I didn’t see much mention in the news of the death of Kinky Friedman, the self-styled “Texas Jewboy” of country music. It’s probably fair to say his records would not be released these days because of their close-to-the-bone satirical content; and their language (including this one).
His song titles alone paint the picture: Ride ‘Em Jewboy (an elegy for victims of the Holocaust), Asshole From El Paso (a response to Merle Haggard’s Okie From Miscogie) and My Shit’s Fucked Up.
He didn’t always hit the right mark: his feminist-baiting Get Your Biscuits In The Oven And Your Buns In The Bed provoked an attack on his band by women at a concert, and the Male Chauvinist Pig of the Year award from the National Organization for Women.
On another occasion he offended indigenous people so much with a song called Miss Nickelodeon that an exasperated Buffy Saint-Marie invaded the stage in protest. This tune – They Don’t Make Jews Like Jesus Any More – was his response to antisemitism, a song in which he berates and physically beats a drunken white racist
Friedman was a no-holds-barred satirist who used lowbrow humour to make his points – and made them while making some pretty good country music .
Don’t take my word for it; the guests on this track are country royalty – Willie Nelson (who also produced it), Waylon Jennings and Billy Swan all sing backing vocals. And Bob Dylan chose him as his support act on his Rolling Thunder Revue.
A tribute album in 2007 featured his songs being performed by artists including Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yoakam and Kelly Willis.
More than just a cult favourite, his fame spread far beyond his native Texas, where he ran for governor in 2006 – coming fourth with 12.6% of the vote – and was a successful author of crime novels.