Today, we collectively doff our cowboy hats in the direction of a kind-hearted rebel, a musician/writer/actor who brought attitude and coolness to everything he did.
It’s Kris Kristofferson, of course, who passed away on the 28th at the excellent age of 88. Whether you know him as Billy the Kid, Whistler from the Blade movies, or from his ‘day job’ as an iconic country singer, you’ll be sad to hear of his passing.
What a storied life Kris lived! As a writer, several of his songs became huge hits for other artists, resulting in him winning a Grammy for ‘Help Me Make it Through the Night’, sung incredibly by Sammi Smith. This is Kris' time though, so let's have him singing it:
He had further success writing for Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin (he wrote Me & Bobby McGee, which is a long-lasting hit song for sure) and many others, in tandem with releasing his own records from his 1970 debut onwards.
As an actor, he was the male lead in the original A Star Is Born, and also worked with legendary director Martin Scorcese on 1974’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Kristofferson’s easy charm and twinkle-eyed charisma brought him over 50 film roles, whilst always writing and releasing original music.
Kris was also one quarter of the Highwayman, an all-star band of country greats who got together to prove to an ageist industry that their accumulated years were nothing if not a benefit to their songwriting ability. Besides Kristofferson, the Highwaymen included Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Talk about star power?! Sadly, only Nelson remains.
Kris Kristofferson led an incredible life, and one that included a lot of quiet, behind the scenes charity work. You’ll have seen him in movies, and you’ll have heard his songs - whether he sang them or someone else - and you’ll no doubt miss him now that he’s gone, but he left us one heck of a lot.
A life well-lived indeed. We salute Kris Kristofferson: rest easy you legend.
Kris Kristofferson
22 June 1936 - 28th September 2024
