R.I.P. Kris Kristofferson, singer, movie star, and icon of Americana
Rock star, movie star, and everything in between, Kristofferson was 88
Photo by Harry Durrant (Getty Images)
An American superstar unlike any other, Kris Kristofferson, the legendary country western songwriter, performer, and actor, has died. A spokesperson for the family announced that Kristofferson died Saturday at his home in Maui. He was 88.
Few careers are as steeped in legend as Kristofferson’s. He was a fly on the wall who watched Bob Dylan record Blonde On Blonde as a janitor at Columbia Records and landed a helicopter in Johnny Cash’s backyard. But any of the monumental moments of Kristofferson’s career would amount to the greatest moment of any other. Born in Brownsville, Texas, on June 22, 1936, Kristofferson was raised for a career in the military but soon found that no one career could contain him. After the family settled in California, he attended Pomona College and began publishing short stories in The Atlantic. At the same time, his Rugby team appeared in Sports Illustrated, and he was a Golden Gloves amateur boxer. Kristofferson became a Rhodes Scholar and studied literature at Oxford University. After Oxford, he joined the military in 1960, becoming a pilot and reaching the rank of Captain.
He left the military in 1965 and moved to Nashville, working as a janitor and a helicopter pilot for oil rigs. Mopping the floor of Columbia Records, he watched Dylan record Blonde On Blonde and began taking music more seriously. His first album, 1970’s Kristofferson, included his breakthrough song, “Me And Bobby McGee,” which became a no. 1 hit for Janis Joplin. Later that year, Kristofferson put those pilot skills to work and landed a helicopter in Johnny Cash’s backyard to get his attention. Cash decided to record “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” and Kristofferson would win Songwriter of the Year at the CMA awards. In 1971, Kristofferson would be nominated for four Grammys, including Song Of The Year and Best Country Song, for “Bobby McGee” and “Help Me Make It Through The Night.”
To say Kristofferson’s recording output was prolific would be an understatement. By the end of the ’70s, he had released over 10 albums, including the soundtrack to A Star Is Born, his 1976 megawatt Blockbuster co-led by Barbra Streisand, which won him a Golden Globe. The soundtrack to A Star Is Born spent six weeks at no. 1 on Billboard. In the mid-’80s, he formed the country music supergroup The Highwayman with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings. The quartet released three albums between 1985 and 1995.