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Kris Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936 in
Brownsville, Texas) is an influential country
music songwriter, singer and actor. 

He is best known for hits like "Me and Bobby
McGee" and "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", many of
which were co-written with Shel Silverstein or
Fred Foster. Although born in Brownsville, Texas,
he moved around a lot as a youth, finally settling
down in San Mateo, California, where he graduated
high school. An aspiring writer, Kristofferson
earned a Rhodes Scholarship to University of
Oxford|Oxford University (Merton College,
Oxford|Merton College, Oxford) after previously
attending Pomona College. Students of Merton
College later voted that the college should erect
a statue of Kristofferson, naked astride a
motorcycle of his choice, in Front Quad but funds
were never made available.  While in England,
Kristofferson began writing songs and working with
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 Beir. He joined the United States
Army and became a helicopter pilot. During the
early 1960s, he was stationed in West Germany and
returned to music and forming a band.
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. He worked a variety of odd jobs while
struggling to make it in the music business,
burdened with expensive medical bills as a result
of his son's defective esophagus. He and his wife
soon divorced. 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.

Kristofferson signed to Monument Records as a
recording artist. The label was run by Fred
Foster, also manager of Columbine Music,
Kristofferson's songwriting label. His debut album
for Monument was Kristofferson, which included a
few new songs as well as many of his previous
hits. Sales were poor. In spite of his failure as
a recording artist, 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" off her posthumous Pearl (album)|Pearl,
which was followed by more hits from Ray Price ("I
Won't Mention It Again", "I'd Rather Be Sorry"),
Joe Simon (musician)|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 Grammy
Awards|Grammies that year with numerous songs
nominated and several winning song of the year.
Kristofferson's 1972 fourth album, Jesus Was a
Capricorn began slow but the third single, "Why
Me", was a success and significantly increased
album sales.

For the next few years, Kristofferson focused on
acting. He appeared in Blume in Love (directed by
Paul Mazursky) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
(directed by Sam Peckinpah) and also married Rita
Coolidge. With his new wife, Kristofferson
released an album called Full Moon (album)|Full
Moon, another success buoyed by numerous hit
singles and Grammy nominations. However, his fifth
album, Spooky Lady's Sideshow was a commercial
failure, setting the trend for most of the rest of
his career. Artists like Ronnie Milsap and Johnny
Duncan continued to record Kristofferson's
material with much success, but his own rough
voice and anti-pop sound kept his own audience to
a minimum. He continued acting, in Bring Me the
Head of Alfredo Garcia, Alice Doesn't Live Here
Anymore, Vigilante Force, The Sailor Who Fell from
Grace with the Sea, and A Star Is Born (with
Barbra Streisand). In spite of his success with
Streisand, Kristofferson's career was heading
downward with the non-charting ninth album, Shake
Hands with the Devil (album)|Shake Hands with the
Devil.  His next film, Freedom Road, did not earn
a theatrical release in the US and he divorced
Rita Coolidge. Meanwhile, more artists were taking
his songs to the top of the charts, including Lena
Martell ("One Day at a Time") and Willie Nelson,
whose Willie Nelson Sings Kris Kristofferson LP
was a smash success. Kristofferson's next film was
Heaven's Gate (movie)|Heaven's Gate, a phenomenal
failure that temporarily ended his acting career.

In 1982, Kristofferson participated (with Willie
Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Brenda Lee) on The
Winning Hand, a country success that failed to
break into mainstream audiences. He then married
again, to Lisa Meyers, and concentrated on films
for a time, appearing in The Lost Honor of Kathryn
Beck, Flashpoint and Songwriter
(movie)|Songwriter. The latter also starred Willie
Nelson and Kristofferson was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Music
from Songwriter (an album of duets between Nelson
and Kristofferson) was a massive country success.
Nelson and Kristofferson continued their
partnership, and added Waylon Jennings and Johnny
Cash to form the supergroup (bands)|supergroup The
Highwaymen. Their first album, Highwayman
(album)|Highwayman was a huge success, and the
supergroup continued working together for a time.
In 1985, Kristoferson starred in Trouble in Mind
and released Repossessed a politically aware album
that was a country success, particularly "They
Killed Him" (also performed by Bob Dylan), a
tribute to his heroes, including Martin Luther
King, Jr., Jesus, and Mohandas Gandhi.
Kristofferson also appeared in Amerika (TV
miniseries)|Amerika at about the same time; the
mini-series was controversial, hypothesizing life
under Communism|Communist domination. In spite of
the success of Highwayman 2 in 1990,
Kristofferson's solo recording career slipped
significantly in the early 1990s, though he
continued to successfully record with the
Highwaymen. Lone Star (movie)|Lone Star (1996
film) reinvigorated Kristofferson's acting career,
and he soon appeared in Blade (movie)|Blade, Blade
II, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, Fire Down
Below, Planet of the Apes (2001 movie)|Tim
Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes and Payback
(movie)|Payback.

Kris Kristofferson was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 1977 to the
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
His last album is called "broken freedom song" and
was recorded live in San Francisco 2003.

==External links==
* http://www.chapter33.com Chapter33.com
* imdb name|id=0001434|name=Kris Kristofferson

	Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Kris Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936 in
Brownsville, Texas) is an influential country
music songwriter, singer and actor. 

He is best known for hits like "Me and Bobby
McGee" and "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", many of
which were co-written with Shel Silverstein or
Fred Foster. Although born in Brownsville, Texas,
he moved around a lot as a youth, finally settling
down in San Mateo, California, where he graduated
high school. An aspiring writer, Kristofferson
earned a Rhodes Scholarship to University of
Oxford|Oxford University (Merton College,
Oxford|Merton College, Oxford) after previously
attending Pomona College. Students of Merton
College later voted that the college should erect
a statue of Kristofferson, naked astride a
motorcycle of his choice, in Front Quad but funds
were never made available.  While in England,
Kristofferson began writing songs and working with
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 Beir. He joined the United States
Army and became a helicopter pilot. During the
early 1960s, he was stationed in West Germany and
returned to music and forming a band.
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. He worked a variety of odd jobs while
struggling to make it in the music business,
burdened with expensive medical bills as a result
of his son's defective esophagus. He and his wife
soon divorced. 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.

Kristofferson signed to Monument Records as a
recording artist. The label was run by Fred
Foster, also manager of Columbine Music,
Kristofferson's songwriting label. His debut album
for Monument was Kristofferson, which included a
few new songs as well as many of his previous
hits. Sales were poor. In spite of his failure as
a recording artist, 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" off her posthumous Pearl (album)|Pearl,
which was followed by more hits from Ray Price ("I
Won't Mention It Again", "I'd Rather Be Sorry"),
Joe Simon (musician)|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 Grammy
Awards|Grammies that year with numerous songs
nominated and several winning song of the year.
Kristofferson's 1972 fourth album, Jesus Was a
Capricorn began slow but the third single, "Why
Me", was a success and significantly increased
album sales.

For the next few years, Kristofferson focused on
acting. He appeared in Blume in Love (directed by
Paul Mazursky) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
(directed by Sam Peckinpah) and also married Rita
Coolidge. With his new wife, Kristofferson
released an album called Full Moon (album)|Full
Moon, another success buoyed by numerous hit
singles and Grammy nominations. However, his fifth
album, Spooky Lady's Sideshow was a commercial
failure, setting the trend for most of the rest of
his career. Artists like Ronnie Milsap and Johnny
Duncan continued to record Kristofferson's
material with much success, but his own rough
voice and anti-pop sound kept his own audience to
a minimum. He continued acting, in Bring Me the
Head of Alfredo Garcia, Alice Doesn't Live Here
Anymore, Vigilante Force, The Sailor Who Fell from
Grace with the Sea, and A Star Is Born (with
Barbra Streisand). In spite of his success with
Streisand, Kristofferson's career was heading
downward with the non-charting ninth album, Shake
Hands with the Devil (album)|Shake Hands with the
Devil.  His next film, Freedom Road, did not earn
a theatrical release in the US and he divorced
Rita Coolidge. Meanwhile, more artists were taking
his songs to the top of the charts, including Lena
Martell ("One Day at a Time") and Willie Nelson,
whose Willie Nelson Sings Kris Kristofferson LP
was a smash success. Kristofferson's next film was
Heaven's Gate (movie)|Heaven's Gate, a phenomenal
failure that temporarily ended his acting career.

In 1982, Kristofferson participated (with Willie
Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Brenda Lee) on The
Winning Hand, a country success that failed to
break into mainstream audiences. He then married
again, to Lisa Meyers, and concentrated on films
for a time, appearing in The Lost Honor of Kathryn
Beck, Flashpoint and Songwriter
(movie)|Songwriter. The latter also starred Willie
Nelson and Kristofferson was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Music
from Songwriter (an album of duets between Nelson
and Kristofferson) was a massive country success.
Nelson and Kristofferson continued their
partnership, and added Waylon Jennings and Johnny
Cash to form the supergroup (bands)|supergroup The
Highwaymen. Their first album, Highwayman
(album)|Highwayman was a huge success, and the
supergroup continued working together for a time.
In 1985, Kristoferson starred in Trouble in Mind
and released Repossessed a politically aware album
that was a country success, particularly "They
Killed Him" (also performed by Bob Dylan), a
tribute to his heroes, including Martin Luther
King, Jr., Jesus, and Mohandas Gandhi.
Kristofferson also appeared in Amerika (TV
miniseries)|Amerika at about the same time; the
mini-series was controversial, hypothesizing life
under Communism|Communist domination. In spite of
the success of Highwayman 2 in 1990,
Kristofferson's solo recording career slipped
significantly in the early 1990s, though he
continued to successfully record with the
Highwaymen. Lone Star (movie)|Lone Star (1996
film) reinvigorated Kristofferson's acting career,
and he soon appeared in Blade (movie)|Blade, Blade
II, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, Fire Down
Below, Planet of the Apes (2001 movie)|Tim
Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes and Payback
(movie)|Payback.

Kris Kristofferson was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 1977 to the
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
His last album is called "broken freedom song" and
was recorded live in San Francisco 2003.

==External links==
* http://www.chapter33.com Chapter33.com
* imdb name|id=0001434|name=Kris Kristofferson