R.I.P. Kris Kristofferson
Country music legend Kris Kristofferson has died, according to a statement made by his family. His cause of death has not been announced. He was 88.
Born in Brownsville, Texas, Kristofferson moved a lot during his childhood because of his father’s career in the Air Force. His family eventually settled in San Mateo, California, and Kristofferson attended Pomona College. He tried to start a career in music thereafter, but he was unsuccessful in his first attempt, and under pressure from his family, he joined the U.S. Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant.
Kristofferson left the Army in 1965 and resumed working on his music, and he took a job sweeping floors at Columbia Records as well as working as a commercial helicopter pilot. He wrote songs like “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Sunday Morning Coming Down” during this time, which were recorded by Janis Joplin and Johnny Cash, respectively. He also wrote songs that were recorded by Gladys Knight and Waylon Jennings.
His first studio album Kristofferson was released in 1970, which featured his own recordings of “Sunday Morning” and “Bobby McGee,” which was followed by 1971’s The Silver Tongued Devil and I. From that point on, he regularly released studio albums, nearly two dozen up to 2012’s Feeling Mortal. In 1985, he formed the Highwaymen with fellow legends of outlaw country Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. They released three studio albums—1985’s Highwayman, 1990’s Highwayman 2, and 1995’s The Road Goes on Forever—played numerous shows together and starred together in Stagecoach.
Kristofferson also had a prolific acting career that included Cisco Pike, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, as well as 1976’s A Star is Born opposite Barbra Streisand. He also starred in the Blade series of films, as well as in 2012’s Joyful Noise with Dolly Parton. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 2014, and he’s been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
