From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sat Jun 22, 2002  1:48 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Kris Kristofferson
 
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON (By Shaun Mather)

Born 22 June 1936, Brownsville, Texas

For me at least, Kris Kristofferson is best remembered as a songwriter.
Although I've got a couple of his albums, his versions never quite seem as
good as the covers from the likes of Jerry Lee, Johnny Cash and Elvis. The
best of his writings rank as some of the finest songs ever written in both
country and popular music.

Born in Texas to a retired Air Force Major-General, he spent his school
years in California before winning a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University
in 1958. Whilst in Britain he actually recorded some tracks for Top Rank
as Kris Carson but they went unreleased. After earning a master's degree
in English literature he joined the Army, becoming a helicopter pilot in
Germany, eventually rising to the rank of captain. With his life sounding
like something from a movie he left the army in 1965 and headed for
Nashville where he was signed as a writer by songwriter Marijon Wilkins to
Buckhorn Music. As well as writing, he held a variety of jobs including
janitorial work, bartending, and flying helicopters to and from offshore oil
rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

With his long haired and Outlaw manner he, together with fellow hell-raisers
Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Bobby Bare were different
from the image that 60's Nashville was trying to portray. As a songwriter his
first success came with Viet Nam Blues by Dave Dudley in 1966, followed by
Roy Drusky who scored with Jody and the Kid, and Billy Walker had a hit
with From the Bottle to the Bottom. Roger Miller cut a few of his numbers
including Best of All Possible Worlds and Darby's Castle but it was his
version of Me And Bobby McGee that gave Kristofferson's writing more credos
than before. (Jerry Lee cut the definitive version which is played on Radio
2 on a weekly basis). Johnny Cash and Ray Stevens recorded Sunday Mornin'
Comin' Down, Faron Young took Your Time's Comin' into the top five, and
Jerry Lee Lewis hit again with Once More With Feeling.

His self-titled 1970 debut album for Monument Records, originally titled Me
And Bobby McGee, was a high point of country songwriting, including in its
groove, the title track plus For The Good Times, Help Me Make It Through The
Night, Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down and Why Me? The pop world took notice
when Janis Joplin sold a million with Me And Bobby McGee and Sammi Smith
took Help Me Make It Through The Night to number one. 1972 saw the release
of his second album, The Silver Tongued Devil And I, which sold more copies
than the debut, even gaining him a gold disc. He married Rita Coolidge and
headed for Holllywood for a part in Cisco Pike and from then on gained role
after role. His most notable roles being in Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid,
Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, A Star Is Born (playing
the lead role turned down by Elvis Presley), and Convoy. Despite his success
as an actor he still remained a much in demand writer and a range of artists
from Gladys Knight & The Pips to Waylon Jennings benefited from his songs.

In 1985 he joined forces with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings
to form The Highwaymen, and revamped his solo career with a move to Mercury
Records. He toured relentlessly and recorded the critically acclaimed
album, Third World Warrior in 1990. He teamed up with producer Don Was for
1995's A Moment Of Forever and the following year starred in John Sayles'
movie Lone Star. He has since enjoyed leading roles in Fire Down Below,
Blade, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries and Limbo.

Recommended listening:
Kristofferson (Monument 1970; reissued Sony-Legacy 2001).
The Songs Of Kristofferson (Monument 1977).
The Legendary Years (Connoisseur 1990).
Website: http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/usr/h92/h9250253/kris/kk.html