Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a sharp writing style and rugged charisma who rose to prominence as a country music icon and Hollywood star, has passed away. He was 88.
Kristofferson died peacefully at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, surrounded by family, according to family spokesperson Ebie McFarland. No cause of death was provided.
A native of Brownsville, Texas, Kristofferson began his songwriting career in the late 1960s, penning timeless classics like Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,Help Me Make it Through the Night,For the Good Times, and Me and Bobby McGee. Though a talented singer in his own right, many of his songs achieved fame through other artists. Ray Price gave voice to For the Good Times, while Janis Joplin immortalized Me and Bobby McGee.
In addition to his music career, Kristofferson found success as an actor, starring in Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film *Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore*, playing opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1976 version of *A Star Is Born*, and appearing alongside Wesley Snipes in the 1998 Marvel film *Blade*.
A poet at heart, Kristofferson had a talent for blending folk-style lyrics of loneliness and love into mainstream country music. Influenced by Bob Dylan, his counterculture persona—complete with long hair, bell-bottoms, and songs of personal reflection—made him part of a new wave of country songwriters, alongside Willie Nelson, John Prine, and Tom T. Hall.
There’s no better songwriter alive than Kris Kristofferson, Nelson said at a 2009 BMI award ceremony honoring Kristofferson. Everything he writes is a standard, and we’re all just going to have to live with that. Kristofferson also had a fondness for Westerns and shoot-out dramas, balancing his career between roles as a romantic lead and tough-guy cowboy.
Before becoming a musician, Kristofferson’s life was equally storied. He was a Golden Gloves boxer and college football player, earned a master’s degree in English from Merton College at Oxford University, and turned down an appointment to teach at West Point to pursue songwriting in Nashville. He took a job as a janitor at Columbia Records' studio in 1966, where he witnessed Bob Dylan recording the album *Blonde on Blonde*.
Legendary stories followed Kristofferson, including one about landing a helicopter on Johnny Cash’s lawn to deliver a demo of Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down with a beer in hand. While Cash famously exaggerated the tale, Kristofferson confirmed he did land the helicopter at Cash’s house—but the Man in Black wasn’t home, and the demo was of an entirely different song.
Kristofferson credited Cash for jumpstarting his career. Shaking his hand backstage at the Grand Ole Opry when I was still in the Army was the moment I knew I’d come back, Kristofferson said in a 2006 interview with The Associated Press. He took me under his wing even before he cut any of my songs.
Me and Bobby McGee, one of Kristofferson’s most iconic songs, was inspired by a suggestion from Monument Records founder Fred Foster, who had the title Me and Bobby McKee in mind. Kristofferson reimagined the song about a man and woman traveling the road together, drawing inspiration from Federico Fellini’s film *La Strada*. Joplin, who had a close personal connection with Kristofferson, recorded her version of the song just days before her death in 1970, transforming it into a posthumous No. 1 hit.
Throughout his career, Kristofferson recorded hits such as Why Me,Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do),Watch Closely Now,Desperados Waiting for a Train,A Song I’d Like to Sing, and Jesus Was a Capricorn.
In 1973, Kristofferson married fellow songwriter Rita Coolidge, with whom he enjoyed a successful musical partnership that earned the pair two Grammy Awards. The couple divorced in 1980.
Kristofferson retired from performing and recording in 2021, only making occasional guest appearances on stage in the final years of his life. His impact on music and film, however, remains indelible.
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