Sneaky Pete Kleinow (the Flying Burrito Brothers)

Peter E. “Sneaky Pete” Kleinow (b. South Bend, August 20, 1934 – d. Petaluma, California, January 6, 2007) – Multi-instrumentalist (particularly steel guitar), songwriter, and special effects artist. South Bend-born Sneaky Pete Kleinow learned to play steel guitar at age seventeen and spent over ten years working for the Michigan State Highway Department after graduating from high school. In 1963, Kleinow moved to Los Angeles, where he played in night clubs and worked in special effects for film through Art Clokey Productions. His work in the 1960s included creating special effects and the actual puppets for claymation cartoons Gumby and David and Goliath. He was also responsible for the animation in the commercials for the Pillsbury Doughboy and Mrs. Butterworth. In 1965, he created his first record with the Ventures and then played as a sideman for the Byrds. That work led him to his most famous gig with Flying Burrito Brothers, founded by Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons from the Byrds. Especially through his stints with the Flying Burrito Brothers (1969-1971, 1974-81), he established himself as the “Jimi Hendrix of the steel guitar.” Starting in the early 1970s, he lent his talents to recording projects of other major artists such as John Lennon, Fleetwood Mac, Joe Cocker, Frank Zappa, the Bee Gees, the Eagles, Carly Simon, Joan Baez, Little Feat, the Everly Brothers, and Stevie Wonder, among others. In spite of his high demand as a session musician, he returned to special effects in 1974, when worked for the show Land of the Lost. Also in the mid to late 1970s, he played periodically with the Flying Burrito Brothers, joined a new band called Cold Steel, and recording his first solo album (1978). Throughout the 1980s, he mainly focused on special effects work for feature films such as Caveman, Empire Strikes Back, Gremlins, Terminator, Dune, and The Right Stuff. He also won an Emmy in 1983 for his special effects work for the Winds of War mini-series. In 2000, he formed a new manifestation of the Burrito Brothers called Burito Deluxe, which recorded three albums. Not long after his last performance at a Gram Parson’s tribute concert in 2005, Sneaky Pete died in 2007 at a California nursing home, where he lived in an Alzheimer’s unit.