Kris Kristofferson, who died at the age of 88, was among the most productive artists of his generation. In a career spanning six decades, he has released 18 studio albums, as well as compilation recordings, live albums and collaborations.
A well-known country singer, she was admired for the courage and vulnerability in her songwriting; perhaps most notably was his despairing, exhausting 1972 song “Why Me,” which topped the U.S. country charts.
In addition to a successful music career, Kristofferson has received critical praise and won many awards for his work as an actor. He received a Golden Globe for Best Actor when he played the lead role in the 1976 film. A Star Is Born, Two years after working with Barbra Streisand on a romantic comedy with Martin Scorsese Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
But as Kristofferson says, he always saw himself as a songwriter first and foremost. Guard In a 2008 interview: “Without songwriting, none of the other things would have happened.
“I began to appreciate how special a song is compared to other art forms, because you can carry it in your head and in your heart and it remains a part of you.”
He added: “It comes as natural to me as a bird, it always has. “This is the way singer-songwriters make sense of our lives.”
Here are five songs you didn’t realize were written by Kristofferson.
Once More With Feeling (1969)
Written by Kristofferson with writer and musician Shel Silverstein, this track was originally recorded by rock ‘n’ roll star Jerry Lee Lewis and appears on his 13th album. He even woke me up to say goodbye.
Released as a single, the song topped the Cash Box Country Singles chart in 1970 and reached No. 2 on the Billboard country chart. Nearly a decade later, Kristofferson recorded this song himself on his ninth album, 1979. Shake Hands with the Devil.
The lyrics read: “We’re just going through the motions/The pieces we learned to play/We were never quite together like before/But somehow I fell in love with something good/I got lost along the way/And our song is nothing like that/It’s special anymore.”
Here Comes Sunday Morning (1970)
Legend has it that Kristofferson was so desperate to catch the attention of his hero Johnny Cash that he landed a helicopter in his yard, beer in hand, and handed him his demo tape.
The singer-songwriter would later tell reporters that, yes, the Man in Black had landed a helicopter at his house, that he wasn’t home at the time, that the demo tape was a song that no one had actually cut, and that he certainly hadn’t cut it. He couldn’t fly a helicopter with a beer in his hand.
In any case, Cash recorded “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” topping the country charts and winning the CMA award for Song of the Year.
“I’m really grateful for this song because it opened so many doors for me,” Kristofferson said in a 2013 interview with NPR. “A lot of people I admire admired it. “It was actually the song that made me stop working for a living.”
For Good Times (1970)
The song “For the Good Times”, which established Kristofferson as one of the most sought-after songwriters of his generation, has been the subject of countless interpretations by Bill Nash, Perry Como, Al Green, Dolly Parton and, perhaps most famously, Ray. Price – who turned the heartbreaking tune into a #1 hit in 1970.
Kristofferson’s lyrics are particularly poignant: “Don’t look so sad/ I know it’s over/ But life goes on/ And this old world will keep turning/ Let’s rejoice/ We had some time to spend together/ There’s no need to watch the bridges/ It was burning.”
Help Me Make It Through the Night (1970)
One of Kristofferson’s most covered songs, “Help Me Make It Through the Night” got a big break when Sammi Smith’s version reached No. 1 in 1970. Smith won a Grammy for Best Female performance the following year (Kristofferson took home the award for Best Country Song). ) and inspired many major artists to release their own renditions, including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Gladys Knight, Tammy Wynette, and Joan Baez.
When he came up with the idea for the song, Kristofferson was working as a helicopter pilot (which meant he could deliver songs to Johnny Cash by helicopter). He was reportedly inspired by an interview with Frank Sinatra in 1963. Playboy, The singer said: “I’m ready for anything to get you through the night, whether it’s a prayer, a tranquilizer or a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.”
Me and Bobby McGee (1970)
Kristofferson generally wrote as the mood struck, but he eventually responded to the call of Monument Records founder Fred Foster, who suggested a song title named after a secretary he knew. “For three or four months I stayed away from him because only thoughts were running through my mind,” Kristofferson said in 1973. “I was driving back to New Orleans one night, the windshield wipers were on and they started falling together.”
Lyrics inspired by Fellini movie La Strada (Road) and followed two lovers who traveled together but became estranged from each other. This song was originally recorded by honky tonk singer Roger Miller in 1968, before Janis Joplin, whom Kristofferson briefly dated, recorded the definitive 1971 version of what would become his second posthumous album. Pearl.
Kristofferson had no idea Joplin had recorded it until it was released: “I walked all over Los Angeles in tears afterward,” she recalled to Performing Songwriter years later. “I couldn’t listen to the song without actually leaving.” The song became Joplin’s biggest hit and was later covered by stars such as Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Olivia Newton-John.