Bill Kirchen

Kirchen co-founded the original Americana band, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen. His telecaster licks drove their version of “Hot Rod Lincoln” into the Top Ten of 1972. Bill has made 13 CDs with his own post-Cody bands, the most recent of which, Transatlanticana, stayed on the Americana Top 40 Radio chart for 5 months, cracking the Top 10 in 2016. Johnny Cash – “I think he’s great.” Pop Matters – “He is one of the singular instrumental stylists of American roots music, and to hear his sound once is to have it indelibly etched on one’s musical memory.” No Depression – “You might call [Hot Rod Lincoln] the Triumph of the Telecaster. Then again, you might say that about Kirchen’s whole career.” 3rd Coast Music – “Most discographies have their ups and downs, but Bill Kirchen’s albums just get better and better.” San Francisco Chronicle – “Kirchen can count on the respect of anybody who knows his work.”