Kinky Friedman Passes Away

Richard Samet a.k.a “Kinky” Friedman passed away on June 26. Friedman had was best known as singer, songwriter, writer, and politician. He also was a cigar enthusiast who was the owner of his own cigar brand, Kinky Friedman Cigars. Friedman was 79 years old.

Friedman entered the music business while studying psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. His first band was a parody group called King Arthur & the Carrots which played satirical-style music. It was at University of Texas he got the nickname Kinky.

His biggest success came band, Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys which kept to the satirical nature of his music. In 1976, the band’s second album Lasso froM El Passo became the highest charting album of his career. That same year, the band became the opening act on Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour. Friedman’s music career stalled in the 1980s and resurrected in the 1990s.

In the 1980s Friedman would turn his attention to writing. He started writing detective novels that had its own satirical charm to it. In 2001, he started writing a column for Texas Monthly magazine.

In politics was not quite as successful when it came to running for public office. Friedman was best known for his run for governor of Texas in 2006. He received 12.6% of the vote in a six candidate field. Friedman also unsuccessfully ran for Justice of the Peace for Kerrville Texas and for Texas Agriculture Commissioner.

Kinky Friedman Cigars was Friedman’s cigar brand. His cigars were produced by Rafael Nodal and Hank Bischoff’s Oliveros Cigars, the predecessor to Boutique Blends Cigars. He sold the cigars through his own company. The company shut down in 2013, but a year later Havana Alley Cigar Shop & Lounge acquired the rights to the Kinky Friedman Cigars.

Photo Credit: Kinky Friedman Social Media