Dean Friedman will forever be associated with the line "We can thank our lucky stars that we're not as smart as we like to think we are."

The annoyingly catchy lyric from the American singer/songwriter's schmaltzy 1978 hit Lucky Stars has, 30 years on, earned Dean cult status. Fans can rest assured that he'll be delivering Lucky Stars, along with other hits Lydia and Ariel, on his UK tour which rolls into Leeds this month.

But Dean is also busy exploring another kind of music, close to both his heart and his home. Coinciding with the 24-date tour is his new radio show, Dean Friedman's American Folk, on BBC Radio Scotland.

Dean has been commissioned to host the six-part series, starting today, exploring the music, stories and spirit of the Hudson Valley region of New York where he lives.

"I'll be featuring contemporary and traditional folk music, from artists known and unknown," he says. "It's fertile folk music territory where legends like Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan still reside, where the late Phil Ochs grew up, and where a new generation of contemporary folk musicians, like Christine Lavin, David Bromberg and New Middle Class continue to push the form forward, keeping it fresh, exciting and relevant."

Dean is part of an active community of songwriters called the Hudson Valley Musician's Alliance. "Our songs deal with real-life issues like raising families, fixing the front-yard fence, paying the mortgage and trying to find time to make music between taking out the trash and driving the kids to school," he says. "I'm really excited about the chance to introduce some of these great unheralded musicians, here in the Hudson Valley, to new listeners.

"We'll also be doing comedy sketches, local recipes and folk remedies - we'll teach you what to do if you ever happen to get sprayed by a skunk for example. It will give folks the real flavour of living here in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, the land of Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

He plans to present the final segment of the series live from the roof of the new BBC building at Pacific Quay in Glasgow on Thursday August 9.

Dean's tour sees him performing songs from his 30-year recording career as well as selections from his more recent albums, including Squirrels in the Attic, which he describes as a collection of comedy songs for adults. The album, which he showcased in Jongleurs clubs across Britain two years ago and performed at the Edinburgh Festival, featured his first-ever parental guidance' disclaimer warning, not something you'd necessarily associate with the wholesome-looking curly-haired guy who crooned radio-friendly ditties and sentimental ballads back in the late 1970s.

Dean shot to fame with his 1977 hit Ariel, about a free-spirited, music-loving vegetarian Jewish girl in a peasant blouse' then came Lucky Stars, a duet with Denise Marsa, and Lydia from the album Well, Well Said the Rocking Chair.

"I'm forever linked with those songs," says Dean. "It's a mixed blessing because, while I'm proud of their success, it can be hard to move on. Imagine if a comic was only allowed to tell the same joke all his career, wouldn't it get a little stale?"

His comic songs include Doint Doint, It's Just a Little Joint; Death to the Neighbours, a monologue about his real-life next-door neighbours; and I Miss Monica about the infamous presidential intern.

During the 1980s Dean wrote TV and film soundtracks, including the theme music to ITV's urban cowboy drama Boon. "I've always been accused of being eclectic but I love all music, it never made sense to me to stick to one genre," he says.

These days he's a cult hero. In the early Nineties his career was revived thanks to Big Breakfast presenter and self-confessed Friedman fan Gaby Roslin, and his appearance on the Channel 4 show led to a slot on the BBC's I Love the 1970s and The Baddiel Syndrome.

His single McDonald's Girl, was covered by Canadian band Barenaked Ladies and US rockers The Blenders, while Half Man Half Biscuit came up with The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman and underground poet Nicholas Awde penned a romantic poem featuring three ardent Friedman fans.

He promotes his music via his website, which "allows me to reconnect with my fans and become a musician again. I can bypass the music industry machine and create music for the people it's intended for.

"My album The Treehouse Journals was financed entirely via my website, marketed straight at the fans without the middle-man. It was incredibly liberating," he says.

Before his career revival Dean was involved in virtual reality software and video game design through his company In Video. He developed an interactive musical playground, the Music Atrium, for the Eureka! Children's museum in Halifax and has reproduced it for theme parks and museums worldwide.

  • Dean Friedman is at Morley Town Hall on July 20. For tickets ring (0870) 1432203.