Fleetwood Mac Guitarist Danny Kirwan Dead At 68

Danny Kirwan, the former guitarist for Fleetwood Mac, has passed away.

On Friday, June 8, 2018, Fleetwood Mac announced the sad news on their Facebook page, noting that he'd died that same day. "Today was greeted by the sad news of the passing of Danny Kirwan in London, England," the band wrote. "Danny was a huge force in our early years. His love for the Blues led him to being asked to join Fleetwood Mac in 1968, where he made his musical home for many years."

The post continued, "Danny's true legacy, in my mind, will forever live on in the music he wrote and played so beautifully as a part of the foundation of Fleetwood Mac, that has now endured for over fifty years." The message went on to say, "Thank you, Danny Kirwan. You will forever be missed!"

At the time of this writing, Kirwan's cause of death has not yet been revealed. He was 68 years old.

Kirwan was featured on the following Fleetwood Mac albums: Then Play On (1969), Blues Jam at Chess (1969), Kiln House (1970), Future Games (1971), and Bare Trees (1972). Kirwan later released four solo albums in the late 1970s (via Rolling Stone).

As People noted, Kirwan left Fleetwood Mac in 1972 reportedly due to mental illness, which was allegedly made worse by alcoholism and substance abuse. He was later homeless in the 1980s and 1990s. "I've been through a bit of a rough patch but I'm not too bad," he told the Independent in 1993 after Mick Fleetwood contacted London's Missing Persons Bureau to find him. "I get by and I suppose I am homeless, but then I've never really had a home since our early days on tour. I couldn't handle it all mentally and I had to get out. I can't settle."

Kirwan, who was later inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, continued, "I was lucky to have played for the band at all. I just started off following them around, but I could play the guitar a bit and Mick felt sorry for me and put me in. I did it for about four years, to about 1972, but ... I couldn't handle the lifestyle and the women and the traveling."

Our thoughts are with Kirwan's loved ones during this difficult time.