A True Star Was Born

Who could have predicted that a star was born June 22, 1936, in Brownsville Texas by the name of Kristoffer Kristofferson; better known as Kris Kristofferson.

Kris was so much more than a country music songwriter; his list of accomplishments goes on and on. One has to wonder if he felt disappointed that a main goal of his was left undone; to write a novel. If he had, I have no doubt that it would have been on the best seller list. His essays, 'The Rod', and "Gone Are The Days', were published in the Atlantic Monthly. Although he didn't initially aspire to be a songwriter he did very well at it, writing songs not only for himself but many, many, other famous singers including the great Johnny Cash.

Kris was the child of an Air Force General and they moved a lot in his childhood as all children of veterans do. This could have given him more perspective in life or caused him to seek inward thought and reflection; we will never know.

Kris had many jobs throughout life but stated that the hardest one he ever had was with a dredging contractor on Wake Island in the Pacific. I'm sure the job gave him a lot of time to ponder life.

It seems he was born to succeed in everything he attempted from rugby, football, Golden Gloves, and track to a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature.

In 1973 Johnny Cash and Rita Coolidge presented him with an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Potomac College. As if that was not enough, he received a Rhodes Scholarship from University of Oxford where he was awarded BLUE for boxing. This is where he began writing songs.

He attained the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army where he was a helicopter pilot. After his tour in Germany ended, he declined an assignment to teach English Literature at West Point and decided to leave the Army and pursue music. He received a Verteran of the Year Award in 2003 but his family still disowned him because of his careeer choice, neglecting to see how accomplished he was at everything he did.

Kris, his wife, and son moved to Nashville where he worked at odd jobs while struggling to make a name for himself in music.

Kris wrote 'Help Me Make It Through The Night' (Gladys Knight and the Pips), and "Me and Bobby McGee', (Janis Joplin), while sitting on top of an oil rig in Louisiana where he worked during the week to make ends meet while writing music on weekends.

When Johnny Cash heard 'Sunday Morning Coming Down' he decided to record it. The story goes (whether true or fiction) that Kris would give June Carter his songs to take to Johnny but they were just filed away. One day Kris flew his helicopter into Johnny's yard and handed him 'Sunday Morning Coming Down'. True or not, it was a hit. Billy Walker and the Tennessee Walkers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Faron Young, and so many other artists had hits written by Kris Kristofferson.

Success didn't stop there. Kris was a movie star, and in movies such as as Cisco Pike, Convoy, Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More, Blade, and so many others. Don't forget A Star is Born with Barbara Streisand.

He had three marriages:
1961 Fran Beer (Divorced 1969)
1973 Rita Coolidge (Divorced by 1980)
1983 His long-time marriage with Lisa Meyers.
There were 8 children from those 3 marriages.

Kris briefly dated Janis Joplin before her death in 1970.

Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris all formed a group called The Highwaymen. The group pioneered the outlaw country subgenre and between 1985-1995 recorded 3 major labor albums, had a number one hit, Highway Man in 1985 and starred in the 1986 film Stagecoach.

Here are just a few of Kris' recognitions:
1970 CMA winner for Sunday Morning Coming Down
1973 CMA song of the year for Why Me Lord
BAFTA Award: Best Newcomer: Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
1974 CMA nominee for One Day at a Time
1976 Golden Globe: Won best actor in a musical for A Star is Born
1977 Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame
1984 Academy Award: Nominee for Best original score - songwriter
1985 Songwriter Hall of Fame
CMA Won single of the year for Highwayman
Won Video of the year for Highwayman
Nominee for Album of the year
2003 American Music Honors & Awards: Won Free Speech Award
2005 CMA Won both Cliffe Stone Pioneer Aware and Poet Award
2019 CMA Won Lifetime Achievement Award

In 2021 Kris announced retirement. He had some memory issues possibly attributed to his days of football, rugby, and boxing.

Sadly, one star above flickered on September 28, 2024 as Kris died peacefully at his home in Maui, Hawaii. He was 88 years old. He had requested this be put on his tombstone. Not sure if this is the full context or only a portion of it.

Bird on the Wire
Leonard Cohen

Like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight chair.
I have tried in my way
to be free

Word Count 859
Resources:
Wikipedia, www.biography.com, variety.com to name a few