Kris Kristofferson

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kris Kristofferson, 2017

Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936 in Brownsville , Texas ) is an American country singer, songwriter and actor . In the course of his 50-year career, he sold seven million albums in the United States alone. He was awarded the Grammy three times and received the honorary award for his life's work.

His best-known compositions include Me and Bobby McGee , Help Me Make It Through the Night and Sunday Morning Coming Down . In 1985, he joined forces with Waylon Jennings , Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash to form the supergroup The Highwaymen .

As an actor, he has appeared in films such as Alice No Longer Lives Here , Convoy or Heaven's Gate and the Blade trilogy. He received a Golden Globe in 1977 for his portrayal in A Star Is Born alongside Barbra Streisand .

Beginnings

The grandson of Swedish immigrants was born in Texas in 1936 to General Lars Henry Kristofferson and Mary Ann Ashbrook. The family moved often in his childhood. He finished high school in San Mateo and attended Pomona College in California . In 1958 he received his degree in literature. He received a Rhodes scholarship for the Merton College of the University of Oxford . In England , where he recorded his first pieces of music under the name Kris Karson, he was initially unsuccessful.

After graduating from university in English literature in 1960, he married his childhood friend Frances Mavia "Fran" Beer. He joined the US Army and became a helicopter pilot . From 1962 to 1965 he was stationed in Bad Kreuznach . Kristofferson would then teach literature at the United States Military Academy at West Point . In 1965, however, he left the army and moved to Nashville to begin a music career in the "Mecca of country music". He initially earned his living doing odd jobs, working as a helicopter pilot for an oil company in the Gulf of Mexico . When his son's esophageal disease also put financial strain on the family, his wife filed for divorce.

Career

Kris Kristofferson, 2018

In 1966 he achieved his first small success as a songwriter with the single Viet Nam Blues recorded by Dave Dudley . In 1969 Roger Miller recorded Me and Bobby McGee, written by Kristofferson and Fred Foster . Finally, Johnny Cash recognized Kristofferson's talent and achieved a number one hit in the country charts in 1970 with his Sunday Morning Coming Down , in which Ray Stevens had already been represented with the same song a year earlier . Kristofferson got a contract with Monument Records . The blues singer Janis Joplin made Me and Bobby McGee world famous, and Kristofferson himself became successful as a singer with songs like Loving Her Was Easier and Why Me . In 1972 his composition Help Me Make It Through the Night in the version by Sammi Smith was awarded two Grammys . Kristofferson worked with producer and label owner Fred Foster until July 1982.

In 1973 he married the singer Rita Coolidge . The two, who have one child together, were also successful as a duet and were twice awarded a Grammy for best duo. The marriage was divorced in 1980 due to increasing alcohol problems Kristoffersons. He has been married to Lisa Meyers since 1983; the family has lived with their five children on the Hawaiian island of Maui since 1992 .

In the 1980s and 1990s Kristofferson, who among other things was committed to the Sandinista in Nicaragua , increasingly appeared with political songs like Sandinista , Don't Let the Bastards (Get You Down) or The Eagle & The Bear . Kristofferson also achieved international success from 1985 to 1995 as a member of the country band The Highwaymen , along with his long-time friends Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings .

He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame at the 2004 CMA Awards ceremony and is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame . After a long break, Kristofferson returned in March 2006 with the album This Old Road , followed by Closer to the Bone in 2009 . In 2012 he released the album Feeling Mortal under his own label . In June 2016 the double album The Cedar Creek Sessions was released on the occasion of his 80th birthday . In 2015, American pop magazine Rolling Stone listed Kristofferson as 87th of the 100 best songwriters of all time . In spring 2018 he toured the United States and Europe.

Instruments

Kris Kristofferson prefers to play Gibson flat- top guitars , mostly J-45 models. In his honor, the company that brought Kristofferson SJ - signature guitar out. He is also good at the harmonica .

Kristofferson as an actor

In addition to his musical career, Kristofferson has also worked as a film actor since the 1970s. In 1971, after a small role in The Last Movie, he made his film debut in Cisco Pike , in which he played the lead role alongside Gene Hackman . 1974 followed with Alice no longer lives here , which brought the leading actress Ellen Burstyn an Oscar . In 1976 he starred in the remake of A Star Is Born on the side of Barbra Streisand . For this role he was awarded a Golden Globe .

Kristofferson has often starred in late wests like Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett Chasing Billy the Kid . In Convoy he played the truck driver Rubber Duck, in the Blade series he played Abraham Whistler. In Heaven's Gate by Michael Cimino , he played the lead role. Also worth mentioning is his role as Ringo Kid in Hell's Journey to Lordsburg (Stagecoach) , where he appeared alongside his Highwaymen colleagues Cash, Nelson and Jennings.

Discography

For productions as part of the supergroup The Highwaymen see here .

Studio albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
AT AT UK UK US US Country Country
1970 Kristofferson - - US43
gold
gold

(22 weeks)US 		Country10 (26 weeks)
Country
1971 The Silver Tongued Devil And I. - - US21st
gold
gold

(28 weeks)US 		Country4 (20 weeks)
Country
1972 Border Lord - - US41 (16 weeks)
US 		Country6 (16 weeks)
Country
Jesus Was A Capricorn - - US31
gold
gold

(54 weeks)US 		Country1 (35 weeks)
Country
1973 Full moon - - US26th
gold
gold

(33 weeks)US 		Country1 (22 weeks)
Country
1974 Spooky Lady's Sideshow - - US78 (14 weeks)
US 		Country11 (21 weeks)
Country
Breakaway - - US103 (12 weeks)
US 		Country19 (12 weeks)
Country
with Rita Coolidge
1975 Who's to Bless and Who's to Blame - - US105 (11 weeks)
US 		Country23 (9 weeks)
Country
1976 Surreal thing - - US180 (2 weeks)
US 		Country17 (11 weeks)
Country
A Star Is Born OST - UK-
platinum
platinum
UK 		US1
Quadruple platinum
× 4
Quadruple platinum

(51 weeks)US 		-
1978 Easter Island - - US86 (7 weeks)
US 		Country21 (9 weeks)
Country
Natural Act - UK35 (4 weeks)
UK 		US106 (9 weeks)
US 		Country24 (12 weeks)
Country
with Rita Coolidge
1979 Shake Hands With the Devil - - US86 (7 weeks)
US 		Country21 (9 weeks)
Country
1982 Kris, Willie, Dolly & Brenda ... The Winning Hand - - US109 (14 weeks)
US 		Country4 (24 weeks)
Country
1984 Music from songwriters - - US152 (5 weeks)
US 		Country21 (15 weeks)
Country
with Willie Nelson
1986 Repossessed - - - Country31 (26 weeks)
Country
1990 Third World Warrior AT22 (7 weeks)
AT 		- - -
1999 The Austin Sessions - - - Country26 (12 weeks)
Country
2006 This Old Road - - US172 (1 week)
US 		Country36 (10 weeks)
Country
2009 Closer to the bone - - US167 (1 week)
US 		Country29 (19 weeks)
Country
2012 Feeling Mortal - - - Country28 (7 weeks)
Country

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More studio albums

  • 1971: Cisco Pike (EP)
  • 1979: Shake Hands With the Devil
  • 1981: To the Bone
  • 1995: A Moment Of Forever
  • 2016: The Cedar Creek Sessions

Live albums

  • 1992: Live at the Philharmonic (recorded in 1972)
  • 2003: Broken Freedom Song: Live from San Francisco (recorded 2002)
  • 2006: Live From Austin, Texas (recorded 1981)
  • 2014: An Evening with Kris Kristofferson: The Pilgrim: Ch 77 - Union Chapel, London
  • 2016: Live at the Big Sur Folk Festival

Compilations

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
AT AT UK UK US US Country Country
1977 Songs of Kristofferson - - US45
gold
gold

(18 weeks)US 		Country8 (24 weeks)
Country
2010 Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends:
The Publishing Demos 		- - - Country61 (3 weeks)
Country
2011 Playlist: The Very Best of Kris Kristofferson - UK-
silver
silver
UK 		- Country75 (1 week)
Country

More compilations

  • 2004: The Essential Kris Kristofferson
  • 2016: The Complete Monument & Columbia Album Collection

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US Country Country
1971 Lovin 'Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)
The Silver Tongued Devil and I 		US26 (13 weeks)
US 		-
1972 Josie
Border Lord 		US63 (8 weeks)
US 		Country70 (2 weeks)
Country
Jesus Was a Capricorn
Jesus Was a Capricorn 		US91 (3 weeks)
US 		-
1973 Why Me
Jesus Was a Capricorn 		US16
gold
gold

(38 weeks)US 		Country1 (20 weeks)
Country
A song I'd Like to Sing
Full Moon 		US49 (10 weeks)
US 		Country92 (5 weeks)
Country
with Rita Coolidge
1974 Loving Arms
Full Moon 		US86 (5 weeks)
US 		Country98 (2 weeks)
Country
with Rita Coolidge
Rain
breakaway 		- Country87 (4 weeks)
Country
with Rita Coolidge
1977 Watch Closely Now
A Star Is Born OST 		US52 (6 weeks)
US 		-
1979 Prove It to You One More Time Again
Shake Hands with the Devil 		- Country91 (5 weeks)
Country
1981 Nobody Loves Anybody Anymore
To the Bone 		- Country68 (7 weeks)
Country
1984 How Do You Feel About Foolin 'Around
Music From Songwriter 		- Country46 (11 weeks)
Country
1986 They Killed Him
Repossessed 		- Country67 (6 weeks)
Country

More singles

  • 1967: Golden Idol
  • 1970: To Beat the Devil
  • 1970: Jody and the Kid
  • 1971: Taker (with Rita Coolidge)
  • 1972: Jesse Younger
  • 1974: I May Smoke Too Much
  • 1975: Easy, Come On
  • 1975: The Year 2000 minus 25
  • 1975: Lover Please (with Rita Coolidge)
  • 1975: We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds (with Rita Coolidge)
  • 1976: It's Never Gonna Be The Same Again
  • 1978: Forever in Your Love
  • 1980: I'll Take Any Chance I Can With You
  • 1981: Here Comes That Rainbow Again
  • 1982: Put It off Until Tomorrow (with Dolly Parton )
  • 1987: Love Is The Way
  • 1987: El Coyote
  • 2006: This Old Road
  • 2009: Closer to the Bone

Filmography (selection)

literature

  • Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia Of Pop, Rock And Soul , 3rd Revised Edition, New York, St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 388-390, ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .

Web links

Commons : Kris Kristofferson  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Kris Kristofferson  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kris Kristofferson. June 4, 2019, accessed October 2, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Kris Kristofferson ••• Top Songs as Writer ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Kris Kristofferson's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. P. 75
  5. ↑ https://www.amazon.com/Cedar-Creek-Sessions-Kris-Kristofferson/dp/B01F7N2MH8
  6. ↑ The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Rolling Stone , August 2015, accessed August 7, 2017 .
  7. ↑ The Kristofferson SJ Signature on gibson.com ( April 26, 2012 memento in the Internet Archive ), accessed May 11, 2012
  8. ↑ a b c Chart sources: AT UK US
  9. ↑ a b c Music Sales Awards: US UK
personal data
SURNAME Kristofferson, Kris
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kristofferson; Kristoffer (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American country singer, songwriter, and actor
DATE OF BIRTH June 22, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Brownsville , Texas, United States