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, surrounded by family, on Saturday, a spokesman said in a statement. He is 88 years old.
Beginning in the late 1960s, the Brownsville, Texas, native wrote classic standards like “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make it Through the Night.” Kristofferson was a singer, but many of his best-known songs were performed by others, whether it was Ray Price singing “For the Good Times” or Janis Joplin singing “Me and Bobby McGee.”
Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP, File
He also starred opposite Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” starred opposite Barbra Streisand in 1976’s “A Star Is Born,” and acted alongside Wesley Snipes in Marvel’s “Blade” in 1998.
Kristofferson, who could recite William Blake from memory, weaved intricate folk music lyrics about loneliness and tender romance into popular country music. With his long hair, bell-bottoms and counterculture songs influenced by Bob Dylan, he represented a new breed of country songwriter, along with friends such as Willie Nelson, John Prine and Tom T. Hall.
“Kris brought it from the dark ages to today, it’s acceptable and it brings great lyrics — I mean, the best lyrics,” Nelson said on “60 Minutes” in a 1999 segment about Kristofferson. “Simple but profound.”
He was a Golden Gloves boxer and football player in college, received a master’s degree in English from Merton College at the University of Oxford in England, and turned down an appointment to teach at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, to continue. song 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. Johnny Cash likes to tell the rich story of how Kristofferson, a former US Army pilot, landed a helicopter on Cash’s lawn to record “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” with a beer in one hand. Over the years in interviews, Kristofferson said that, regarding Cash, when he landed the helicopter at Cash’s house, the Man in Black wasn’t home at the time, the demo tape was a song that never got right. Cut and he certainly can’t fly a helicopter holding a beer.
In a 2006 interview with The Associated Press, he said he wouldn’t 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 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 his 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 “Why Me,” “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I Will Ever Do),” “Watch Now Fast,” “Desperados Waiting for a Train,” “A Song I’d Like to Sing” and “Jesus is 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.
He retired from performing and recording in 2021, making only guest appearances on stage.
