An American country-rock musician, songwriter and motion picture special effects artist.

Before his musical career, Kleinow originally worked as a special effects artist and stop motion animator for movies and television. At night, Kleinow would frequently sit in with Bakersfield Sound-oriented combos and early country-rock aggregations playing the pedal steel guitar. Through this scene he became acquainted with Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons of the Byrds, helping the group to replicate their newly country-oriented sound onstage with banjoist Doug Dillard.

After leaving the Byrds in 1968, Parsons and Hillman invited Kleinow to join their new band, the Flying Burrito Brothers. Subsequently, Kleinow left behind his career in visual effects and spent the next 13 years as a professional musician.

One of the first pedal steel players to work in a rock context, Kleinow incorporated liberal use of electronic techniques such as the fuzzbox and backwards recording. As such, his style of playing was immediately influential upon second-generation players such as Jerry Garcia, Buddy Cage of the New Riders of the Purple Sage and session man Al Perkins.

Kleinow was rarely short of session work and, finding this to be more lucrative, he left the Flying Burrito Brothers in 1971 and played for a wide range of artists, including Joe Cocker (Joe Cocker!, 1969), Delaney, Bonnie and Friends (To Bonnie from Delaney, 1970) and Little Feat (many albums including Sailin' Shoes, 1972). He also added steel guitar to records by Frank Zappa (Waka/Jawaka, 1972), the Bee Gees (Life in a Tin Can, 1973), John Lennon (Mind Games, 1973), Linda Ronstadt (Heart Like A Wheel, 1974) and Fleetwood Mac (Heroes Are Hard to Find, 1974).

In 1974 Kleinow put together a new band for the album Cold Steel and then joined a reconstituted Flying Burrito Brothers. His first solo album, Sneaky Pete, was released in 1978 and The Legend and the Legacy followed in 1994.

He returned to special effects during the 1980s and 1990s, while continuing to work sporadically as a professional musician.

In 2000, Kleinow formed a group called Burrito Deluxe (also the name of a 1970 Flying Burrito Brothers' album) with Carlton Moody of the Moody Brothers on lead vocals and guitars, bassist Jeff 'Stick' Davis of the Amazing Rhythm Aces and drummer Rick Lonow. The group recorded three albums, including Disciples Of The Truth (2007), which featured his last studio recordings. Kleinow's last performance was at a 2005 Gram Parsons' tribute concert. He died at a convalescent home in Petaluma, California, where he had been living with Alzheimer's disease since 2006.