ofTexas A Conversation with KINKY FRIEDMAN
By Michael Buffalo Smith He’s the world’s most famous Jewish
cowboy. Heck, he might be the world’s only Jewish cowboy.He’s a singer/songwriter with songs like “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed,” “Ride ‘Em Jewboy,” “Asshole From El Paso,” and perhaps his most popular tune, "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore," a song in which Kinky verbally and physically beats up a drunken white racist who berates blacks, Jews, Greeks, and Sigma Nus in a bar. He’s a politician who has run for governor of Texas as well as Agri- culture Commissioner; a successful novelist with a string of novels about a fictional detec- tive; and activist, a cigar smoker, an animal rescuer and pretty much a mash up of Mark Twain, Sam Houston and Waylon Jennings. He is loved the world over, and counts Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela among his fans. He’s close personal friends with Billy Bob Thornton and Willie Nelson, and you really wish you could be him. We spoke by phone with Kinky about his
current tour(s), new book, legalizing weed, Nelson Mandela, and Willie Nelson. Welcome to Texas.
Who inspired you early on to start writ- ing songs and performing? Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Jimmie Rogers, Slim Whitman, and Willie Nelson.
6
Deep in the Heart
Where did the humor part come from? I don’t know. I could probably go to ances-
try.com and I’d find somebody who was a court jester. Of course both of my parents were pretty funny, humorous people. But I’m not sure there’s any show business in the family - I’m not sure that’s what I do anyway. But I’m starting to pick up a lot of concerts and shows, and we’re doing this “Journey in Time.” We’re kicking that off in October and then doing it in Australia. It’s a more cohesive show, picking songs from each year, like ‘73 or ‘75. And then there’s something I kind of repressed for a long time- In 1996 I went to South Africa and did a book tour for the book God Bless John Wayne, and a couple of con- certs. While I was over there , I did this TV show called The Dali Tambo Show. Dali was the son of Oliver Tambo, who was Nelson Mandela’s mentor. Oliver died when Mandela was serving 17 years in prison on Robben Is- land. In all, Mandela served about a third of his long life in prison. I knew all that because I had read the biography of Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom. During the TV show, there was another guest on by the name of Tokyo Sexwale. Tokyo said to me, “Kinky, I’ve got to talk to you after the show, it’s important.” Now, this guy Tokyo was Mandela’s right hand man. I went over to talk to him after the show and he said “Kinky, I think you should know that Mandela is a very big fan of yours.” I said man that’s wonderful! Which book is it?
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