One of the great (and now unsung) bands of the late 60s. Daniel, have you ever heard them? -- they were of the Poco/New Riders school.
PETE KLEINOW, 72, GUITARIST FOR FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS
San Francisco, Jan. 11 (AP) — Pete Kleinow, a renowned steel guitarist and member of the country-rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers in the late 1960s and early ’70s, died on Saturday in Petaluma, Calif. He was 72.
The cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease, his daughter Anita Kleinow said.
Mr. Kleinow, who was known as Sneaky Pete, went on to work in film as an award-winning animator and special-effects artist. But he first achieved fame in 1968 as a member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, joining Chris Hillman of the Byrds, Chris Ethridge and Gram Parsons. The band helped define the country-rock genre in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Mr. Kleinow’s skill with the pedal steel guitar is said to have influenced bands like the Eagles, the Steve Miller Band and Poco. As a session musician, he recorded with John Lennon, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell and Sly and the Family Stone.
Mr. Kleinow played with Burrito Deluxe, a band he founded in 2000 featuring Carlton Moody on lead vocals and, for a time, Garth Hudson from The Band on keyboards.
Mr. Kleinow also won acclaim as an animator, special effects artist and director of commercials in television and film. His credits ranged from the original “Gumby” series — he wrote and performed the theme music as well as designed cartoons — to the movies “Under Siege,” “Fearless” and “The Empire Strikes Back.” He won an Emmy award in 1983 for his work on the television mini-series “The Winds of War.”
Besides his daughter Anita, he is survived by his wife, Ernestine; another daughter, Tammy, and three sons, Martin, Aaron and Cosmo.