On this day (November 1) in 1944, Richard Samet “Kinky” Friedman was born in Chicago, Illinois. A cigar-smoking, larger-than-life presence who counted Nelson Mandela among his fans, Friedman wore many hats throughout his lifetime — humorist, singer, songwriter, novelist, provocateur, one-time Texas gubernatorial candidate. Swinging wildly from crude lowbrow humor to pointed social satire, he released songs including “They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore,” the Merle Haggard parody “A–hole from El Paso,” “We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to You,” and “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed”.
On June 27, 2024, Kinky Friedman, 79, died at his home at Echo Hill Ranch in Medina, Texas, of Parkinson’s disease. Today, we’re remembering his biting wit and antipathy toward political correctness in honor of what would have been his 82nd birthday.
Kinky Friedman Wasn’t Born in Texas, But He Got There As Fast As He Could
Born to a psychologist father and speech therapist mother, Kinky Friedman spent most of his life in Texas after his family moved to a 400-acre ranch south of Kerrville when he was just four years old. For 50 years, the Friedmans operated Echo Hill Ranch, a private Jewish summer camp.
After graduating from Austin High School in 1962, Richard Friedman majored in psychology at the University of Texas, where the musician Nick “Chinga” Chavin bestowed upon him the nickname “Kinky” in honor of his curly hair.
Before earning his bachelor’s degree in 1966, Friedman formed his first band, King Arthur & the Carrots. In 1973, he founded another band, Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys (a winking homage to Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys).
Musical Career
Kinky Friedman managed to impress Commander Cody—vocalist of the country rock band Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen—who introduced him to Vanguard Records, the independent label that had launched Joan Baez.
In 1973, Friedman released the album Sold American, which consisted mostly of songs he’d penned during his time with the Peace Corps in Borneo. The Chicago Sun-Times dubbed Sold American “the most exciting country debut album since John Prine’s.”
During the 1970s, he toured with Bob Dylan and performed at the Grand Ole Opry.
Kinky Frieman recorded nearly two dozen albums across five decades, with his final LP, Poet of Motel 6, released in 2025.
Non-Musical Endeavors
When his music career stalled in the 1980s, Kinky Friedman pivoted to writing detective novels.
In 2001, he broadened his reach when he landed a columnist gig at Texas Monthly. Five years later, Friedman built on that popularity with a highly-publicized campaign for governor of Texas. Running as an independent, he placed fourth in a six-person race.
Friedman later ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for agriculture commissioner in 2010 and in 2014. Despite his lack of political success, he remained a Texas folk hero. A lifelong animal lover, Friedman also founded an animal rescue called Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch in the late 1990s.
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“He was a communicator. An unusual, but very pointed and poignant communicator,” his friend Cleve Hattersley told the Texas Tribune after Friedman’s death. “He could bring you to tears on stage. He could make you roll on the floor in laughter.”
Featured image by Santi Visalli/Getty Images
The post Born 82 Years Ago Today in Chicago, the Outlaw Country Rebel Who Parodied Merle Haggard and Later Ran for Texas Governor appeared first on American Songwriter.