Kris Kristofferson, the Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rugged charisma who became a country music superstar and A-list Hollywood actor, has died.
Kristofferson died at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, family spokeswoman Ebie McFarland said in an email. He is 88 years old.
McFarland said Kristofferson died peacefully, surrounded by his family. No cause was given.
Beginning in the late 1960s, the Brownsville, Texas native wrote country and rock ‘n’ roll standards like “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “Help Me Make it Through the Night,” “For the Good Times” and “Me . and Bobby McGee.” Kristofferson was a singer, but many of his best-known songs were performed by others, whether it was Ray Price singing “For a Good Time” or Janis Joplin singing “Me and Bobby McGee.”
She starred opposite Ellen Burstyn in the 1974 film directed by Martin Scorsese Alice doesn’t live here anymoreopposite Barbra Streisand in 1976 Star Bornand alongside Wesley Snipes at Marvel Blade in 1998.
FILE – Producer Jon Peters, from left, Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson appear at a preview of the film, “A Star is Born,” on December 23, 1976, in New York. | Photo Credit: SUZANNE VLAMIS
Kristofferson, who could recite William Blake from memory, weaved intricate folk music lyrics about loneliness and tender romance into popular country music. With long hair and bell-bottomed slacks and counterculture songs influenced by Bob Dylan, he represents a new breed of country songwriters along with peers like Willie Nelson, John Prine and Tom T. Hall.
“There is no better songwriter than Kris Kristofferson,” Nelson said at the 2009 BMI awards ceremony for Kristofferson. “Everything written is a standard and we all have to live by it.”
Kristofferson retired from performing and recording in 2021, making only guest appearances on stage, including a performance with Cash’s daughter Rosanne at Nelson’s 90th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in 2023. The two sang “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything). I’ll Ever Do Again),” a song that became a hit for Kristofferson and a staple of life for Nelson, another great interpreter of his work.
Nelson and Kristofferson would join Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings to form the country supergroup “The Highwaymen” beginning in the mid-1980s.
FILE – Country stars Johnny Cash, left, and Kris Kristofferson perform during the Country Music Awards in Nashville, Tenn., October 1983.
Kristofferson was a Golden Gloves boxer, rugby star and college football player; received a master’s degree in English from Merton College at the University of Oxford in England; and flew helicopters as a captain in the US Army but turned down an appointment to teach at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, to pursue songwriting in Nashville. Hoping to break into the industry, he worked as a part-time janitor at Columbia Records’ Music Row studio in 1966 when Dylan recorded tracks for his double album “Blonde on Blonde”.
Sometimes, Kristofferson’s legend is bigger than real life. Cash likes to tell the usually exaggerated story of how Kristofferson landed a helicopter on Cash’s lawn to give him a tape of “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” with a beer in one hand. Over the years in an interview, Kristofferson spoke with everything about Cash, when he landed the helicopter at Cash’s house, the Man in Black was not even home in time, there was a demo tape of a song that no one ever actually cut and he certainly could not fly a helicopter holding beer .
In a 2006 interview with The Associated Presshe said he might not have had a career without Cash.
“Shaking his hand when I was still in the Army backstage at the Grand Ole Opry was the moment I decided I was going to come back,” Kristofferson said. “It was electric. He took me under his wing before he cut my songs. He cut my first record which was the record of the year. He put me on stage for the first time.
One of his most recorded songs, “Me and Bobby McGee,” was written based on the recommendation of Monument Records founder Fred Foster. Foster has a song title in his head called “Me and Bobby McKee,” named after a female secretary in the building. Kristofferson said in an interview in the magazine, “Performing Songwriter,” that he was inspired to write lyrics about men and women on the road together after watching Frederico Fellini’s movie, La Strada.
Joplin, who had a close relationship with Kristofferson, changed the lyrics to make Bobby McGee a man and cut her version just days before she died in 1970 of a drug overdose. The recording became a number 1 hit for Joplin.
Kristofferson’s recorded hits include “Watch Closely Now,” “Desperados Waiting for a Train,” “A Song I’d Like to Sing” and “Jesus Was a Capricorn.”
In 1973, he married songwriter Rita Coolidge and together they had a successful duet career that earned them two Grammy awards. They divorced in 1980.
FILES – Kris Kristofferson performs on stage in August 1973.
The formation of the Highwaymen, with Nelson, Cash and Jennings, was another pivotal point in his career as a player.
“I think I’m different from the other guys because I’m a fan of everything,” Kristofferson said. AP in 2005. “I respected them when I was still in the Army. When I went to Nashville, he was like my main hero because he was a serious person about music. Not only being recorded by them, but being friends with them and working with them is just unreal. It’s like seeing your face on Mount Rushmore.
The group released only three albums between 1985 and 1995. Jennings died in 2002 and Cash died a year later. Kristofferson said in 2005 there were some talks about reforming the group with other artists, such as George Jones or Hank Williams Jr., but Kristofferson said it would not be the same.
“When I look back now – I know I heard Willie say it was the best time of his life,” Kristofferson said in 2005. like a blink of an eye.I want to cherish every moment.
Among the four, only Nelson is alive today.
Kristofferson’s sharp political lyrics sometimes led to his popularity, especially in the late 1980s. His 1989 album, “Third World Warrior” focused on Central America and the United States’ policies there, but critics and fans disliked the overtly political songs.
He said during an interview in 1995 with AP he remembers a woman complaining about one song that started with killing babies in the name of freedom.
“And I said, ‘Well, what made you angry – the fact that I said it or the fact that he did it? For me, he was mad at me because I told him what happened.
FILE – Kris Kristofferson poses for a portrait in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 15, 1995. | Photo credit: Mark Humphrey
As the son of an Air Force General, he enlisted in the Army in the 1960s because it was in demand.
“I was in ROTC in college, and it was just taken for granted in my family that I would do my service,” he said in 2006 AP interview. “From my background and generation, honoring and serving your country is just frowned upon. So, later on, when you question some of the things that were done in your name, it hurts a lot.
Hollywood may have saved his music career. He still gets exposure through film and television appearances even though he can’t tour with a full band.
Kristofferson’s first role was in Dennis Hopper The last moviein 1971.
He likes Westerns and will use his gravelly voice to play good, stoic men. He is ruggedly handsome Burstyn’s love interest Alice doesn’t live here anymore and the tragic rock star in Rocky’s relationship with Streisand Star Borna role played by Bradley Cooper in the 2018 remake.
He was the young title villain in director Sam Peckinpah’s 1973 Pat Garrett and Billy the Kidtruck driver for the same director in 1978 convoyand the corrupt sheriff in director John Sayles’ 1996, Single Star. He also starred in one of Hollywood’s biggest financial failures, Heaven’s GateWestern 1980 that opened tens of millions of dollars over budget.
And in a rare appearance in a superhero movie, he played Snipes’ vampire hunter mentor in the Blade.
He was described in 2006 AP interview how he got his first acting gig while performing in Los Angeles.
“It just so happened that my first professional gig was at the Troubadour in LA opening for Linda Rondstadt,” Kristofferson said. “Robert Hilburn (Los Angeles Times music critic) wrote a wonderful review and the concert was held for a week,” Kristofferson said. “There were a lot of people entering films, and I started getting film offers with no experience. Of course, I also had no acting experience.
Published – 30 September 2024 12:13 IST
