Rich Kienzle

Veteran country music critic, journalist, and historian Rich Kienzle is the author of Southwest Shuffle: Pioneers of Honky-Tonk, Western Swing , and Country Jazz and Great Guitarists: The Most Influential Players in Blues, Country Music, Jazz and Rock . A contributing editor and columnist at Country Music magazine for nearly twenty-five years, he also edited their history publication The Journal . He was formerly a contributing editor at No Depression and Guitar World and is now a regular...See more

Veteran country music critic, journalist, and historian Rich Kienzle is the author of Southwest Shuffle: Pioneers of Honky-Tonk, Western Swing , and Country Jazz and Great Guitarists: The Most Influential Players in Blues, Country Music, Jazz and Rock . A contributing editor and columnist at Country Music magazine for nearly twenty-five years, he also edited their history publication The Journal . He was formerly a contributing editor at No Depression and Guitar World and is now a regular contributor to Vintage Guitar Magazine . His work has appeared in Fretboard Journal, Guitar Player, Request, The Journal of Country Music , and the Austin American-Statesman . The author of liner notes for almost four hundred reissue albums, Kienzle is among the few country journalists profiled in The Grove Dictionary of American Music . He received the International Country Music Conference's Charlie Lamb Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism in 2012. See less