Kris Kristofferson, the Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rugged charisma who went on to become a country music superstar and Hollywood A-list actor, has died.
Kristofferson died Saturday at his home in Maui, Hawaii, surrounded by his family, a spokesperson said. He was 88 years old.
The Brownsville, Texas, native wrote such classic standards as “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make it Through the Night” starting in the late 1960s. Although Kristofferson himself was a singer, many of his songs are popular, such as Ray Price singing “For the Good Times” and Janis Joplin belting out “Me and Bobby McGee.” Many are best known for having been performed by others.
Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP, File
He also starred opposite Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, and played Barbra Streisand in 1976’s A Star Is Born. In 1998, he co-starred with Wesley Snipes in the Marvel film Blade.
Kristofferson, who could recite William Blake, weaved intricate folk music lyrics about loneliness and tender romance into popular country music. With long hair, bell-bottom slacks, and Bob Dylan-influenced counterculture songs, he represented a new breed of country songwriters, along with peers such as Willie Nelson, John Prine, and Tom T. Hall. did.
Nelson spoke about Kristofferson on “60 Minutes” in 1999. “Chris took this song from the dark ages to modern times and made it acceptable, and he brought great lyrics. I mean, he brought the best lyrics possible.” “It’s simple but profound.”
He was a Golden Glove-winning boxer and football player in college, earned a master’s degree in English from Merton College at the University of Oxford in England, and turned down plans to teach at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. However, its purpose was as follows. Written and composed in Nashville. Wanting to break into the industry, he took a part-time job at Columbia Records’ Music Row Studios in 1966, when Dylan recorded songs for his seminal double album Blonde on Blonde. Worked as a janitor.
At times, Kristofferson’s legend was bigger than reality. Johnny Cash tells a mostly exaggerated story about how Kristofferson, a former U.S. Army pilot, landed a helicopter on Cash’s lawn, beer in hand, and handed Cash a tape of “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.” I liked it. In interviews over the years, Kristofferson has said that while he did indeed land a helicopter at Cash’s house in Cash’s honor, the Man in Black wasn’t even home at the time, and that no one actually knew the demo tape. He said it was a song he didn’t have before. I got cut and I certainly couldn’t fly a helicopter with a beer.
In a 2006 interview with The Associated Press, he said he might not have had his career without Cash.
“When I was still in the Army, shaking his hand backstage at the Grand Ole Opry was the moment I decided to come back,” Kristofferson said. “It was emotional. He protected me before he cut my songs. He cut my first record, which was record of the year. It was my first time on stage.”
One of his most recorded songs, “Me and Bobby McGee,” was written on the recommendation of Monument Records founder Fred Foster. Foster had in mind the title of the song, “Me and Bobby McKee,” after a female secretary in his building. In an interview with Performing Songwriter magazine, Kristofferson said that watching Frederico Fellini’s film La Strada inspired him to write lyrics about a man and a woman traveling together.
Joplin, who had a close relationship with Kristofferson, changed the lyrics to make Bobby McGee a man and cut her version days before she died of a drug overdose in 1970. This recording became a No. 1 hit after Joplin’s death.
Hit songs recorded by Kristofferson include “Why Me,” “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do),” “Watch Closely Now,” “Desperados Waiting for a Train,” and “A Song I’ d Like to Sing.” and “Jesus was a Capricorn.”
In 1973, he married fellow songwriter Rita Coolidge, and they had a successful duet career, winning two Grammy Awards. They divorced in 1980.
He retired from performing and recording in 2021, making only occasional guest appearances on stage.