“If it sounds country, that’s what it is. It’s a country song.” Truer words than Kris Kristofferson’s introduction to his recording of “Me and Bobby McGee” may never have been spoken.
But to truly SOUND country, a song must take full advantage of the songwriter’s experiences. After all experiences are what country music is all about.
Kristofferson, who died Sept. 28, 2024, at age 88, had as many experiences as anyone in the business.
Kris Kristofferson’s resume is impressive — and not just for his musical experience.
In addition to numerous accomplishments in music and show business, Kristofferson could boast of being the following:
- An English major with award-winning essays;
- A college athlete;
- A Rhodes Scholar;
- An attendee of Oxford University;
- A U.S. Army Ranger, captain, and helicopter pilot; and
- A part-time dredger.
Even with all that, when he got out of the Army and looked toward a career as a songwriter, the best job he could find was sweeping floors in a Nashville studio. He made ends meet by flying helicopters off oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico while trying to get some of his songs into the hands of a performing star.
His early efforts at songwriting were memorable, but none met with commercial success.
Artists like Billy Walker, Faron Young and Roger Miller all recorded songs penned by Kristofferson. But even Miller, who recorded “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” didn’t exactly have a hit with the song. Fortunately, a few years later, Kristofferson hooked Johnny Cash up the same song. Cash’s first performance of “Sunday Morning” on live television became a legendary moment in country music history.
Ironically, perhaps Kris Kristofferson’s most popular and most-often-covered song, “Me and Bobby McGee,” became a mega-hit … but Janis Joplin, the rocker who brought it to No. 1 status, was far from a country musician.
Others had great success with the song as well, including Roger Miller, Jerry Lee Lewis, Kenny Rogers, and even the Statler Brothers.
Moreover, the song officially marked Kristofferson’s acceptance as a songwriter, and more of his music began to be recorded by country’s biggest stars.
Stepping behind the microphone himself, Kristofferson also gained success as a performer with the hit song “The Silver-Tongued Devil and I” and “Loving Her was Easier than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again.”
In 1971, he had an impressive showing at the Grammy Awards as many of his songs took home top honors while others were nominated in various categories. Hits like “Help Me Make it through the Night” and “For the Good Times” followed. Again, both songs were covered by numerous artists, reaching hit status for several of them.
By the mid ’70s, as if being a Grammy award-winning songwriter wasn’t enough of a feather in the Kristofferson’s hat, he began to make inroads in Hollywood.
In the coming years, he starred in numerous movies alongside the likes of Gene Hackman and Burt Reynolds. Perhaps his most notable role was opposite Barbara Streisand in “A Star Is Born.”
Read the rest of the story at The Trucker.
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