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Burritos Co-Founder "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow Dies 

Pedal steel guitarist 'Sneaky" Pete Kleinow has passed away in Petaluma, California from complications resulting from Alzheimer's disease. Kleinow was a founding member of the Flying Burrito Brothers together with Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman. 

The innovative guitarist helped to redefine the role of steel guitar in popular music.  According to country-rock historian Peter Doggett, "Kleinow never imitated the polite melancholy of the acknowledged steel masters. Instead, his instrument rasped like a car-horn. In his hands, the hillbilly emblem became a freak flag, prompting press hyperbole that Kleinow was 'the Jimi Hendrix of steel guitar.'"

Kleinow left the Burritos in 1971 and thereafter focused his attention on studio session work around Los Angeles. Though he played an instrument traditionally associated with country music, Kleinow appeared on studio releases by artists such as John Lennon, Fleetwood Mac, Joe Cocker, Jackson Brown, Frank Zappa and Stevie Wonder. 

In the 1980s, Kleinow withdrew from the music industry and became involved with the creation of special effects for the motion picture industry.  His work appeared in films such as The Empire Strikes Back, The Right Stuff, Gremlins and the Terminator movies. 

More recently, Kleinow had returned to performing with his new country-rock band Burrito Deluxe. Sadly, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease within the past couple of years and his condition quickly deteriorated.  Kleinow passed away on January 6 at the age of 72.        

(January 9, 2007)