Kris Kristofferson | Artist
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson was an American country singer, songwriter and actor born 1936 in Brownsville, Texas. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night", all of which were hits for other artists. In 1985, Kristofferson joined fellow country artists Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash in the country music supergroup the Highwaymen, which was a key creative force in the outlaw country music movement that eschewed the traditional Nashville country music machine in favor of independent songwriting and producing. As an actor, Kristofferson was known for his roles in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Blume in Love (1973), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), A Star Is Born (1976) (which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor), Convoy (1978), Heaven's Gate (1980), Stagecoach (1986), Lone Star (1996), and the Blade film trilogy (1998–2004). Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. After attending Pomona College in the US, Kristofferson was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford in 1958, studying at Merton College. While at Oxford, he was awarded a Blue for boxing, played rugby for his college, and began writing songs. Under the advice of his manager, Kristofferson recorded for Top Rank Records under the name Kris Carson, with a strategy to sell him as "a Yank at Oxford" to the British public; Kristofferson was willing to accept that promotional approach if it helped his singing career, which he hoped would enable him to achieve his goal of becoming a novelist. In 1960, Kristofferson graduated with a B.Phil. degree in English literature. Then, under pressure from his family, joined the U.S. Army commissioned as a second lieutenant, attaining the rank of captain and completed Ranger School. During the early 1960s, stationed in West Germany, he resumed his music career and formed a band. In 1965, after his tour in Germany ended, Kristofferson was given an assignment to teach English literature at West Point. Instead, he decided to leave the Army, pursue songwriting and move to Nashville. Struggling for success in music, he worked at odd jobs and as a helicopter pilot. At one stage he met Johnny Cash's wife June Carter and gave her a tape of his songs. Upon hearing "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", Cash recorded it, and in 1970 Kristofferson won Songwriter of the Year for the song at the Country Music Association Awards. Kristofferson signed with Monument Records and issued his debut self-tiled album in 1970. Initially selling poorly, it became a success the following year after it was re-released under the title Me & Bobby McGee. Kristofferson's songs were much in demand and in 1971 Janis Joplin, who dated Kristofferson briefly, had a number one hit with "Me and Bobby McGee" from her posthumous album Pearl. It stayed on the number-one spot on the charts for weeks. More hits followed, making Kristofferson one of the US's most successful songwriters. Following his debut album, Kristofferson went on to record 25 studio albums, including collaborations with Rita Coolidge, Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings. He was also a member of the outlaw-country supergroup The Outlaws, alongside Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Outstanding solo albums include Kristofferson (1970), The Silver Tongued Devil and I (1971), Border Lord (1972), and Jesus Was a Capricorn (1972). Kristofferson died at his home in Maui on September 28, 2024, at the age of 88. His wish was to have the first three lines of Leonard Cohen's "Bird on the Wire" on his tombstone: "Like a bird on the wire; Like a drunk in a midnight choir; I have tried in my way to be free".
Artist Website: kriskristofferson.com
Featured Albums: Kris Kristofferson
Related Artists: Rita Coolidge, The Highwaymen
