Original Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green died in 2020. He died in his sleep on July 25, 2020, at the age of 73.
Born Peter Allen Greenbaum in London in 1946, Green became one of Britain’s most influential blues guitarists. He replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers before founding Fleetwood Mac in 1967 with drummer Mick Fleetwood. The group’s name combined Fleetwood’s surname with bassist John McVie’s.
Green led Fleetwood Mac during its formative years and wrote several of its early hits, including “Black Magic Woman,” “Albatross,” “Oh Well,” and “The Green Manalishi.” He left the band in 1970 after a period of increasing personal and mental-health difficulties, but his guitar style continued to influence later musicians.
His death is sometimes confused with the deaths of other major Fleetwood Mac members. Christine McVie died in 2022, while Green’s former bandmate Danny Kirwan died in 2018. Those dates belong to different musicians, making 2020 the canonical answer for Peter Green.