Kris Kristofferson, the revered songwriter whose poetic lyrics transcended genre, has died at age 88.
of legendary compositions like “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” and “Me and Bobby McGee,”transformed lyrics into literature, elevating the craft to a legitimate American art form in a way few had done before. Part Romantic poet, part folk troubadour, part country-music storyteller, Kristofferson died Saturday at the age of 88.
Although intent on becoming a novelist, Kristofferson concentrated his studies on the poetry of William Blake, and penned and performed his first songs while studying at Oxford’s Merton College. In England, he cut his first singles for Top Rank Records, although they went unreleased at the time. After earning a master’s degree in English literature from Oxford in 1960, Kristofferson, who planned to resume his studies there, flew home to California for Christmas break.
That career path didn’t sit well with Kristofferson’s mother, who sent him a letter telling him he was throwing his life away by writing songs and idolizing Johnny Cash. Kristofferson and Cash later shared a laugh together when Clement showed Cash that infamous letter. “It’s always great to get a letter from home, isn’t it, Kris?” Cash joked.
In 1970, Ray Price released his countrypolitan recording of Kristofferson’s “For the Good Times,” which helped the composition win the Academy of Country Music’s Song of the Year. Cash’s version of “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” secured the Song of the Year award that same year from the Country Music Association. Kristofferson’s double win for Song of the Year in 1970 marked the only time a single individual has ever won the same award from the ACM and CMA in the same year for two different songs.
By the end of the Seventies, Kristofferson had released nine solo albums with varying critical results. His first two LPs were buoyed by the ubiquity of their material and feature two of the most iconic lines in popular music: “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose,” from “Me and Bobby McGee,” and “He’s a walkin’ contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction,” from “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33,” written about some of his comrades, including Cash and Hopper.
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