Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson (1936-2024) was one of the greatest country songwriters of his generation and a central figure in the outlaw country movement. A Rhodes Scholar and Army Ranger who gave up a military career to sweep floors at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville, he wrote Me and Bobby McGee, Help Me Make It Through the Night, Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down, and For the Good Times — four of the most important country songs of the 1970s. Janis Joplin's recording of Me and Bobby McGee became a number one hit after her death. Johnny Cash recorded Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down on national television in defiance of a network request to change the lyrics. As a performer Kristofferson played acoustic Martin guitars and cultivated a raw, unadorned delivery that suited his plainspoken lyric style. He was also a successful film actor, appearing in A Star Is Born (1976), Convoy (1978), and Blade (1998). He died in September 2024 at 88.