January 9, 2007 10:15

Flying Burrito Brothers guitarist dies

'Sneaky' Pete Kleinow passes away at 72

Flying Burrito Brothers guitarist "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow died of complications of Alzheimer’s disease on Saturday (January 6).

Kleinnow, who was a founding member of the pioneering country rock group, was 72. He had been living at a nursing facility in Petaluma in California, reports Reuters.

The Flying Burrito Brothers formed in 1968, and was led by former Byrds members Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman.

The band were largely ignored at the time, but influenced the sound of the likes of the Rolling Stones and the Eagles. Kleinow quit in 1970 for session work, joining the likes of John Lennon on his 1973 album ’Mind Games’, and Joni Mitchell on her classic ’Blue’ LP from 1971.

Kleinow later became a visual effects artist in film and television. He worked on the first two ’Terminator’ films and shared an Emmy for his work on the TV mini-series ’The Winds Of War’.

In 2000 he founded the group Burrito Deluxe, who were named after The Flying Burrito Brothers' second album. His last public performance was in October 2005 at a Gram Parsons festival in Georgia.