Peter Green

Peter Allan Greenbaum was born to a Jewish family in London England on October 29, 1946. His brother gave him his first guitar, and he taught himself to play by the age of 11.

His first experience in a band was when he played with Bobby Denim and the Dominoes, and later with Peter B Looners, and the Shotgun Express. He got his big break in 1966 when he replaced Eric Clapton in the band the Bluesbreakers. He recorded one album with them entitled A Hard Road, before leaving the band to create Fleetwood Mac with John McVie in 1967. The band was a huge success, and became one of the most successful bands of the late 60's. In 1969, they sold more singles than The Beatles and the Rolling stones combined.

At the same time, Green became a heavy drug user, specifically LSD. at first it seemed that his behavior was to be blamed on the drugs he was using. He found religion, started to wear a robe all the time, and became reclusive and introverted. He gave all the royalties from his music to charity, and tried to convince his fellow band members to do the same. as he and the rest of the band found out, it was Schizophrenia.

In 1970, Green quit Fleetwood Mac, and recorded a solo album of acid-induced jams called The End Of The Game. He then gave up music completely, and began to live as a recluse. There are many rumors about how he lived in the next few years. Most say that he took on many menial jobs including a grave digger, and a hospital orderly between the times he was forced to spend in mental institutions.

In the late 70's, however, he did emerge to record some more solo albums. But they lacked the luster of the talent he showed with Fleetwood Mac.

For the 12 years following, Green was again in and out of mental institutions, and eventually ended up moving in with his brother in the early 90's.

In 1994, he resurfaced to give an interview with Mojo Magazine. In it he talked about how his medication left him too tired to play his guitar and the toll it took on him. In 1995, he made the brave decision to go off his medication, and started to practice guitar seriously again. He formed a band with long-time friend, Nigel Watson. The Splinter Group made it's debut at the German Blues Festival, and went on to play at the Guildford Folk and Blues Festival in the summer of 1996. His return prompted the support of thousands of fans. Together the band toured the UK, did a BBC television documentary, did many radio appearances, played over 50 gigs, and released an album. In late 1997, the band had some setbacks after one of the members, Spike Edney left the band, and Cozy Powell was killed in an accident.

In 1998, Peter was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Fleetwood Mac Later that year, The Splinter Group released the Robert Johnson Songbook, which prompted a 13 gig US tour. The Soho Sessions were released a short time later. Sadly, this album was recorded the same night that Cozy Powell was killed. Green's latest tribute is Destiny Road, which was released in June of '99.

Peter Green may be a victim of the abuses of drugs and alcohol in the 60's, but the secrecy of how he spent his life after he ended his career in 1970 have only boosted his reputation as being on of rock's "great enigmas". Now that he is back, he has full support of all his fans, and I am sure he isn't finished. We have not heard the end of Peter Green.