An American acoustic guitar virtuoso, widely known for his innovative fingerpicking style, which draws on influences from blues, jazz and folk music, and for his syncopated, polyphonic melodies.

Born in Athen, GA, his parents moved so frequently that he was raised in 12 states. He absorbed a variety of musical influences as a child, flirting with both violin and trombone before trying his hand at the guitar at age 11. As a youth living in Muskogee, OK, he became drawn to country blues, notably that of Mississippi John Hurt.

Kottke lost much of the hearing in his left ear as a result of a mishap with a firecracker, and during a later tenure in the Naval Reserve, his right ear also suffered damage from firing practice.

Discharged due to his impairment, he entered college but left before completing his studies, choosing instead to hitchhike across the country as an itinerant musician, before finally settling in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. He soon became a fixture on the local folk club circuit and recorded his debut album, 12-String Blues, on the independent Oblivion label.

After sending 1970's Circle 'Round The Sun to John Fahey, he was signed by Fahey's agent, Denny Bruce, who soon secured a deal with Capitol Records and released his first major-label album, Mudlark (1971). Meanwhile, he also recorded 6- and 12-String Guitar (1972) for Fahey's Takoma label.

Pressured in the early 1970s to be a folk singer-songwriter rather than just an instrumentalist, he recorded with vocals and backing musicians on albums from this period. In 1972 he released Greenhouse, and in 1973, a live album, My Feet Are Smiling, and Ice Water. These albums showed Kottke moving toward an eclectic mixture of musical genres, including folk, rock, jazz and bluegrass, all the while honing his fingepicking mastery.

Kottke closed out his contract with Capitol with his 7th album, Chewing Pine, in 1975. By now he had also gained an international cult following thanks to his performances at folk festivals. With his 1976 eponymous release, he moved to Chrysalis Records, although sales diminished for albums including Burnt Lips (1978), Balance (1979), and Live in Europe (1980). After the T-Bone Burnett-produced album Time Step (1983), Kottke's contract with Chrysalis ended and he moved over to the independent Private Music label.

During the early 1980s, Kottke began to suffer from painful tendinitis and related nerve damage caused by his vigorous and aggressive picking style. As a result, he began to adopt a more classical style and also reduced his concert and recording schedule. After the reflective A Shout Toward Noon (1986), he took a brief break from recording before returning with Regards from Chuck Pink in 1988.

He released an album annually from 1989 to 1991, following My Father's Face with That's What and finally Great Big Boy, which featured a guest appearance from Lyle Lovett. Two years later, Kottke returned with Peculiaroso, which featured production by Rickie Lee Jones. The solo One Guitar, No Vocals followed in 1999, but it was his collaboration with Phish bassist Mike Gordon on Clone, an album featuring instrumental work and vocal from both musicians, that really caught audiences' attention in 2002. Kottke returned to the solo realm with 2004's Try and Stop Me, released on Bluebird, but collaborated with Gordon again on Sixty Six Steps (2005).