Rich Kienzle

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