Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson (1936-2024) was an American singer-songwriter and actor from Brownsville, Texas, whose songwriting reshaped country music in the late 1960s and 1970s. A Rhodes Scholar who studied at Oxford before turning to music in Nashville, he brought a literary sensibility to country songwriting, writing plainspoken, emotionally raw lyrics about love, faith, and regret that stood apart from the polished Nashville Sound of the era.

Many of his best-known songs became hits in the voices of others: «Me and Bobby McGee» through Janis Joplin, «Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down» through Johnny Cash, and «For the Good Times» through Ray Price. His own recordings, including the album The Silver Tongued Devil and I, established him as a distinctive performer with a gravelly, understated voice suited to confessional songwriting.

In the 1980s he joined Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings to form the Highwaymen, cementing his place among the architects of outlaw country. He was also a respected actor, winning a Golden Globe for A Star Is Born, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004. He retired from performing in 2021 and died in 2024 at age 88.