Laugh Tracks Legends of Comedy with Randy and Steve

Author: Randy Hodgins and Steve McLellan

Randy Hodgins and Steve McLellans lifelong love of comedy was kindled when they met more than 40 years ago in graduate school in Seattle. While managing family and professional work responsibilities, they hosted a one hour comedy radio program on Saturday mornings for 10 years on a small radio station in Olympia, WA and also co-authored two books on northwest popular culture Seattle on Film (1995) and Wet and Wired (2000). Stuck at home during the early days of the pandemic with hundreds of comedy albums, cassettes and CDs gathering dust on their shelves, they launched Laugh Tracks Legends of Comedy in May 2020, a weekly mini-program featuring a different comedy icon, with biographical bits and a nice slice of the comedy that made them famous. From standup stars, to stellar sketch teams, to novelty music maestros -- they are all part of our Legends.
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Language: en

Genres: Comedy, Stand-Up

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Kinky Friedman
Episode 298
Tuesday, 24 February, 2026

Get your cigar, your cowboy hat, and your copy of the First Amendment ready -- this week we salute musical satirist Richard "Kinky" Friedman who blended sarcastic and often offensive lyrics with Texas twang to create a singular comic persona. Way back in the early 1970s after a stint in the Peace Corps, Kinky returned to his home in Texas and set about forming his most famous -- and most outrageously named -- band -- Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys. Country rock was becoming popular so in spite of (or maybe because of) the name, Kinky scored a recording contract. Did he dial it back a little? Of course, the answer is a resounding NOOOO! In fact his appearance on Austin City Limits was taped, then shelved, because of Kinky's "take no prisoners" approach. After a stint with Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue, Kinky's musical career stalled leading him to a second round of fame as a mystery novelist with 20-some titles to his credit. Add to that a surprisingly robust run for Governor of Texas in 2006 and we'd say Kinky's "Legend" resume is complete. As always find extra cuts below and thanks for sharing our shows! Want more Kinky? Back in 2005 CBS Sunday Morning profiled Kinky and it has some nice examples of his plain spoken style. https://youtu.be/KOOiCxbL9-g?si=4mqGoBlMphFFLLIt Kinky's lyrics were decidedly radio-unfriendly, but his albums were passed around by fans who liked their lyrics unfiltered. Thanks to Austin City Limits for capturing Kinky back in the day -- even if they put it straight into the vault. https://youtu.be/5FSWm67IhDU?si=L06HLwGX6OntonzO When Kinky ran for Governor of Texas he managed to lure his old pal Mojo Nixon out of retirement to pen a campaign song. He didn't win, but the song is a gem. https://youtu.be/wtOXb2wAlOQ?si=KhHId5bHL3Frf-KQ