Kris Kristofferson: Top 5 (Or Maybe 10) Essential Tracks

Kris Kristofferson remained humble regarding his abilities.

He didn't like being referred to as a poet and enjoyed it more when others played his music instead.

He once confided to record producer Fred Foster, 'I croak like a bullfrog.'

Exactly," Foster responded, "yet a bullfrog with communication skills.

Kristofferson's straightforward vocals might not have exhibited extensive range, yet they conveyed something far more significant: conviction.

Whenever he performed about heartbreak, romance, melancholy, wild evenings, and remorseful dawns, you found yourself believing each syllable.

This was partially due to his refusal to push a song into being - as he stated, "I would have to wait for inspiration to strike before writing anything" - and also because he possessed an ability to explore the fundamental essence of emotions.

Although his songwriting wasn’t particularly intricate, the way he used simple chord progressions alongside clever turns of phrase sparked a revolution in country music.

"You can observe Nashville before Kris and after Kris, as he transformed everything," Bob Dylan once stated.

These are among his most notable tracks.

1) Me and Bobby McGee

One of Kristofferson's most lasting hits, Me and Bobby McGee It began as a songwriting challenge.

The founder of Monument Records, Foster, harbored feelings for his secretary, Barbara "Bobbie" McKee, and sought out a song that would win her over.

Kristofferson agreed to take on the task, yet discovering motivation proved elusive.

He stated in 1973 that he steered clear of Foster for about three or four months due to the constant barrage of thoughts swirling in his mind.

I was driving back to New Orleans one evening when the windshield wipers were moving, and everything began to fall into place.

He drew inspiration for the song from the final scene of the Fellini movie "La Strada" (The Road), where a disheartened, drunkard gazes despondently at the ocean, lamenting how his life has unraveled and the love he has forfeited.

Kristofferson transformed that narrative into the story of two wanderers who encounter love during their travels but are ultimately parted by mortality.

It includes one of his most remarkable lyrics: Freedom is merely a phrase for having nothing else to abandon / What has no value isn't worth anything — yet it's free.

Initially performed by Roger Miller, the song achieved top billing as a number-one hit for Janis Joplin, who recorded it shortly before she passed away in 1970.

2) On Sunday Morning, It's Coming Down

When I woke up on Sunday morning, every movement made my head throb.

"And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad, so I had one more for dessert."

The bleakness conveyed through Kristofferson's somber performance indicates that this track delves deeper than merely being about a severe hangover.

As it advances, the main character gradually discloses more information regarding the reasons behind his alcohol-filled life.

The aroma of fried chicken brings back memories of "something that I'd lost."

He pauses outside a Sunday school simply to listen to the children's singing.

The intense feelings of isolation and self-hatred are depicted powerfully — Kristofferson mentioned that he penned the lyrics during his time as a struggling musician residing in a run-down apartment building following his parents' rejection and when his spouse and child decided to move to California without him.

He remarked that Sunday was the most difficult day of the week for those without a family.

As the story goes, Kristofferson flew a helicopter into Johnny Cash’s yard, landed, and insisted on staying until Cash agreed to hear his demo tape.

Cash was so impressed that he played the song on his American television show.

The Country Music Association awarded his recorded song of the year in 1970.

Kristofferson's own version emerged on his first studio album that very year.

3) Assist Me in Surviving the Night

Kristofferson, alongside fellow musicians like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, was a key figure in the "outlaw country" movement, which resisted Nashville’s commercial influence and artistic constraints.

Talking about his position in the nation's landscape, back in 1970, He informed The New York Times I am not anyone’s closest confidant.

Everyone insisted that I wouldn't succeed in Nashville and advised me to move to California or New York instead.

He had ruffled the feathers of those in power, thanks to tracks like "Blame It on the Stones" and "The Law Is for the Protection of the People," both of which criticized American conservatism.

His most famous song Additionally, it caused controversy due to its frank portrayal of sexual longing, particularly when it was recorded (and reached Number One) by the female country artist Sammi Smith.

Kristofferson mentioned that the lyrics were influenced by a Frank Sinatra interview.

When queried about his beliefs, Old Blue Eyes replied: "Alcohol, women, or a holy book... whichever gets me through the night."

Smith’s luscious performance marked a rebellious advance for country music, yet Kristofferson’s rendition—hoarse and saturated with longing—is equally exhilarating.

4) Jody and the Child

"The initial great song I penned," Kristofferson stated regarding Jody and the Kid, which he created during his time as a janitor at Columbia Records in the 1960s

Similar to "Me and Bobby McGee," this piece is imbued with nostalgia and longing, as the artist recounts a girl he once walked everywhere with, remembering her "little blue jeans folded up above her knees."

As time passes, they fall in love and age together, continuing to walk hand in hand wherever they go.

When the music stops, the storyteller walks along familiar routes accompanied by his daughter—yet upon meeting neighbors who approach him, he mourns that his spouse can’t be part of this moment.

Kristofferson's solemn, emotionally charged voice is mesmerizing and profoundly moving.

It’s equally worthwhile to listen to his 1999 re-recording of the song on the album "The Austin Sessions," as his more mature, rugged vocals add extra emotion to it.

5) Why Me?

If the character from Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down was feeling down, this depicts them as being at their absolute lowest.

" God, what have I possibly achieved / To be worthy of just one / Of the joys I've experienced? "

After participating in a service at Jimmie Snow's church in Nashville, Kristofferson felt inspired to pen the song.

Everyone was on their knees when Jimmy remarked, 'Anyone who can’t find their way, lift your hand.' he said .

I rarely attend church, and raising my hand was completely off-limits.

I was thinking, 'I cannot fathom who might be behind this,' when abruptly I noticed my hand raising itself.

Following his conversation with the preacher, Kristofferson mentioned, "I ended up crying in public," and experienced a sense of forgiveness he hadn’t realized was necessary.

The track serves as a response to that instant—a gradual, sorrowful acknowledgment of his previous actions, coupled with an earnest plea for absolution.

Recorded alongside his future spouse, Rita Coolidge, the gospel-infused ballad resonated deeply with listeners in 1973, earning the lead performer their sole top position on the country music charts.

Additional Listening: Another five must-listen tracks

6) I Dislike Your Unattractive Appearance - The initial song written by Kristofferson when he was 11 years old. This cynical dismissal of common country music themes showcases the beginnings of his skill in narrative writing.

7) They Killed Him - A tribute to Kristofferson's icons—Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King—which was later revisited by Dylan. "When Dylan covers one of your songs, it feels akin to a playwright having Shakespeare perform in their production," remarked Kristofferson.

8) Loving Her Was Simpler (Than Any Other Thing I Will Ever Experience Again) - This song stands out as one of his most romantic tracks and was Kristofferson's initial success on the charts back in 1971. He revisited this piece later when he performed it alongside The Highwaymen, an influential group comprising outlaw country musicians including Cash, Jennings, and Nelson.

9) There Goes That Rainbow Once More -Inspired by a moment from John Steinbeck’s novel *The Grapes of Wrath*, this poignant ballad explores how minor gestures of goodwill can come full circle. Cash reportedly referred to it as “possibly my favorite song written by any author.”

10) Please Don't Reveal How the Tale Concludes - In what seems like their final evening together, two people hold tightly onto each other and cherish every memory they've shared, wishing desperately for an end to this impending separation. Composed during the early '70s, Kristofferson first offered this song to Billy Bailey before revisiting it alongside Rita Coolidge when their own union began crumbling apart. The result of their collaboration is profoundly moving.

• Kris Kristofferson, the singer and actor known for "Special," has passed away.
• View the best moments from Kris Kristofferson's performance at Glastonbury in 1997.