbanding the group a few years later, and starts a solo career.

His debut solo album, pop-driven "French Kiss" in 1977, went platinum and produced the hits "Sentimental Lady", "Ebony Eyes" and "Hot Love, Cold World." Welch followed with the 1979 "three hearts", and four more albums in the early 1980s, none of which can compete with the same success as the "French Kiss".

He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1987 and created a short-lived group called Avenue M, before moving to Nashville in the late 1990s, working on a career of songs and release a tribute to the music of bebop, "Bob Welch looks at the Bop" in 1999 year.

His most recent albums of 2003 "His Fleetwood Mac and more years," and 2006 "His Fleetwood Mac, and Beyond 2", previously unreleased material, as well as new compositions.