Kinky Friedman
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Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman, (born October 31, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, novelist, politician, and former columnist for Texas Monthly. He is one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election for the office of Governor of Texas. If successful, Friedman would be the first Independent candidate elected to the post since Sam Houston in 1859, as well as the first Jewish governor of Texas. As of August 3, 2006, Rasmussen polls show Friedman with 18%, behind Republican incumbent Rick Perry with 35% and tied with independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Democrat Chris Bell who both also polled 18%. [1]
Personal life
Born in Chicago, Illinois to Jewish parents, Dr. S. Thomas Friedman and Minnie Samet Friedman, Friedman's family moved to a ranch in central Texas during his childhood. He had a keen interest in both music and chess at an early age. Friedman was chosen when he was seven years old to be one of fifty local chess players to challenge U.S. grand master Samuel Reshevsky to simultaneous matches in Houston. While Reshevsky won all fifty matches, Friedman was by far the youngest competitor.
Friedman graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology while participating in the Plan II Honors program. It was during his freshman year at the university that Chinga Chavin gave Friedman the nickname "Kinky," in reference to Friedman's curly hair.[2]
Friedman then served two years with the Peace Corps in Borneo with John Gross.[3] He has been featured in the news including 60 Minutes on CBS and made an appearance as one of Jay Leno's guests.
Friedman currently lives at Echo Hill Ranch, his family's summer camp near Kerrville, Texas, just outside of Medina. He also founded Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, whose mission is to care for stray, abused and aging animals; more than 1,000 dogs have been saved from euthanasia.
Music career
Friedman formed his first band, King Arthur & the Carrots while a student at the University of Texas. The band - which poked fun at surf music - recorded only one single in 1966 (Schwinn 24/Beach Party Boo Boo).
By 1971 Friedman had formed his second band, Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys. In keeping with the band's satirical nature, each member had a comical name: in addition to Kinky there was Little Jewford, Big Nig, Panama Red, Rainbow Colours and Snakebite Jacobs. Friedman's father objected to the name of the band, calling it a "negative, hostile, peculiar thing"[4], which gave Kinky even more reason to choose the name.
Arriving on the wave of country rock following on from Gram Parsons, The Band, and the Eagles, Friedman originally found cult fame as a country and western singer. His break came in 1973 thanks to Commander Cody, who contacted Vanguard Music on his behalf.
His repertoire mixed social commentary ("We Reserve The Right To Refuse Service To You") and maudlin ballads ("Western Union Wire") with raucous humor (such as "Get Your Biscuits In The Oven and Your Buns In Bed"). His "Ride'em Jewboy" was an extended tribute to the victims of the Holocaust.
He confronted racism and anti-Semitism head-on in the song, "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore," a song in which the fictitious Kinky verbally and physically beats up a drunken white racist who berates African Americans, Jews, Greeks, and Sigma Nu's in a bar.
Sample lyrics:
- "You know, you don't look Jewish, near as I can figure,
- I had you lamped for a slightly anemic well-dressed country nigger!"
and
- "Oh, they ain't makin' Jews like Jesus anymore,
- They ain't makin' carpenters that know what nails are for"
Other Friedman tunes include "The Ballad of Charles Whitman," in which Friedman lampooned Whitman's sniper attack from the University of Texas tower on August 1, 1966. His song "Asshole from El Paso", a parody of Merle Haggard's "Okie from Muskogee" is, perhaps, his most famous song.
In the spring of 1976 he joined Bob Dylan on the second leg of the Rolling Thunder Revue tour.
Friedman was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live in October 1976.
It has been reported by Mr. Friedman himself that he is the only artist known to have taped an unaired episode of Austin City Limits.[5]. He has also claimed to have been the first full-blooded Jew to take the stage at the Grand Ole Opry.
Discography
- Sold American (1973)
- Kinky Friedman (1974)
- Lasso From El Paso (1976)
- Live From The Lone Star Cafe (1982)
- Under the Double Ego (1983)
- Old Testaments and New Revelations (1992)
- From One Good American To Another (1995)
- Classic Snatches from Europe (2000)
- Mayhem Aforethought (2005)
- They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore (2005)
Writing career
After his music career stalled in the 1980s, Friedman found a new lease on life as a detective novelist. His books have similarities to his music, featuring a fictionalized version of himself solving crimes in New York City and dispensing jokes, wisdom, Texan charm and Jameson's whiskey in equal measure. They are written in a straightforward style which owes a debt to Raymond Chandler. To date, he has only written one novel which did not star the Kinky Friedman character, Kill Two Birds and Get Stoned.
Friedman has also written a regular column for the magazine Texas Monthly since April 2001, although it has been suspended during his run for governor of Texas; his last essay appeared in the March 2005 issue[6]
Two books have been published collecting some of these non-fiction writings, as well as previously unpublished ones: 'Scuse Me While I Whip This Out and Texas Hold'em. He has also published a travelog (The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic) and an etiquette guide.
Selected bibliography
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Politics
In the early 1980s, Friedman ran for Justice of the Peace in Kerrville, Texas, but lost the election.
In 2004, Friedman began a serious, though colorful, campaign to become the Governor of Texas in 2006. One of his stated goals is the "dewussification" of Texas[7]. Among his campaign slogans are "How Hard Could It Be?" and "Why The Hell Not?" Other bumper stickers concur: "My Governor is a Jewish Cowboy", and "He aint Kinky, he's my Governor"[8].
He hopes to follow in the footsteps of other entertainers-turned-governors, including Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Ronald Reagan. When the campaign finance reports came out after the second quarter had ended, Friedman had raised more funds than the Democratic nominee, former Congressman Chris Bell.
His campaign seems to be similar to the 1998 populist independent campaign of Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.
Since he began campaigning, Friedman has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Friedman is friends with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and he has visited both at the White House. He wrote about his friendships with them in his November 2001 column ("Hail to the Kinkster"[6]) for Texas Monthly.
On May 11, 2006, Friedman submitted his petition to get on the November ballot, with 169,574 signatures to support his candidacy. In response to a question of how he got the signatures, Friedman replied, "Thank God for bars and dance halls"[9].
On June 22, 2006, Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams announced that both Friedman and independent gubernatorial opponent Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the current State Comptroller, had enough valid signatures to put their names on the ballot. 81% of Friedman's signatures were declared valid, for a total of 137,154. The Strayhorn campaign, by comparison, had only 49% of its signatures certified, dropping her initial 222,514 count to 108,512 -- over 28,000 fewer than Friedman. Both candidates, however, more than doubled the required 45,540 signatures (one percent of the total voters in the 2002 gubernatorial election). [10] [11]
On July 10, Williams ruled that Friedman would appear on the ballot as Richard "Kinky" Friedman, citing Friedman's longstanding use of "Kinky" in public. However, Williams denied Strayhorn's request to appear on the ballot as "Grandma" Strayhorn. Williams suggested that Strayhorn's "nickname" was merely a slogan used during her campaign. [12]
His online campaign
His campaign for governor is displayed on his website. He addresses issues through animated clips (Kinkytoons) and blogs about his current speeches and campaigns.
Issues and positions
- On education, he supports higher pay for teachers and work to lower Texas's highest-of-the-nation dropout rate[13].
- He supports more investment in harnessing Texas' alternative fuel resources such as wind and biodiesel[13].
- On the death penalty, he previously summed up his position, "I am not anti-death penalty, but I'm damn sure anti-the-wrong-guy-getting-executed"[14]. More recently, he has clarified his position, saying: "The system is not perfect. Until it's perfect, let's do away with the death penalty"[15].
- The Five Mexican Generals plan: Under Friedman's plan, the border with Mexico would be divided into five sections with one Mexican general responsible for each section. A $1 million trust fund would be created and held in a bank for each general. “When I talk about the five Mexican generals, people think I’m joking but I’m dead serious,” said Friedman. “I will divide the border into five jurisdictions, assigning one Mexican general to each and providing a trust fund for that general. Every time a person crosses illegally, we subtract $5,000 from the trust fund.” Friedman's plan is intended not only to save money, but to place the responsibility of securing the border on the Mexican government rather than the U.S. government - by giving Mexican military leaders a monetary incentive [16].
In an interview with the Dallas Morning News on August 11, 2006, Friedman backed down from the plan and asserted the Mexican government's obligation to help fix the issue. [17]
- According to his official website [18], Friedman's answer to the question "How does Kinky feel about abortion?" is "Kinky believes in a woman's right to choose." In person, however, he hedges his bet, saying "I'm not pro-life, and I'm not pro-choice. I'm pro-football." [19]
- On social issues he has supported gay marriage, answering an Associated Press reporter's question on the subject on Feb. 3, 2005, he remarked "I support gay marriage. I believe they have a right to be as miserable as the rest of us"[14] (Friedman himself is not married).
- According to Cigar Aficionado magazine, Friedman plans to roll back "any and all smoking bans" if elected. One of his favorite quotes comes from Mark Twain: "If smoking is not allowed in heaven, I shall not go." [20]
Support for the campaign
Polls frequently show Friedman's support hovering around 15-20% statewide among likely voters, as of Summer of 2006 [21]. Since Friedman is openly courting unlikely voters, his actual level of support may vary widely from published polls.
Don Imus, the host of Imus in the Morning on radio and on MSNBC TV, has publicly (and frequently) announced his endorsement of Friedman for the governorship of Texas. Imus also made a prediction that Kinky Friedman would win the election.
In March 2006, entertainer Mojo Nixon announced his "un-retirement" as a performing musician to support the candidacy of Kinky Friedman. Previously, Nixon had retired as singer-songwriter to focus on his new career as a disc jockey for Sirius Satellite radio. To celebrate Kinky's campaign, Mojo re-wrote his hit single "Elvis is Everywhere" as "Kinky is Everywhere," which can currently be downloaded at the MojoNixon.com website.
Country singer Willie Nelson recorded a campaign radio spot to assist in the petition drive to get Friedman on the ballot. Kinky has also promised Willie a job in the State Capitol.
Jack Cafferty mentioned on CNN that he supported Kinky.
Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC-TV's Scarborough Country, predicted that Joseph Lieberman would win the Connecticut elections as an independent and that Kinky Friedman would win the Texas Governor's election.
Friedman has also received overseas support by Melbourne radio show "The Sunday Roast", on 94.1fm.
Campaign quips
- On Carole Keeton Strayhorn's assertion that her fundraising lead makes it a "two person race" between her and incumbent Rick Perry: "I agree with her; it's between Carole and her ego." [22]
- "Musicians can run this state better than politicians. We won't get a lot done in the mornings, but we'll work late and be honest." [23]
- "I just want Texas to be number one in something other than executions, toll roads and property taxes." [23]
- On the possibility of losing: "If I lose this race I will retire in a petulant snit," he said. "I'm not going to go out gracefully, I promise you." [23]
Trivia
- Kinky Friedman's persona as a politically incorrect raconteur has been likened to that of movie critic and commentator John Irving Bloom, better known in print as Joe Bob Briggs, with whom he appeared in the B-movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. [24]
- Kinky Friedman prefers to Montecristo No. 2 Cigars , the same brand once smoked by Fidel Castro. However, he also smokes Bolivars, noting that "Simón Bolívar is the only person in history to be exiled from a country named after him". [20]
References
- ^ http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/State%20Polls/August%202006/texasGovernor.htm Texas Governor: Perry (R) Dips to 35%
- ^ http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/050822fa_fact
- ^ http://www.kinkajourecords.com/kinkybio.htm
- ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/19/sunday/main788935_page2.shtml
- ^ http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-09-17/music_string_all.html
- ^ a b List of Friedman's articles and Hail to the Kinkster from Texas Monthly
- ^ http://www.ccrayz.com/news/?id=7604
- ^ http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=81
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060511/ap_on_el_gu/governor_kinky_1
- ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/062306dntexcandidates.b0490395.html
- ^ http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/23govrace.html
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/10/texasgovernor.nickname.ap/index.html CNN: "Kinky" but not "Grandma" to be on the Texas ballot
- ^ a b http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=28
- ^ a b http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/19/sunday/main788935.shtml
- ^ http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=3948211
- ^ http://www.kilgorenewsherald.com/news/2005/0717/Front_Page/002.html
- ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/discusslive/viewpoints/stories/081106dnkinkychat.5dc3680.html
- ^ http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/issues/faq.html
- ^ http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/2005/10/friedman_draws_celebrity_suppo.html
- ^ a b http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,218,00.html Cigar Aficionado, Lone Star Long Shot
- ^ http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=11989
- ^ http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/23govrace.html
- ^ a b c http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/2006/03/is_texas_ready_for_governor_ki.html
- ^ http://www.joebobbriggs.com/drivein/1991/dialingfordingbats.htm Correspondence with fellow raconteur 'Joe Bob' Briggs
External links
- Kinky Friedman's Official website
- Returned Peace Corps Volunteer stories about Friedman
- Bio
- Profile of Friedman's political campaign in the August 22, 2005 New Yorker
- Kinky Friedman interviewed for Texas Monthly Talks
- Kinky's Run For Governor Of Texas (Article; Video) 60 Minutes, January 22, 2006
- Kinky Friedman at IMDb
- Kinky Friedman podcast interview - Texas music, dogs, and politics
- Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch
- Current events
- 1944 births
- American country singers
- American humorists
- American male singers
- American novelists
- American songwriters
- Living people
- Mystery writers
- Opponents of capital punishment
- People from Texas
- Pro-choice politicians
- Jewish American musicians
- Jewish-American singers
- Jewish American writers
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre actors
- Texas musicians
- Texas politicians
- Texas writers