Beloved country singer found d.ead this morning at his home in Texas
The news came through on X on Thursday: “Kinky Friedman stepped on a rainbow at his beloved Echo Hill, surrounded by family & friends,” it read. “Kinkster endured tremendous pain & unthinkable loss in recent years but he never lost his fighting spirit and quick wit.”
“Kinky will live on as his books are read and his songs are sung,” the post continued. Born John Friedman, he attended the University of Texas at Austin. The exact date of his passing was not disclosed. Kinky ran as an independent candidate for governor of Texas in 2006, securing 12% of the vote and finishing fourth out of six candidates.
PROFILE IN MUSIC
Kinky’s first band, King Arthur & the Carrots, was formed at UT. They released one record in 1966, “Schwinn 24/Beach Party Boo Boo,” which parodied surf music. His second band, Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, formed in 1973 and disbanded shortly after, with Kinky’s self-titled album releasing in 1974.
Two years later, Kinky toured with Bob Dylan and appeared as a musical guest on Season 2 of “Saturday Night Live” after the tour. In 2011, he embarked on a world tour as the main act. Over his career, Kinky released 18 albums, with his most recent, “Circus of Life,” coming out in 2018.
NOTHING ELSE
When Kinky’s music career slowed in the 1980s, he turned to writing, primarily penning detective novels featuring a fictionalized version of himself. Set in New York City, his character fought crime with humor, advice, recipes, and charm, reminiscent of a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. Notably, Kinky did not appear in his books “Kill Two Birds and Get Stoned” or “The Christmas Pig.”
From 2001 to 2005, he wrote a regular column for Texas Monthly, which was paused during his 2006 gubernatorial run but resumed bi-monthly two years later. Before his run for governor, Kinky ran as a Republican for Justice of the Peace in Kerrville, Texas, in 1986 but lost.
