June 22
Today is the birthday of Kris Kristofferson. He would be 90 today.
Kristoffer Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas on June 22, 1936 — deep South Texas, on the Mexican border. His father was a major general in the Air Force. Kristofferson became a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, then an Army Ranger and helicopter pilot, then a Phi Beta Kappa Golden Gloves boxer. None of it held him. He gave up a military career to move to Nashville and clean floors at Columbia Recording Studios, where he could slide demo tapes to producers between mop strokes.
The Songs That Changed Everything
Roger Miller cut “Me and Bobby McGee” in 1969. Janis Joplin recorded it days before her death in 1970 and it hit No. 1 posthumously in 1971. Johnny Cash, Rita Coolidge, and Sammi Smith all recorded Kristofferson songs. “Help Me Make It Through the Night” and “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” won CMA Song of the Year back to back in 1970 and 1971. Kristofferson became a film star — A Star Is Born, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid — without ever leaving the songwriter behind. He died September 28, 2023, in Maui. The Brownsville boy who swept floors changed country music forever. Learn more at the Texas State Historical Association.