Sneaky Pete Kleinow
" Sneaky " Pete Kleinow ( born August 20, 1934 in South Bend (Indiana ); † January 6, 2007 in Petaluma, California ) was an American country musician.
At age seventeen Pete Kleinow witnessed a performance of the Steel- guitarist Jerry Byrd and was instantly fascinated by the traditional instrument of country music. After completing his schooling, he worked for ten years as a maintenance technician at the Michigan State Highway Department. In 1963 he moved to Los Angeles, where he found a job as a stop-motion animator in the film industry. At night he often appeared with his steel guitar on in the clubs around. Occasionally, he participated as a session musician for recordings.
Career
In 1968, the Byrds members Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman became aware of Kleinow. A little later they offered him a place in their planned founding, the Flying Burrito Brothers, on. " Sneaky Pete " thus became a founding member of one of the first country-rock formations in music history. After a successful recording debut with the album Gilded Palace Of Sin, the Burritos experienced numerous line-up changes. Kleinow was almost always there, even in the founding in 1979 as Burrito Brothers.
At the same time he became a sought-after session musician, the numerous stars - supported in their productions - including John Lennon and Stevie Wonder. Besides, he was still working as a stop-motion animator. He appeared in several major Hollywood productions, among others, Terminator I and II The all-rounder finally got the opportunity system to merge two albums of his own in which he was accompanied by former companions, as the ex- Byrds Gene Parsons and Skip Battin,.
In the course of 2006, his family announced that Kleinow was suffering from Alzheimer 's disease and was living in an assisted facility until his death.