Country rock guitarist 'Sneaky' Pete Kleinow, one of the original members of the Flying Burrito Brothers, has died at the age of 72. The musician passed away on Saturday at a convalescent home in California, having been admitted to full time care last year due to Alzheimer's.
Kleinow began his career as an animator and special effects artist, before joining former The Byrds members Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman in forming Flying Burrito Brothers in 1968, whereupon he spent the next thirteen years exclusively working as a musician. He is credited with helping define the country rock genre during the 60s and 70s and influencing the likes of The Eagles, the Steve Miller Band and Poco. His performance style, employing the use of electronic innovations like the fuzzbox, is said to have informed the work of later artists such as Jerry Garcia and Buddy Cage. In addition to his work with Parsons and Hillman, he appeared as a session musician on the albums of a number of other high profile artists, including the likes of John Lennon, Frank Zappa, Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones, The Bee Gees, Robert Palmer and Carly Simon.
In 1981 Kleinow returned to creating film special effects, working on films such as 'The Empire Strikes Back', 'Gremlins', and 'The Terminator', although he did continue to work sporadically in music during this period, in which he won an Emmy for his work on miniseries 'The Winds Of War'. In 2000, he founded alt-country outfit Burrito Deluxe and recorded two albums. According to band manager Brenda Cline, his last recording with the group will be released next month.
Kleinow is survived by his wife of 54 years, and five children. A memorial service is expected to be held in Joshua Tree, California, later this month.