Biography of Kris Kristofferson

The '70s was a decade ripe and waiting for rebels. The Nashville establishment, though, which had sold a lot of records with the bland "Nashville Sound," wasn't quite ready for this songwriting former soldier who, with long beard and dressed in jeans, in 1970 walked on stage at the Country Music Association awards and got his award for "Sunday Morning Coming Down," a song that friend Johnny Cash had made a hit. When in the next year Janis Joplin had a hit with "Me and Bobby McGee", he was on his way, anti-establishment or not. Sammi Smith's version of "Help Me Make It through the Night" had also been a hit in 1971 --on both the country and the pop chart-- and suddenly Kristofferson's creative lyrics and memorable music made the establishment forget about his image and created a cult following.In 1973, the year he and singer Rita Coolidge married, The Silver Tongued Devil and I went gold. Meanwhile, his duets with Coolidge sold well and produced two Grammys for them. It was at about this time that his record sales began to dip, so he stepped up a film acting career. Role followed role, among them Cisco Pike, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (co-starring Bob Dylan), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Blume in Love, Rollover, etc. Critics liked his work on the silver screen, writing that Kristofferson had real talent, that he wasn't only a singer who might sell tickets. He charted again, right into the '80s, but nothing like his phenomenal sales of the previous decade, though his collaboration with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings on Highwayman (1985) produced another #1 album. This gifted songwriter, performer, and actor made success easier for subsequent musicians who, like him, don't fit into the mold. ~ David Vinopal