“Sentimental Lady” (Bob Welch)

Today’s classic song of the day is “Sentimental Lady,” written and performed by Bob Welch. This song was released as a single in September of 1977 and rose to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, #4 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #10 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.

Bob Welch’s solo recording wasn’t the first version of “Sentimental Lady” released, however. Mr. Welch used to be a member of Fleetwood Mac and that group released it as a single in May of 1972. (It was also included on the Mac’s 1972 album, Bare Trees.) It didn’t chart.

Mr. Welch re-recorded “Sentimental Lady” in 1977, after he’d left Fleetwood Mac but was still friends with the group. On his solo recording he brought in Mick Fleetwood to play drums, John McVie to play bass, and Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham to both sing backup and produce. (Buckingham also did the arrangement and played guitar.) Not surprisingly, it sounded a lot like a Fleetwood Mac record.

Bob Welch started playing music professionally in 1964, with an L.A.-based group called the Seven Souls. He joined Fleetwood Mac in 1971 but left the band in December of 1974, amidst a slew of internal turmoil. He was replaced by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, and we all know how that worked out.

Welch and the Macsters stayed amicable for a number of years, with Welch even opening for the Mac on several dates. That amicability didn’t last, however, and they ended up at legal loggerheads, but that’s the business part of the music business. Bob Welch had a rocky time of it afterwards, eventually committing suicide in 2012. He was 66 years old.