PETER GREEN October 29, 1946 – July 25, 2020
Peter Green, one of the true greats of blues rock, has died at the age of 73. The guitarist, singer, harmonica player and songwriter, best known for his time fronting Fleetwood Mac, the band he founded in 1967, passed away peacefully in his sleep, five months to the day after some of the biggest names in rock music convened in London to perform at a celebration of his musical legacy. As one would have expected from the genre’s greatest enigma, Green did not attend.
Peter Allen Greenbaum was born into a Jewish family in London’s East End on October 29, 1946. Turned on to the possibilities of guitar at the age of 11, he acquired a cheap Spanish model from his brother, and went on to become one of British blues rock’s most notable and revered players.
His route to the top was meteoric. He began playing professionally at the age of 15, playing bass with early acts such as Bobby Dennis And The Dominoes and The Tridents, before joining Peter Bs Looners (future Camel star Peter Bardens’s band) as their lead guitarist. It was here band that he met drummer Mick Fleetwood.
Green’s big break came in July 1966 when, after having filled in for Eric Clapton in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers the previous year, he became Clapton’s full-time replacement. Green recorded just, and on it there was plenty of evidence to show that here was an exceptional talent.
