Kinky Friedman was a Texas singer/songwriter, author, satirist, and columnist. He combined his sharp wit and social commentary to write songs that were humorous while shining an unflinching light on the world around him. His music earned him fans from around the world. However, even he was surprised to find how far his message reached.
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Ten years ago, in the summer of 2014, Friedman recalled how he learned that Nelson Mandela loved his music. More importantly, he shared the important lesson that revelation taught him.
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Kinky Friedman on Learning that Nelson Mandela Was a Fan
Kinky Friedman recalled that he was touring South Africa with his book God Bless John Wayne in the mid-to-late ‘80s. “It was kind of a book tour and a music tour. I did some concerts. So, during that time, I did a TV show with a guy named Dali Tambo. Dali is the son of Oliver Tambo who is Nelson Mandela’s mentor,” he explained. “During this TV show, there’s another guy on the show named Tokyo Sexwale. Tokyo was widely known as Mandela’s right-hand man. He was also in prison on Robben Island with Mandela in the next cell for 17 years,” he continued, setting the scene.
During a commercial break, Sexwale told Friedman that they needed to talk during the next break. He had something important to tell him. “So, I go over there, and Tokyo says, “You know, Kinky, Mandella is a big fan of yours.’ And I said, ‘You’re kidding, man! What book is it?’”
However, Sexwale said that Mandela wasn’t a fan of Friedman’s books. Instead, he was a fan of his music. More specifically, he loved the song “Ride ‘Em Jewboy.”
Sexwale went on to explain that they had someone smuggle in music on cassette tapes. One of those tapes was Sold American which contained the song. He was such a fan of the song that he listened to it several times a night every night.
The Lesson Friedman Learned
Reflecting on Mandela’s love for his music, Friedman said, “I would just say, that if you’re in entertainment or you’re in public service, you never know who you’re going to reach. When I recorded this album, my first record in 1973 in Nashville, I was asking, ‘Will the disc jockeys like this? Is there a hit on the record?’ I never thought that this record and this song in particular would be listened to repeatedly every f—ing night, as Tokyo told me, by Nelson Mandela in his prison cell on Robben Island. So, you never know who you’re going to reach.”
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