Country singer and politician Kinky Friedman has died

Singer and politician Kinky Friedman died at age 79 at his home in Texas. The information was posted by the singer's team on X and confirmed by friends of Friedman in conversation with The Texas Tribune. He suffered from Parkinson's disease.

"Friedman died at his longtime family home at Echo Hill Ranch in Medina, his friends Cleve Hattersley and Kent Perkins said," The Texas Tribune detailed.

The singer broke into politics when he ran for governor as an independent against Republican Rick Perry, who was in office in 2006. In that election race he garnered more than 12% of the vote, coming in fourth place in the race.

"Kinky’s run for governor in 2006 made an otherwise grueling campaign cycle actually fun. May he rest easy after a life lived to the fullest," former Gov. Perry said in a statement.