Kinky Friedman, a singer, songwriter, humorist and sometime politician who with his band, the Texas Jewboys, developed an ardent following among alt-country music fans with songs like “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore,” and whose biting cultural commentary earned him comparisons with Will Rogers and Mark Twain, died on July 27 at his ranch near Austin, Texas. He was 79.

He toured widely in the 1970s with his band and solo. When the band broke up, he turned to writing detective novels. He also wrote a column for Texas Monthly magazine in the 2000s.

He founded a ranch for rescue animals, and ran Echo Hill Camp, inherited from his parents, offering it free of charge to children of parents killed while serving in the U.S. military. In 2004, he announced a run for Texas governor, also ran unsuccessfully for state agriculture commissioner in 2010 and 2014. He returned to music and writing at his ranch until his death.