The Songwriters Hall of Fame was saddened to learn of the passing of 1985 inductee and 2006 Johnny Mercer honoree, Kris Kristofferson.
Over the course of a 5-decade career, Kris Kristofferson’s songs have been recorded by artists from Waylon Jennings (“The Taker”) to Janis Joplin (“Me and Bobby McGhee”).
Kristofferson was born on June 22, 1936 in Brownsville, Texas. The oldest of three children, Kristofferson showed an early talent for writing and secured a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University in England. At Oxford, Kristofferson first started writing and performing his own songs. He recorded an album for Top Rank Records under the alias Kris Carson to little success and left England in 1960 after graduating with a masters degree from Oxford. During the early 1960’s, he served in the US army quickly rising in the ranks and eventually securing a position at West Point military academy.
It wasn’t until 1966 that Kristofferson had his first success as a songwriter with “Viet Nam Blue.” Recorded by Dave Dudley, the song peaked in the Country Top 20. The next 4 years saw more success for Kristofferson: Roy Drusky hit the country Top 40 with “Jody and the Kid;” Billy Walker and the Tennessee Walkers recording of “From the Bottle to the Bottom” reached the top 20 in 1969; Roger Miller released his recording of “Me and Bobby McGee,” which reached the country top 20; Ray Stevens released “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” entering both the pop and country charts; Faron Young released “Your Time’s Comin’” which peaked in the Country top five.
During the 1970’s, ’80’s and 90’s, continued penning hit songs including “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “I Won’t Mention It Again” and “Please Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends.” He also embarked on a successful performing artist and acting career, appearing in more than 15 films and touring with the Highwaymen Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash.
On the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, Kristofferson notched 19 entries, including the No. 1 soundtrack A Star is Born, in which he co-starred with Streisand. He charted a dozen entries on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, including two No. 1s: “Why Me” in 1973 and the all-star collaboration “Highwayman” in 1985 with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. On the Top Country Albums chart, he placed 25 titles, including a trio of No. 1s: Jesus Was a Capricorn (1973), Full Moon (with Rita Coolidge, 1973) and Highwayman (with Nelson, Jennings and Cash, in 1985).
Kristofferson, who could recite William Blake from memory, wove intricate folk music lyrics about loneliness and tender romance into popular country music. With his long hair and bell-bottomed slacks, and his counterculture songs influenced by Bob Dylan, he represented a new breed of country songwriters alongside such peers as Willie Nelson, John Prine and Tom T. Hall.
Bob Dylan held Kristofferson in such high regard that he quoted “Sunday Morning Coming Down” at length in an unexpectedly long speech accepting an award from the Recording Academy’s MusiCares Foundation in 2015.
Speaking about other songwriters, Dylan said, “Everything was all right until — until — Kristofferson came to town. Oh, they ain’t seen anybody like him. He came into [Nashville] like a wildcat, flew his helicopter into Johnny Cash’s backyard like a typical songwriter (laughter). And he went for the throat: ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’:
Well, I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad
So I had one more for dessert
Then I fumbled through my closet
Found my cleanest dirty shirt
Then I washed my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.
“You can look at Nashville pre-Kris and post-Kris,” Dylan said, “because he changed everything.”
Among a number of honors Kristofferson received throughout his career were three GRAMMY Awards: best country song for “Help Me Make It Through the Night” (1971), and best country performance by a duo or group for a pair of duets with Rita Coolidge, “From the Bottle to the Bottom” (1973) and “Lover Please” (1975). He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy (2014). He took home a CMA Award for “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” in 1970, won an ACM Award for “Highwayman” in 1985, was inducted the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004, received the ACM Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award in 2005 and Poet’s Award in 2013, and was honored by the Country Music Association with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. He also earned a Golden Globe for his work in A Star Is Born in 1976. He received the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s prestigious Johnny Mercer Award in 2006.
He retired from performing and recording in 2021, making only occasional guest appearances on stage. He is survived by his wife, Lisa Meyers, and his eight children: Tracy, Kris Jr., Casey, Jesse, Jody, Johnny, Kelly Marie and Blake.
