Country music star Kinky Friedman – the proudly provocative Texas satirist who was known for hits like Sold American – has died. He was 79.
Friedman’s death was confirmed in the early hours of Friday morning with an official statement shared to his X (formerly Twitter) page, which revealed he “stepped on a rainbow at his beloved Echo Hill surrounded by family & friends.”
“Kinkster endured tremendous pain & unthinkable loss in recent years but he never lost his fighting spirit and quick wit,” the statement said.
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“Kinky will live on as his books are read and his songs are sung,” the statement concluded.
Friedman’s friend of 50 years, writer and musician Cleve Hattersley, also confirmed his death, telling the Texas Tribune that Friedman – who was known as ‘Kinky’ but born Richard Samet Friedman – had been battling Parkinson’s disease.
”He was a communicator. An unusual, but very pointed and poignant communicator,” Hattersley told the outlet.
“He could bring you to tears on stage. He could make you roll on the floor in laughter.”
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Born in Chicago in 1944, Friedman was known for being eccentric, and had a reputation for curt one-liners and heavy satire, often delivered with a brimmed cowboy hat on his head and a cigar in his hand.
Per Rolling Stone, Friedman considered music legends Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan as some of his closest friends, and also befriended several United States presidents, including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
His robust discography – notably including albums Sold American (1973) and Lasso from El Paso (1976) – earnt him a cult following of alt-country music fans due to his unconventional approach to the genre.
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Outside of the music world, Friedman was a prolific writer, authoring several detective novels in the 1980s and ’90s. He was also a columnist for Rolling Stone and Texas Monthly at certain points.
He also ran for the governor of Texas in 2006, embarking on a famously flamboyant campaign that was ultimately unsuccessful.
“My great friend for half a century, Kinky Friedman, slipped away peacefully at home in his sleep early this morning,” Friedman’s long-term friend Kent Perkins wrote on Facebook.
“He leaves a legacy of laughter, music, loyalty, mercy, tolerance, servitude, and wisdom.”
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Friedman, according to Perkins, was known among his close circle as someone who was a “compassionate, philanthropic, soft-spoken man who devoted much of his life to serving others less fortunate.” He and his sister Marcie did, after all, found the Echo Hill Ranch Gold Star Camp for young boys and girls.
“I learned a lot from Kinky. I never met a more honest, witty, selfless, generous, or sincere person than Richard Samet ‘Kinky’ Friedman,” Perkins continued.
“Somewhere in heaven, I’m sure there’s a quiet corner with a big easy chair, a bright floor lamp, a big stack of biographical books, and a few old dogs wagging their tails to the faint smell of cigar smoke. Rest in peace, my friend.”
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