Best known for his work in the 1970s with Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen.

Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Kirchen first learned to play the trombone. While in high school he became part of the local folk scene, where he learned to play banjo and guitar and became more interested in blues and string bands.

While still in college, Kirchen started his own band, an outfit best described as psycho folk-rock. It was around this same time that Detroit-based George Frayne and John Tichy decided to put a country band together. Having gone to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Kirchen, Frayne and some of the other Airmen knew each other, thus Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen were born.

In 1969, Kirchen persuaded the rest of the band to move to the West Coast, where they took off and became legendary outlaws, lauded by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson as well as the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead.

Kirchen's power as a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter began to solidify. He became known for his vocal treatment and hot guitar licks on Mama Hated Diesels and the ever popular Down to Seeds and Stems Again Blues from two of their preeminent releases, Hot Licks, Cold Steel & Truckers' Favorites and Lost in the Ozone, respectively. As a performer Kirchen came into his own while on stage in Austin for the live recording of the critically acclaimed Live From Deep in the Heart of Texas, recorded in November 1973.

The 1976 breakup of the band led Kirchen to form the Moonlighters, a swing orchestra. British star Nick Lowe, who had become interested in Kirchen's work while he was still with the Airmen, sought him out and became producer of the first Moonlighters album. Kirchen toured internationally with Lowe and even joined him in the studio.

While in England, Kirchen's style was a hot property as is evidenced by his participation on recording projects for Elvis Costello, Gene Vincent and Link Wray.

By 1986 Kirchen had moved to the Washington DC area, establishing himself as a leader on the local music scene. In 1994, Kirchen recorded Tombstone Every Mile, which was initially released on Costello's label, Demon Records, in the UK and later available in the US on Black Top Records.

In 1996, Kirchen released Have Love, Will Travel, which was critically acclaimed. In 1999, he followed with Raise a Ruckus on Hightone Records. Continuing to work with Hightone Records, Kirchen released Tied to the Wheel in 2001, followed by King of Dieselbilly in 2005 and Hammer of the Honkey-Tonk Gods in 2006.