"Sneaky" Pete Kleinow Dies

"Sneaky" Pete Kleinow died on January 6th 2007 in California after complications with Alzheimer's disease. He was 72.

Kleinow is best know for his work on the first two Flying Burrito Albums, Gilded Palace of Sin & Burrito Deluxe. A regular on the live scene in L.A. Kleinow was recruited by Gram Parsons & Chris Hillman to add pedal steel guitar to their sound but with a difference. Kleinow's unique recording methods & ability to extract previously unheard of sounds from his instruments was integral to the Burrito's sound. Parsons himself was to say "I just couldn't understand this guy doing like, eight steel guitar overdubs over himself ... but I liked it" (Gram Parsons "God's Own Singer by Jason Walker page 96 Helter Skelter Publishing).

Kleinow left the Burritos in 1971 & went on to a successful career as a session musician. He worked with many artists including, Jackson Browne, Dillard & Clark, John Lennon, Little Feat, Doug Sahm & Linda Ronstadt just to name a few. Outside music Kleinow also enjoyed a successful career as a special effects artist for the movies & tv programs. He worked on such films as The Empire Strikes Back, Terminator 1 & 2 & Gremlins. Prior to his music career he worked on the Gumby animated kids program & even wrote the theme tune.

Links
sneakypetekleinow.com
wikipedia