Kris Kristofferson, the legendary and prolific songwriter, singer, and actor, died over the weekend at the age of 88. His songwriting includes “Me and Bobby McGee”, “For the Good Times”, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”, and “Help Me Make It Through the Night”, which were all hits for other artists. He was also known for acting in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, A Star Is Born (which won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor), Convoy, and the Blade trilogy.
As a child, Kristofferson moved around a lot because of his father’s military career. After graduating highschool in San Mateo, California, Kristofferson attended Pomona College, hoping to become a writer. There, he played rugby, and football, and ran track and field, which led to his appearance in a 1958 issue of Sports Illustrated. Also in 1958, Kristofferson was award a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he studied at Merton College and graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in English literature.
After college, under pressure from his family, Kristofferson joined the U.S. Army. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and earned the rank of captain. He became a helicopter pilot and completed Ranger School. He left the army in 1965 and moved to Nashville to chase his dream of being a musician. Kristofferson took many odd jobs while struggling to get his foot in the door, including sweeping floors at Columbia Recording Studios. There he met June Carter and asked her to give Johnny Cash one of his tapes. She did, but Cash threw it in a pile along with others. Weeks after giving Carter his tape, Kristofferson landed his helicopter on Cash’s front lawn, which finally got his attention.
After hearing his song “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”, Cash decided to record it, and Kristofferson won Songwriter of the Year for the song at the Country Music Association Awards in 1970. In 1971, Janis Joplin had a hit with his song “Me and Bobby McGee” from her posthumous album Pearl. More hits followed from other artists, including O.C. Smith, Patti Page, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Kristofferson was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 1985. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. He announced his retirement in 2021, and his final concert was held in Florida in February 2020. Kristofferson died at his home in Maui at the age of 88.
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