Kris Kristofferson Biography, Photos and Posters

Kris Kristofferson

Biography

Born: June 22, 1936
City and Country of Origin: Brownsville, Texas
Music Training:
Awards: CMA 1970 - Song of the Year, "Sunday Morning Coming Down;" Grammy 1975 Best Country Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group, "Lover Please;" 1973 Best Country Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group, "From The Bottle To The Bottom;" 1971 Best Country Song, "Help Me Make It Through The Night" Golden Globe 1977 Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy, Star Is Born, A
Top Recordings: "Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)," "For the Good Times," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," and "Me and Bobby McGee," "Why Me," "From the Bottle to the Bottom," "Watch Closely Now,"
Kris Kristofferson Biography: Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is an influential American country music songwriter, singer and actor. He is best known for hits like "Me and Bobby McGee", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night". Kristofferson is the sole author of most of his songs, but he has collaborated with various other figures of the Nashville scene such as Shel Silverstein and Fred Foster.

Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas. Like most military brats he moved around much as a youth; he finally settled down in San Mateo, California, where he graduated from San Mateo High School. Kristofferson's father was an Air Force general who pushed his son toward a military career. Kristofferson got his first dose of fame when he appeared in Sports Illustrated's "Faces In The Crowd" for his achievements in rugby, football, and track and field. An aspiring writer, Kristofferson earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University (Merton College, Oxford) after previously attending Pomona College. While in England, Kristofferson began writing songs and working with his manager Larry Parnes; he recorded for Top Rank Records under the name Kris Carson, but was unsuccessful.

In 1960, Kristofferson graduated with a master's degree in English literature and married an old girlfriend, Fran Beer. His studies of literature are reflected in his song, "The Best of All Possible Worlds"; the French writer Voltaire satirized similar ideas of philosophical optimism in his short novel Candide.

Kristofferson ultimately joined the U.S. Army and achieved the rank of captain. He became a helicopter pilot after receiving flight training at Fort Rucker in southeastern Alabama. Later, during the early 1960s, he was stationed in West Germany and returned to music and formed a band. In 1965, he resigned his commission to pursue songwriting. He had just been assigned to become a professor at West Point. Kristofferson sent some of his compositions to a friend's relative, Marijohn Wilkin, a successful Nashville, Tennessee, songwriter.

Kristofferson moved to Nashville after resigning his commission in 1965, intent on becoming a professional songwriter. There he secured a job sweeping floors at Columbia Studios.

While working in Nashville he also worked as a commercial helicopter pilot for a south Louisiana firm called Petroleum Helicopters International (PHI), based in Lafayette, Louisiana. Kristofferson recalled of his days as a pilot, "That was about the last three years before I started performing, before people started cutting my songs. . . . I would work a week down here (in south Louisiana) for PHI, sitting on an oil platform and flying helicopters. Then I'd go back to Nashville at the end of the week and spend a week up there trying to pitch the songs, then come back down and write songs for another week. . . . I can remember 'Help Me Make It Through The Night' I wrote sitting on top of an oil platform. I wrote 'Bobby Mcgee' down here, and a lot of them (in south Louisiana)."

In 1966, Dave Dudley released a successful Kristofferson single, "Viet Nam Blues". The following year, Kristofferson signed to Epic Records and released a single, "Golden Idol"/"Killing Time", but the song was not successful. Within the next few years, more Kristofferson originals hit the charts, performed by Roy Drusky ("Jody and the Kid"), Billy Walker & the Tennessee Walkers ("From the Bottle to the Bottom"), Ray Stevens ("Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down"), Jerry Lee Lewis ("Once More with Feeling") Faron Young ("Your Time's Comin'") and Roger Miller ("Me and Bobby McGee", "Best of all Possible Worlds", "Darby's Castle"). He also gained some success as a performer himself, due to Johnny Cash's introduction of Kristofferson at the Newport Folk Festival. He got Cash's attention when he landed his helicopter in Cash's yard and gave him some tapes.

Kristofferson signed to Monument Records as a recording artist. The label was run by Fred Foster, also manager of Combine Music, Kristofferson's songwriting label. His debut album for Monument in 1970 was Kristofferson, which included a few new songs as well as many of his previous hits. Sales were poor, although this debut album would become a success the following year when it was re-released under the title Me & Bobby MeGee. Kristofferson's compositions were still in high demand. Ray Price ("For the Good Times"), Waylon Jennings ("The Taker"), Bobby Bare ("Come Sundown"), Johnny Cash ("Sunday Morning Coming Down") and Sammi Smith ("Help Me Make It Through the Night") all recorded successful versions of his songs in the early 1970s. "For the Good Times" (Ray Price) won 'Song of the Year" in 1970 from the Academy of Country Music, while "Sunday Morning Coming Down" (Johnny Cash) won the same award from the Academy's rival, the Country Music Association in the same year. This is the only time an individual has won the same award from these two organizations in the same year for different songs.

In 1971, Janis Joplin, a very influential vocalist, had a #1 pop hit with "Me and Bobby McGee" from her posthumous Pearl. More hits followed from others: Ray Price ("I Won't Mention It Again", "I'd Rather Be Sorry"), Joe Simon ("Help Me Make It Through the Night"), Bobby Bare ("Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends"), O.C. Smith ("Help Me Make It Through the Night") Jerry Lee Lewis ("Me and Bobby McGee"), Patti Page ("I'd Rather Be Sorry") and Peggy Little ("I've Got to Have You"). Kristofferson released his second album, The Silver Tongued Devil and I in 1971; the album was a success and established Kristofferson's career as a recording artist in his own right. Not long after, Kristofferson made his acting debut in The Last Movie (directed by Dennis Hopper) and appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival. In 1972, he acted in Cisco Pike and released his third album, Border Lord; the album was all-new material and sales were sluggish. He also swept the Grammies that year with numerous songs nominated and several winning song of the year. Kristofferson's 1972 fourth album, Jesus Was a Capricorn initially had slow sales, but the third single, "Why Me", was a success and significantly increased album sales.

At this point in his career Kris shifted his focus away from music and towards the movies. Since then he has starred in numerous motion pictures including: Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Blume in Love (1973), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), A Star Is Born (1976), Convoy (1978), Heaven's Gate (1980) and Blade: Trinity (2004).

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