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Richard F. "Kinky" Friedman, (born October 31,
1944 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American singer,
songwriter and novelist.

Born in Chicago, 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, an honors student, graduated
from the University of Texas at Austin in 1966
with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and then
served two years with the Peace Corps in Borneo
and other areas of the southwest Pacific Ocean.

Friedman currently lives at Echo Hill Ranch, his
family's summer camp near Kerrville, Texas, just
outside of Medina, Texas|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 band, The Texas Jewboys, in
the early 1970s. Friedman's father objected to the
name of the band, calling it a "negative, hostile,
peculiar thing."

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 repertoire mixed social
commentary ("We Reserve The Right To Refuse
Service To You") and maudlin ballads ("Western
Union Wire") with raucously Political
correctness|politically incorrect humor ("Get Your
Biscuits In The Oven and Your Buns In Bed"), while
his "Ride'em Jewboy" was a remarkably effective
extended tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. 
Friedman was a musical guest on Saturday Night
Live in October 1976.

===Selected discography===
* Sold American (1973)
* Kinky Friedman (1974)
* Lasso From El Paso (1976)
* Under the Double Ego (1983)
* Old Testaments and New Revelations (1992)
* From One Good American To Another (1995)
* Classic Snatches from Europe (2000)

==Writing career==
After his music career stalled in the 1980s,
Friedman found a new lease on life as a detective
fiction|detective novelist.  His books have
similarities to his music, featuring a fictional
character|fictionalized version of himself solving
crimes in New York City and dispensing jokes,
wisdom, Texan charm and Jameson's Irish
whiskey|whiskey in equal measure. They are written
in a straightforward style which owes a debt to
Raymond Chandler.

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.

===Selected bibliography===

* Greenwich Killing Time (1986, ISBN 0688064094)
* A Case Of Lone Star (1987, ISBN 0517694271)
* When The Cat's Away (1988, ISBN 0517075644)
* Frequent Flyer (1989, ISBN 0688081665)
* Musical Chairs (1991, ISBN 0688091482)
* Elvis, Jesus and Coca-Cola (1993, ISBN
0671869221)
* Armadillos and Old Lace (1994, ISBN 067186923X)
* God Bless John Wayne (1995, ISBN 0684810514)
* The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover (1996, ISBN
0684803771)
* Roadkill (1997, ISBN 068480378X)

* Blast From The Past (1998, ISBN 0684803798)
* Spanking Watson (1999, ISBN 0684850613)
* The Mile High Club (2000, ISBN 068486486X)
* Stepping On A Rainbow (2001, ISBN 0684864878)
* Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch (2002, ISBN
0684864886)
* Kill Two Birds and Get Stoned (2003, ISBN
006620979X)
* Curse of the Missing Puppethead (2003, ISBN
0970238363)
* Prisoner of Vandam Street (2004, ISBN
0743246020)
* Scuse Me While I Whip This Out (2004, ISBN
0060539755)
* Ten Little New Yorkers (2005, ISBN 0743246039)



==Politics==
In the early 1980s, Friedman ran a semi-serious
campaign for Justice of the Peace in Kerrville,
Texas, but lost the election.

In 2004, Friedman began a serious campaign to
become the List of Governors of Texas|Governor of
Texas in 2006 in politics|2006.  One of his stated
goals is the "dewussification" of Texas.  Among
his campaign slogans are "How Hard Could It Be?"
and "Why The Hell Not?"  He's hoping 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 shockingly
outraised former Democratic Congressman Chris
Bell.

Friedman is friends with both Bill Clinton and
George W. Bush, both of whom have invited him to
visit the White House.  He wrote about his
friendships with them in his November 2001 column
("Hail to the Kinkster") for Texas Monthly.

Wikiquote

==External links==
*http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/ Kinky Friedman's
Official website
*http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467
/2024504.html Returned Peace Corps Volunteer
stories about Friedman
*http://www.texasmonthly.com/mag/issues/authors/ki
nkyfriedman.php List of Friedman's articles and
http://www.texasmonthly.com/mag/issues/2001-11-01/
roundup.php Hail to the Kinkster from Texas
Monthly

de: Kinky Friedman