Music
Bill Kirchen
born 1948 · guitarist, singer, songwriter
Ann Arbor–raised guitarist of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, whose twangy solo on “Hot Rod Lincoln” earned him the title “Titan of the Telecaster.”
- Born
Bridgeport, Connecticut
age 78- Birth name
- William Knight Kirchen
- Also known as
- Titan of the Telecaster
- Detroit years
- 1950s–1969
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Born in Connecticut, Bill Kirchen grew up in Ann Arbor and attended Ann Arbor High School. As a University of Michigan student in the mid-1960s he started a “psycho folk-rock” band, the Seventh Seal, and then a country band with George Frayne and John Tichy that became the core of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen in 1967. His Telecaster playing, mixing honky-tonk, rockabilly and Western swing, powered the band's marathon shows and its 1972 top-10 version of “Hot Rod Lincoln.” After the band moved to California and later broke up in the mid-1970s, he worked with Nick Lowe and became a fixture of the Washington, D.C., roots-rock scene. Guitar Player magazine dubbed him the “Titan of the Telecaster,” and he has kept touring as a solo artist, often returning to play in Michigan.
Highlights
- Founding guitarist of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (1967)
- Guitar on “Hot Rod Lincoln” (1972)
- Longtime collaborator of Nick Lowe
- Called the “Titan of the Telecaster” by Guitar Player
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · mid-1960s
University of Michigan
As a student here he formed the bands that led to Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.