Fleetwood Mac members Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood have paid tribute to former bandmate Bob Welch, who died yesterday (June 7).

The guitarist was found by his wife with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to local police.

Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks said in a statement that Welch was an "amazing guitar player - he was funny, sweet, and he was smart." She added:

"I'm so very sorry for his family and for the family of Fleetwood Mac - so, so sad."

Mick Fleetwood meanwhile told Reuters:

"He was a very, very profoundly intelligent human being and always in good humour, which is why this is so unbelievably shocking. He was a huge part of our history which sometimes gets forgotten... mostly his legacy would be his songwriting abilities that he brought to Fleetwood Mac, which will survive all of us. If you look into our musical history, you'll see a huge period that was completely ensconced in Bob's work."