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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZKRISTOFFERSON, Kris(b 22 June 1936, Brownsville TX) Singer-songwriter, actor with gravelly voice. He had a colourful early career as Rhodes Scholar, pop singer, soldier, helicopter pilot; studying in UK in the mid-'50s he fell in with Tommy Steele's manager, who changed his name to Kris Carson, but singles flopped. He was a janitor at CBS studios in Nashville mid-'60s, said to have cleaned ashtrays while Bob Dylan made Blonde On Blonde. He was encouraged by Johnny Cash, who later recorded 'Me And Bobby McGee', also covered by Janis Joplin and Roger Miller and became a standard. Cash wrote a sleeve note for debut LP Me And Bobby McGee '71, which also included 'Help Me Make It Through The Night', 'Sunday Morning Comin' Down'. The Silver-Tongued Devil And I '71 confirmed his major stature as a writer; he made a well-received acting debut in Cisco Pike '72 with Gene Hackman; but marriage to Rita Coolidge accompanied a decline in his writing: Jesus Was A Capricorn '72, Full Moon '73 and Spooky Lady's Sideshow '74 were lacklustre. His acting career boomed however in Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid (with Dylan) and Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia '74, Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore '75, A Star Is Born '76 with Barbra Streisand, others. Easter Island '78 was a better LP; Songs Of Kristofferson '77 and Help Me Make It Through The Night '80 were good compilations. His acting career was hurt by the unfair flop of the western Heaven's Gate '80, guaranteed by critical savagery before it was even released; though he was well received in the Willie Nelson film Songwriter '85. His songs were covered by Perry Como, Gladys Knight, Nelson, others; he appeared with Waylon Jennings, Nelson and Cash on hit LP The Highwayman and the country supergroup made two more albums; he appeared with Nelson at Farm Aid '85. At his best he is a genuinely perceptive writer whose work will continue to be covered; Repossessed '86 was highly rated, his first collection of new songs in five years, and Third World Warrior '90 on Mercury had a biting political edge. He toured as a member of the Highwaymen and with his own band. The Highwaymen were honoured in 2016 by a documentary film in PBS's American Masters series and a multiple CD/DVD set from Sony Legacy. |