Country legend and actor dies at age 88

Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with deft writing and rugged charisma who became a country superstar and star Hollywood actor, has died.

Kristofferson died Saturday (Sept. 28) at his home in Maui, Hawaii, spokeswoman Ebie McFarland said in an email billboard. He was 88.

McFarland said Kristofferson died peacefully surrounded by his family. No reason was given. He was 88.

Starting in the late 1960s, the Brownsville native wrote classics 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 himself, but many of his songs became known primarily because they were sung by others.

He also starred opposite Ellen Burstyn in director Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film Alice doesn’t live here anymorestarred alongside Barbra Streisand in 1976 A star is born and starred alongside Wesley Snipes in Marvel’s blade in 1998.

Kristofferson landed 19 entries on the Billboard 200 album charts across all genres, including the No. 1 soundtrack A star is bornin which he starred alongside Streisand. He landed a dozen entries on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, including two No. 1 hits: “Why Me” in 1973 and the all-star collaboration “Highwayman” in 1985 with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. He placed 25 titles on the top country albums charts, including three number 1 titles: Jesus was a Capricorn (1973), Full moon (with Rita Coolidge, 1973) and highwayman (with Nelson, Jennings and Cash, 1985).

Songs he famously wrote that became hits recorded by other artists include: “Me and Bobby McGee” (No. 1 on the Hot 100 for Janis Joplin), “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” (No. 1 Hot Country Songs for Johnny). Cash), “For the Good Times” (No. 1 on Hot Country Songs for Ray Price) and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” (No. 1 on Hot Country Songs for Sammi Smith).

Kristofferson, who could recite William Blake by heart, wove intricate folk lyrics about loneliness and tender romance into popular country music. With his long hair and bell-bottoms and his Bob Dylan-influenced counterculture songs, he represented a new generation of country songwriters alongside colleagues like Willie Nelson, John Prine and Tom T. Hall.

“There is no better songwriter than Kris Kristofferson,” Nelson said during a BMI-hosted awards ceremony for Kristofferson in November 2009. “Everything he writes is a standard, and we all have to live with that.”

As an actor, he starred alongside Barbara Streisand and Ellen Burstyn, but also had a penchant for shoot-out westerns and cowboy dramas.

He was a Golden Gloves boxer and football player in college, received a master’s degree in English from Merton College, Oxford University in England, and turned down a teaching position at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, to pursue songwriting to dedicate 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 the groundbreaking album Blonde on blonde Double album.

At times, the legend of Kristofferson was larger than real life. Cash liked to tell a mostly exaggerated story about how Kristofferson, a former U.S. Army pilot, landed a helicopter on Cash’s lawn, beer in hand, to give him a cassette of “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.” Kristofferson said this in interviews over the years with all due respect to Cash while did When he landed a helicopter at Cash’s house, the Man in Black wasn’t even home at the time, the demo tape was a song that no one had actually cut – and he certainly couldn’t fly a helicopter with a beer in his hand fly.

In an interview with The Associated Presshe said that without cash he might not have had a career.

“Shaking his hand backstage at the Grand Ole Opry when I was still in the Army was the moment I decided to come back,” Kristofferson said. “It was electric. He kind of took me under his wing before he cut one of my songs. He recorded my first record, which was record of the year. He brought me on stage for the first time.”

Among the many awards Kristofferson received throughout his career were four Grammy Awards: Best Country Song for “Help Me Make It Through the Night” (1971), Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group for “From the Bottle.” to the Bottom” with Rita Coolidge (1973) and “Lover Please” with Coolidge (1975), as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2014).

He won a CMA Award for “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” in 1970, won an ACM Award for “Highwayman” in 1985, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004, and received the ACM Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award and Poet’s Award in 2005 2013 and received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Country Music Association in 2019. He also received a Golden Globe for his work A star is born in 1976. In 2006, he received the songwriters hall of fame’s prestigious Johnny Mercer Award.

“Kris Kristofferson deeply believed that creativity is God-given and that those who ignore or reject such a sacred gift are doomed to failure and misfortune,” Country Music Hall of Fame CEO Kyle Young said in a statement. “He preached that a spiritual life gives voice to the soul, and then he created a work that gave voice not only to his soul but to our soul. Kris’ heroes included prizefighter Muhammad Ali, great poet William Blake and “Hillbilly Shakespeare” Hank Williams. He lived his life in a way that honored and exemplified the values ​​of each of these men, and he leaves a just, courageous and overwhelming legacy consistent with theirs.”

“The world of country music has lost one of its most profound storytellers,” noted Sarah Trahern, CEO of the Country Music Association, in a statement sent to billboard after the death of Kristofferson, who had hosted the CMA Awards in 1985 with Anne Murray and 1986 with Nelson. “I have been fortunate to work with Kris on many projects over the years. His charm was exactly what you would expect – understated and slightly mysterious, yet deeply warm. A prolific writer, actor and performer, his talents were unique. We regret that we will no longer benefit from his incredible words and talents. Our condolences go out to Kris’ friends and family at this sad time.”

Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside also released a statement billboardHe writes, “Kris Kristofferson was an incredible songwriter and performer and represented the country music genre around the world through both his music and his acting career.” His solo work, along with the music of The Highwaymen, set the standard for all of country -Music, including his acting in films A star is born And songwriter made him popular all over the world. Kris Kristofferson was known as a songwriter for telling it like it is, and I am so grateful that we were able to honor him with the 2013 ACM Poet’s Award, one of his three ACM Awards. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kris’ family and all of his friends and fans.”

Lee Thomas Miller, president of the Nashville Songwriters Association, said: “Songwriters have lost an icon and a friend. As one of the founding fathers of Music Row, Kris Kristofferson set the bar for greatness in the art of songwriting. He was a true star. The air changed as he entered the room. Country music, Nashville and NSAI would not be what we are today without the incredible Kris Kristofferson.”

One of his most recorded songs, “Me and Bobby McGee,” was written at the recommendation of Monument Records founder Fred Foster. Foster had a song title in mind called “Me and Bobby McKee,” named after a secretary in his building. Kristofferson said in an interview in the magazine Interpretive songwriter that after watching the Frederico Fellini film he was inspired to write the text about a man and a woman traveling together 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 of a drug overdose in 1970. The recording became a posthumous No. 1 hit for Joplin.

In 1973, Kristofferson married fellow songwriter Rita Coolidge and together they had a successful duet career that earned them two Grammy awards. They divorced in 1980.

In 2021, he retired from performing and recording, only occasionally appearing on stage as a guest.