1909
Elgin Evans*
1919 Ella Johnson*
1921 J.W. Warren*
1936 Kristoffer „Kris“ Kristofferson*
1936 Kristoffer „Kris“ Kristofferson*
1937 Cal Green*
1958 Ruby
Turner*
1959 Mario Bollinger*
1965 Florian Seyfarth*
2006 Back
Alley John+
Happy Birthday
J.W. Warren *19211)
1) das genaue Datum ist dem autor nicht bekannt
J.W. Warren was born in 1921 in Enterprise, AL. In a family of eleven children, he was the only one to take up music, starting at the age of fifteen or sixteen. He entered the military as a young adult and served for 14 years. After serving in the military, he started farming and begain to play barbeques at house parties in southeast Alabama.
"I came up the hard way. I never had a break whatsoever. In other words, I never had a break in my life. I was born in the wrong part of the world and then again I didn't go any place else. My daddy gave me a good raising and I know how to treat people, how to be respectful to folks. I like that. But I had too much trouble in my life. I didn't do anything with the talent I had because I didn't have much education. When you got a back break like I had you doubt yourself, you know it's rough man!"
J.W. Warren died of a heart attack at his home in Ariton, AL, on the afternoon of August 5, 2003.
J.W. Warren (the initials didn't stand for anything; his actual name was J.W.) was born on June 22, 1921, in Enterprise, AL, the son of John and Matilda Warren. He spent most of his life in the Ariton, AL region, picking up and learning the guitar when he was around 16 years old, and he was soon playing blues pieces at local juke joints and barbecues. He worked at a sawmill for a time before entering the U.S. military while still a teen, serving for 14 years. After his discharge, he returned to the Ariton area, where he worked as a farmer and resumed playing at the local jukes, often splitting time with Big Mama Thornton, who was also an Ariton resident (Warren has claimed he was the "hound dog" of Thornton's biggest song, "Hound Dog," but the jury is out on that one). Warren cited Blind Boy Fuller as the biggest influence on his playing, but he had his own distinct approach to the traditional blues material he favored. Warren was recorded at his home in Ariton on September 15, 1981, and March 27, 1982, by folklorist George Mitchell, and the recordings have been released by different small labels under different titles over the years, including as Bad Luck Bound on LP from Swingmaster Records and most recently as Life Ain't Worth Livin' on CD from Fat Possum Records. Music Maker Foundation also recorded Warren in 1994 and single tracks from that session have shown up on various anthologies. Warren was always reluctant to leave his hometown, so his appearances at folk clubs and festivals were relatively rare. He died at his home in Ariton on August 5, 2003.
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jw-warren-mn0000331968/biography
http://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/ROWNEW2/BabyYour.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX-8ehIm7VQ
http://www.bluenoteblues.de/
Mario Bollinger ist Gitarrist bei der Münchner Blue Note Blues Band. Für die Wasser-Prawda hat er bislang Johnny Winter, "Sir" Oliver Mally und Leo Lyons (Ten Years After) interviewt.
http://wasser-prawda.de/mario-bollinger
https://www.facebook.com/florianseyfarthguitar
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elbdelta-Allstars/306341042468?fref=ts
http://www.modernmusicschool.com/de/musiklehrer/florian-seyfarth
https://www.reverbnation.com/florianseyfarth
http://www.reverbnation.com/playlist/view_playlist/-4?page_object=artist_1423612
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYSX_tFIsZ8
J. W. Warren - Hoboing Into Hollywood
J.W. Warren was born in 1921 in Enterprise, AL. In a family of eleven
children, he was the only one to take up music, starting at the age of
fifteen or sixteen. He entered the military as a young adult and served
for 14 years. After serving in the military, he started farming and
begain to play barbeques at house parties in southeast Alabama.
"I came up the hard way. I never had a break whatsoever. In other words, I never had a break in my life. I was born in the wrong part of the world and then again I didn't go any place else. My daddy gave me a good raising and I know how to treat people, how to be respectful to folks. I like that. But I had too much trouble in my life. I didn't do anything with the talent I had because I didn't have much education. When you got a bad break like I had you doubt yourself, you know it's rough man!"
J.W. Warren died of a heart attack at his home in Ariton, AL, on the afternoon of August 5, 2003.
"I came up the hard way. I never had a break whatsoever. In other words, I never had a break in my life. I was born in the wrong part of the world and then again I didn't go any place else. My daddy gave me a good raising and I know how to treat people, how to be respectful to folks. I like that. But I had too much trouble in my life. I didn't do anything with the talent I had because I didn't have much education. When you got a bad break like I had you doubt yourself, you know it's rough man!"
J.W. Warren died of a heart attack at his home in Ariton, AL, on the afternoon of August 5, 2003.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX-8ehIm7VQ
Mario Bollinger *22.06.1959
Mario Bollinger ist Gitarrist bei der Münchner Blue Note Blues Band. Für die Wasser-Prawda hat er bislang Johnny Winter, "Sir" Oliver Mally und Leo Lyons (Ten Years After) interviewt.
http://wasser-prawda.de/mario-bollinger
Charles M. Mailer vocal and keys
Wolfgang Iden harps
Mario Bollinger guitars
Wir sind die Main Isar Bloozeboyz - Das Beste akustisch aus der Sunhill Palace Band und der früheren Blue Note Blues Band
Main Isar Bloozeboys - Preaching The Blues
Zwischen Main und Isar tut sich was: Charles M. Mailer, Kopf der Sunhill Palace Band aus Würzburg sowie Wolfgang Iden und Mario Bollinger von der ehemaligen Blue Note Blues Band aus München haben sich zusammen getan um das Beste der beiden Formationen akustisch zu präsentieren. Die Main Isar Bloozeboys zelebrieren den Blues in einer sparsam instrumentierten Urform frei nach dem Motto "Back To The Roots" . Jahrzehntelanges Tingeln durch die deutsche Blues- und Clubszene hat diese 3 einzelnen Musiker geformt und nun zu einem neuen Trio zusammengeführt.
Charles M. Mailer "The Preacher of Blues" strapaziert seine Stimmbänder, stampft den schweißtreibenden Groove und zaubert auf den weißen und schwarzen Tasten des Pianos. Wolfgang Iden erzeugt mit den Bluesharps den Sound Chicagos und Mario Bollinger slidet und zupft akustische Blues- und Resonatorgitarren.
Das Programm der Main Isar Bloozeboys führt über New Orleans- und Mississippi-Blues Standards, sowie den Urban Blues Chicagos bis hin zu traditionellem akustischem Country und Texas Blues. Ein musikalisches Spektrum also, das so weit ist wie das Mississippi Delta und so heiß wie die Chicago Steel Mills.
Seid gespannt wie eine E-Saite!
We Are Ready For You
Wolfgang Iden harps
Mario Bollinger guitars
Wir sind die Main Isar Bloozeboyz - Das Beste akustisch aus der Sunhill Palace Band und der früheren Blue Note Blues Band
Main Isar Bloozeboys - Preaching The Blues
Zwischen Main und Isar tut sich was: Charles M. Mailer, Kopf der Sunhill Palace Band aus Würzburg sowie Wolfgang Iden und Mario Bollinger von der ehemaligen Blue Note Blues Band aus München haben sich zusammen getan um das Beste der beiden Formationen akustisch zu präsentieren. Die Main Isar Bloozeboys zelebrieren den Blues in einer sparsam instrumentierten Urform frei nach dem Motto "Back To The Roots" . Jahrzehntelanges Tingeln durch die deutsche Blues- und Clubszene hat diese 3 einzelnen Musiker geformt und nun zu einem neuen Trio zusammengeführt.
Charles M. Mailer "The Preacher of Blues" strapaziert seine Stimmbänder, stampft den schweißtreibenden Groove und zaubert auf den weißen und schwarzen Tasten des Pianos. Wolfgang Iden erzeugt mit den Bluesharps den Sound Chicagos und Mario Bollinger slidet und zupft akustische Blues- und Resonatorgitarren.
Das Programm der Main Isar Bloozeboys führt über New Orleans- und Mississippi-Blues Standards, sowie den Urban Blues Chicagos bis hin zu traditionellem akustischem Country und Texas Blues. Ein musikalisches Spektrum also, das so weit ist wie das Mississippi Delta und so heiß wie die Chicago Steel Mills.
Seid gespannt wie eine E-Saite!
We Are Ready For You
Blue Note Blues Band - big easy
Florian Seyfarth *22.06.1965
https://www.facebook.com/florianseyfarthguitar
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elbdelta-Allstars/306341042468?fref=ts
http://www.modernmusicschool.com/de/musiklehrer/florian-seyfarth
https://www.reverbnation.com/florianseyfarth
Florian Seyfarth & elbdelta Allstars
http://www.reverbnation.com/playlist/view_playlist/-4?page_object=artist_1423612
elbDELTA allSTARS@5.VolksdorferBluesFestival Teil1
elbDELTA allSTARS@5.VolksdorferBluesFestival Teil2
Ruby Turner - I'd rather go blind #6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtlHl9vuVM0
1) das genaue Datum ist dem autor nicht bekannt
https://bobcorritore.com/photos/historic-photos-from-mud-morganfield/
http://www.last.fm/music/Back+Alley+John
Elgin Evans *22.06.1909
+08_19661)
1) das genaue Datum ist dem autor nicht bekannt
Elgin Evans, born Elga Edmonds, was notable as the first permanent drummer in Muddy Waters' band. Born in 1909, he played the washboard as a rural blues musician, in settings where drums were unavailable or inappropriate, but by the 1940s he had moved to Chicago and was a busy drummer on that city's burgeoning postwar blues scene. Fate took a hand at the end of the 1940s, as Muddy Waters had set about organizing a permanent band. The one he led had used Baby Face Leroy on drums, but in early 1950 Muddy replaced Leroy with Evans in his performing band. It took some time for Evans to make it onto a Muddy Waters record, however, as Leonard Chess, who ran the label bearing his name for which Muddy recorded, apparently had little faith at the time in Evans' sound. Muddy's records from around this time featured other players (including Chess himself on one session, for which he replaced Evans to get the bass-drum sound he was looking for). Ironically for a member of Muddy's band, Evans' earliest Chess recordings were with Jimmy Rogers, and it wasn't until 1953 that he was actually credited with playing on one of Muddy's sessions. He was subsequently a part of Little Walter's band, while Fred Below and, later, Francis Clay ultimately replaced him in Muddy's group from 1954 onward. Evans ceased recording work at the end of the 1950s, and his whereabouts since are unknown.
Louisiana Blues - MUDDY WATERS /1950 /
/Morgenfield/Muddy Waters / voc, g/; Little Walter Jacobs /harm/ ; Ernest "Big" Cramford /b/ ;
Elgin Evans /wbd/
Rec. 10 / 25 / 1950 Chicago
Rec. 10 / 25 / 1950 Chicago
Kristoffer „Kris“ Kristofferson *22.06.1936
Kristoffer „Kris“ Kristofferson (* 22. Juni 1936 in Brownsville, Texas) ist ein US-amerikanischer Country-Sänger, Songwriter und Schauspieler.
Anfänge
Der Enkel schwedischer Einwanderer wurde als Sohn von Lars Henry Kristofferson und Mary Ann Ashbrook in Texas geboren und zog in seiner Kindheit oft um. Er beendete die Highschool in San Mateo (Kalifornien) und besuchte das Pomona College in Kalifornien. Kristofferson erhielt ein Rhodes-Stipendium für das Merton College der University of Oxford. In England, wo er seine ersten Musikstücke unter dem Namen Kris Karson aufnahm, blieb er zunächst erfolglos.
Nach seinem Universitätsabschluss in englischer Literatur 1960 heiratete er seine Jugendfreundin Fran Beer. Er trat in die US Army ein und wurde Hubschrauberpilot. Von 1962 bis 1965 war er in Bad Kreuznach stationiert. Anschließend sollte Kristofferson Literatur an der United States Military Academy in West Point (New York) unterrichten. 1965 verließ er jedoch die Armee und zog nach Nashville (Tennessee), um im Mekka der Country-Musik eine Musikerkarriere zu beginnen. Er verdiente seinen Lebensunterhalt zunächst mit Gelegenheitsjobs und arbeitet als Hubschrauberpilot für eine Ölfirma im Golf von Mexico. Als eine Speiseröhrenerkrankung seines Sohnes die Familie auch finanziell belastete, reichte seine Frau die Scheidung ein.
Karriere
1966 gelang ihm schließlich mit der von Dave Dudley herausgegebenen Single Viet Nam Blues ein erster kleiner Erfolg. Dann nahm Roger Miller Me and Bobby McGee auf, und Johnny Cash erkannte schließlich Kristoffersons Talent und machte 1970 Sunday Morning Coming Down zu einem Nummer-eins-Hit in den Country-Charts, in denen bereits ein Jahr zuvor Ray Stevens mit demselben Song vertreten war.[1] Kristofferson erhielt einen Vertrag bei Monument Records. Die Blues-Sängerin Janis Joplin machte Me and Bobby McGee weltbekannt, und Kristofferson war als Sänger mit Songs wie Loving Her Was Easier und Why Me ebenfalls erfolgreich. 1972 wurde seine Komposition Help Me Make It Through the Night in der Version von Sammi Smith mit zwei Grammys ausgezeichnet. Kristofferson arbeitete mit Produzent und Labelinhaber Fred Foster noch bis Juli 1982 zusammen.
1973 heiratete er die Sängerin Rita Coolidge. Die beiden, die ein gemeinsames Kind haben, waren auch als Duett erfolgreich; drei Mal wurden sie als bestes Duo mit einem Grammy ausgezeichnet. Die Ehe wurde 1980 infolge zunehmender Alkoholprobleme bei Kristofferson geschieden. Seit 1983 ist er mit Lisa Meyers verheiratet, die Familie lebt mit ihren fünf Kindern seit 1992 auf der Hawaii-Insel Maui.
In den 1980er und 1990er Jahren trat Kristofferson, der sich unter anderem für die Sandinisten in Nicaragua engagiert hat, verstärkt mit politischen Liedern wie Sandinista, Don’t Let the Bastards (Get You Down) oder The Eagle & The Bear in Erscheinung.
Internationale Erfolge verzeichnete Kristofferson von 1985 bis 1995 auch als Mitglied der Countryband The Highwaymen, zusammen mit seinen langjährigen Freunden Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson und Waylon Jennings.
Bei der CMA Awards-Verleihung 2004 wurde er in die Country Music Hall of Fame aufgenommen, zudem ist er Mitglied in der Songwriters Hall of Fame. Nach einer längeren Pause meldete sich Kristofferson im März 2006 mit dem Album This Old Road zurück, 2009 folgte noch Closer to the Bone.
2012 veröffentlichte er im Alter von 76 Jahren unter seinem eigenen Label das Album Feeling Mortal. Er war auch in Europa auf Tournee und trat unter anderem im November 2012 in Wien und in Graz auf.
Instrumente
Kris Kristofferson spielt vorzugsweise Westerngitarren von Gibson, hauptsächlich J-45-Modelle. Ihm zu Ehren brachte die Firma die Kristofferson SJ-Signature-Gitarre heraus.[2]
Kristofferson als Schauspieler
Neben seiner musikalischen Karriere ist Kristofferson seit den 1970er Jahren auch als Filmschauspieler tätig. 1971 gab er nach einer kleinen Rolle in The Last Movie sein Filmdebüt in Cisco Pike, in dem er neben Gene Hackman die Hauptrolle spielte. 1974 folgte mit Alice doesn’t live here anymore ein weiterer Film, welcher der Hauptdarstellerin Ellen Burstyn einen Oscar einbrachte. 1976 spielte er in der Neuverfilmung von A Star Is Born an der Seite von Barbra Streisand. Für diese Rolle wurde er mit einem Golden Globe ausgezeichnet, zudem war er für einen Oscar nominiert.
Häufig war Kristofferson auch als Hauptdarsteller in Spätwestern wie Sam Peckinpahs Pat Garrett jagt Billy the Kid oder Michael Ciminos Heaven’s Gate zu sehen. In Convoy verkörperte er den Fernfahrer Rubber Duck, in der Blade-Reihe war er als Abraham Whistler zu sehen. In Heaven’s Gate von Michael Cimino spielte er die Hauptrolle. Erwähnenswert auch seine Rolle als Ringo Kid in Höllenfahrt nach Lordsburg (Stagecoach), wo er an der Seite seiner Highwaymen-Kollegen Cash, Nelson und Jennings auftrat.
Anfänge
Der Enkel schwedischer Einwanderer wurde als Sohn von Lars Henry Kristofferson und Mary Ann Ashbrook in Texas geboren und zog in seiner Kindheit oft um. Er beendete die Highschool in San Mateo (Kalifornien) und besuchte das Pomona College in Kalifornien. Kristofferson erhielt ein Rhodes-Stipendium für das Merton College der University of Oxford. In England, wo er seine ersten Musikstücke unter dem Namen Kris Karson aufnahm, blieb er zunächst erfolglos.
Nach seinem Universitätsabschluss in englischer Literatur 1960 heiratete er seine Jugendfreundin Fran Beer. Er trat in die US Army ein und wurde Hubschrauberpilot. Von 1962 bis 1965 war er in Bad Kreuznach stationiert. Anschließend sollte Kristofferson Literatur an der United States Military Academy in West Point (New York) unterrichten. 1965 verließ er jedoch die Armee und zog nach Nashville (Tennessee), um im Mekka der Country-Musik eine Musikerkarriere zu beginnen. Er verdiente seinen Lebensunterhalt zunächst mit Gelegenheitsjobs und arbeitet als Hubschrauberpilot für eine Ölfirma im Golf von Mexico. Als eine Speiseröhrenerkrankung seines Sohnes die Familie auch finanziell belastete, reichte seine Frau die Scheidung ein.
Karriere
1966 gelang ihm schließlich mit der von Dave Dudley herausgegebenen Single Viet Nam Blues ein erster kleiner Erfolg. Dann nahm Roger Miller Me and Bobby McGee auf, und Johnny Cash erkannte schließlich Kristoffersons Talent und machte 1970 Sunday Morning Coming Down zu einem Nummer-eins-Hit in den Country-Charts, in denen bereits ein Jahr zuvor Ray Stevens mit demselben Song vertreten war.[1] Kristofferson erhielt einen Vertrag bei Monument Records. Die Blues-Sängerin Janis Joplin machte Me and Bobby McGee weltbekannt, und Kristofferson war als Sänger mit Songs wie Loving Her Was Easier und Why Me ebenfalls erfolgreich. 1972 wurde seine Komposition Help Me Make It Through the Night in der Version von Sammi Smith mit zwei Grammys ausgezeichnet. Kristofferson arbeitete mit Produzent und Labelinhaber Fred Foster noch bis Juli 1982 zusammen.
1973 heiratete er die Sängerin Rita Coolidge. Die beiden, die ein gemeinsames Kind haben, waren auch als Duett erfolgreich; drei Mal wurden sie als bestes Duo mit einem Grammy ausgezeichnet. Die Ehe wurde 1980 infolge zunehmender Alkoholprobleme bei Kristofferson geschieden. Seit 1983 ist er mit Lisa Meyers verheiratet, die Familie lebt mit ihren fünf Kindern seit 1992 auf der Hawaii-Insel Maui.
In den 1980er und 1990er Jahren trat Kristofferson, der sich unter anderem für die Sandinisten in Nicaragua engagiert hat, verstärkt mit politischen Liedern wie Sandinista, Don’t Let the Bastards (Get You Down) oder The Eagle & The Bear in Erscheinung.
Internationale Erfolge verzeichnete Kristofferson von 1985 bis 1995 auch als Mitglied der Countryband The Highwaymen, zusammen mit seinen langjährigen Freunden Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson und Waylon Jennings.
Bei der CMA Awards-Verleihung 2004 wurde er in die Country Music Hall of Fame aufgenommen, zudem ist er Mitglied in der Songwriters Hall of Fame. Nach einer längeren Pause meldete sich Kristofferson im März 2006 mit dem Album This Old Road zurück, 2009 folgte noch Closer to the Bone.
2012 veröffentlichte er im Alter von 76 Jahren unter seinem eigenen Label das Album Feeling Mortal. Er war auch in Europa auf Tournee und trat unter anderem im November 2012 in Wien und in Graz auf.
Instrumente
Kris Kristofferson spielt vorzugsweise Westerngitarren von Gibson, hauptsächlich J-45-Modelle. Ihm zu Ehren brachte die Firma die Kristofferson SJ-Signature-Gitarre heraus.[2]
Kristofferson als Schauspieler
Neben seiner musikalischen Karriere ist Kristofferson seit den 1970er Jahren auch als Filmschauspieler tätig. 1971 gab er nach einer kleinen Rolle in The Last Movie sein Filmdebüt in Cisco Pike, in dem er neben Gene Hackman die Hauptrolle spielte. 1974 folgte mit Alice doesn’t live here anymore ein weiterer Film, welcher der Hauptdarstellerin Ellen Burstyn einen Oscar einbrachte. 1976 spielte er in der Neuverfilmung von A Star Is Born an der Seite von Barbra Streisand. Für diese Rolle wurde er mit einem Golden Globe ausgezeichnet, zudem war er für einen Oscar nominiert.
Häufig war Kristofferson auch als Hauptdarsteller in Spätwestern wie Sam Peckinpahs Pat Garrett jagt Billy the Kid oder Michael Ciminos Heaven’s Gate zu sehen. In Convoy verkörperte er den Fernfahrer Rubber Duck, in der Blade-Reihe war er als Abraham Whistler zu sehen. In Heaven’s Gate von Michael Cimino spielte er die Hauptrolle. Erwähnenswert auch seine Rolle als Ringo Kid in Höllenfahrt nach Lordsburg (Stagecoach), wo er an der Seite seiner Highwaymen-Kollegen Cash, Nelson und Jennings auftrat.
Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He wrote and recorded the hit songs "Me and Bobby McGee," "For the Good Times," "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" and "Help Me Make It Through the Night." Kristofferson composed his own songs and collaborated with Nashville songwriters such as Shel Silverstein.[1] In 1985, Kristofferson joined fellow country artists Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash in forming the country music supergroup The Highwaymen. In 2004, Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He is also known for his starring roles in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and A Star Is Born, the latter for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.
Early life
Kristoffer Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas, to Mary Ann (née Ashbrook) and Lars Henry Kristofferson, a U.S. Army Air Corps officer (later a U.S. Air Force Major General).[2] His paternal grandparents emigrated from Sweden, while his mother had English, Scottish-Irish, German, Swiss-German, and Dutch ancestry.[3][4] Kristofferson's paternal grandfather was an officer in the Swedish Army. When Kristofferson was a child, his father pushed him towards a military career.[5]
At the age of 17, Kristofferson took a summer job with a dredging contractor on Wake Island. He called it "the hardest job I ever had."[6]
Education
Like most "military brats," Kristofferson moved around frequently as a youth, finally settling down in San Mateo, California, where he graduated from San Mateo High School. An aspiring writer, Kristofferson enrolled in Pomona College in 1954. He experienced his first dose of fame when he appeared in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" for his achievements in collegiate rugby union, football, and track and field. He and his classmates revived the Claremont Colleges Rugby Club in 1958, which has remained a Southern California rugby institution. Kristofferson became a member of Kappa Delta fraternity at Pomona College, graduating in 1958 with a BA, summa cum laude, in literature. In a 2004 interview with Pomona College Magazine, Kristofferson mentioned philosophy professor Frederick Sontag as an important influence in his life.[7]
Kristofferson earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he studied at Merton College.[8] While at Oxford, he was awarded his Blue for boxing,[8] played rugby for his college, and began writing songs. With the help of his manager, Larry Parnes, he recorded for Top Rank Records under the name Kris Carson. Parnes was working to sell Kristofferson as "a Yank at Oxford" to the British public; Kristofferson was willing to accept that promotional approach if it helped his singing career, which he hoped would enable him to progress towards his goal of becoming a novelist.[9] This early phase of his music career was unsuccessful.[10]
In 1960, Kristofferson graduated with a master's degree in English literature.[8][11][12] The following year he married his long-time girlfriend, Frances Mavia Beer.[8]
Career
Military service
Kristofferson, under pressure from his family, ultimately joined the U.S. Army and attained the rank of Captain. He became a helicopter pilot after receiving flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He also completed Ranger School. During the early 1960s, he was stationed in West Germany as a member of the 8th Infantry Division.[13] During this time, he resumed his music career and formed a band. In 1965, when his tour of duty ended, Kristofferson was given an assignment to teach English literature at West Point.[14] Instead, he decided to leave the Army and pursue songwriting. His family disowned him because of this decision and they never reconciled with him.[15] They saw it as a rejection of everything they stood for, in spite of the fact that Kristofferson has said he is proud of his time in the military, and received the American Veterans Awards "Veteran of the Year Award" in 2003.[16][17]
Music
After leaving the Army in 1965, Kristofferson moved to Nashville. He worked at a variety of odd jobs while struggling for success in music, burdened with medical expenses resulting from his son's defective esophagus. His wife and he soon divorced.
He got a job sweeping floors at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville. He met June Carter there and asked her to give Johnny Cash a tape of his. She did but Johnny put it in a large pile with others. Weeks later Kristofferson landed a helicopter in Cash's front yard, gaining his full attention.[18] [Note: In a later interview, Kristofferson maintained Cash was not at home when he landed the helicopter. The story about Kristofferson having a beer in one hand and some songs in the other is a fable.] Cash decided to record "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" and that year Kristofferson won songwriter of the year at the country music awards.
He also worked as a commercial helicopter pilot for a south Louisiana firm called Petroleum Helicopters International (PHI), based in Lafayette, Louisiana. Kristofferson recalled of his days as a pilot, "That was about the last three years before I started performing, before people started cutting my songs ... I would work a week down here [in south Louisiana] for PHI, sitting on an oil platform and flying helicopters. Then I'd go back to Nashville at the end of the week and spend a week up there trying to pitch the songs, then come back down and write songs for another week ... I can remember "Help Me Make It Through the Night" I wrote sitting on top of an oil platform. I wrote "Bobby McGee" down here, and a lot of them [in south Louisiana]."[19]
Kristofferson with Rita Coolidge at the 1972 Dripping Springs Reunion
In 1966, Dave Dudley released a successful Kristofferson single, "Viet Nam Blues." In 1967, 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," and "Darby's Castle"). He achieved some success as a performer himself, following Johnny Cash's introduction of him at the Newport Folk Festival.
Kristofferson signed to Monument Records as a recording artist. In addition to running that label, Fred Foster also served as manager of Combine Music, Kristofferson's songwriting label. His debut album for Monument in 1970 was Kristofferson, which included a few new songs, as well as many of his previous hits. Sales were poor, although this debut album would become a success the following year when it was re-released under the title Me & Bobby McGee. 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 received the same award from these two organizations in the same year for different songs.
In 1971, Janis Joplin, who dated Kristofferson for some time until her death, had a number one hit with "Me and Bobby McGee" from her posthumous album Pearl. When released, it stayed on the number-one spot on the charts for weeks. More hits followed from others: Ray Price ("I'd Rather Be Sorry"); 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"). The country music performer Kenny Rogers has also covered some of Kristofferson's material, including a version of Me and Bobby McGee in 1969 with The First Edition for the Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town album.
Kristofferson released his second album, The Silver Tongued Devil and I in 1971; including Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again). It was a success and established Kristofferson's career as a recording artist in his own right. Soon after, Kristofferson made his acting debut in The Last Movie (directed by Dennis Hopper) and appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival. A portion of his Isle of Wight performance is featured on the three disc compilation The First Great Rock Festivals of the Seventies. In 1971, 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 that year with numerous songs nominated, winning country song of the year for "Help Me Make It Through the Night." Kristofferson's 1972 fourth album, Jesus Was a Capricorn, initially had slow sales, but the third single, "Why Me," was a success and significantly increased album sales. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA on November 8, 1973.[20]
Film
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). He continued acting, in Sam Peckinpah's Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Convoy, (another Sam Peckinpah film which was released in 1978), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Vigilante Force, a film based on the Yukio Mishima novel The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, and A Star Is Born (with Barbra Streisand), for which he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and Flashpoint in 1984 (directed by William Tannen). At the peak of his box-office power, Kristofferson turned down William Friedkin's Sorcerer (1977), the romantic war film Hanover Street and the first Rambo-installment, First Blood.[21] In spite of his success with Streisand, Kristofferson's solo musical career headed downward with his non-charting ninth album, Shake Hands with the Devil. His next film Freedom Road did not earn a theatrical release in the U.S. Kristofferson's next film was Heaven's Gate. Despite being a phenomenal industry-changing failure at the time, the film gained critical recognition in subsequent years. In 1986, he starred in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James with Johnny Cash. In 1989, he was the male lead in the film Millennium with Cheryl Ladd. In 1996, he earned a supporting role as Charlie Wade, a corrupt South Texas sheriff in John Sayles' Lone Star, a film nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay. In 1998, he took a role in the film Blade, playing alongside Wesley Snipes as Blade's mentor Abraham Whistler. He reprised the role in Blade II (2002) and again in Blade: Trinity (2004). In 1999, he co-starred with Mel Gibson in Payback. He was in the 2001 version of Planet of the Apes. He has also played the title character "Yohan" as an old man in the Norwegian film Yohan-the Children Wanderer. He co-starred in the 2011 film Dolphin Tale and its 2014 sequel, Dolphin Tale 2. In 2012, Kristofferson was in Joyful Noise with longtime friend, Dolly Parton. In 2013, Kristofferson co-starred in The Motel Life, as well as "Angels Sing" with Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett.
Mid-career
After his singing success in the early 70s, Kristofferson met singer Rita Coolidge. They married in 1973 and released an album titled Full Moon, another success buoyed by numerous hit singles and Grammy nominations. However, his fifth album, Spooky Lady's Sideshow, released in 1974, was a commercial failure, setting the trend for most of the rest of his career. Artists such as Ronnie Milsap and Johnny Duncan continued to record Kristofferson's material with much success, but his distinctively rough voice and anti-pop sound kept his own audience to a minimum. Meanwhile, more artists took his songs to the top of the charts, including Willie Nelson, whose 1979 LP release of (Willie Nelson) Sings Kristofferson reached #5 on the U.S. Country Music chart and certified Platinum in the U.S.
In 1979, Kris Kristofferson traveled to Havana, Cuba, to participate in the historic Havana Jam festival that took place between March 2–4, alongside Rita Coolidge, Stephen Stills, the CBS Jazz All-Stars, the Trio of Doom, Fania All-Stars, Billy Swan, Bonnie Bramlett, Mike Finnegan, Weather Report, and Billy Joel, plus an array of Cuban artists such as Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Tata Güines and Orquesta Aragón. His performance is captured on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary Havana Jam '79.
On November 18, 1979, Kristofferson and Coolidge appeared on the Muppet Show.
Later work
In 1982, Kristofferson participated (with Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Brenda Lee) on The Winning Hand, a double album consisting of remastered and updated performances of recordings the four artists had made for the Monument label during the mid-1960s; the album reached the top-ten on the U.S. country album charts. He married again, to Lisa Meyers, and concentrated on films for a time, appearing in The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck, Flashpoint, and Songwriter, the last of which also starred Willie Nelson. 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 The Highwaymen. Their first album, Highwayman, was a huge success, and the supergroup continued working together for a time. The single from the album Highwayman, also titled "Highwayman," was awarded the ACM's single of the year in 1985.[22] In 1985, Kristofferson 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 Mahatma Gandhi. Kristofferson also appeared in Amerika at about the same time, a miniseries that attempted to depict life in America under Soviet control.
Kristofferson at the 2006 South by Southwest Festival
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 record successfully with the Highwaymen. Lone Star (1996 film by John Sayles) reinvigorated Kristofferson's acting career, and he soon appeared in Blade, Blade II, Blade: Trinity, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, Fire Down Below, Tim Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes, Chelsea Walls, Payback, The Jacket and Fast Food Nation.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted Kristofferson in 1985, as had the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier, in 1977. 1999 saw the release of The Austin Sessions, an album on which Kristofferson reworked some of his favorite songs with the help of befriended artists such as Mark Knopfler, Steve Earle and Jackson Browne. In 2003, Broken Freedom Song was released, a live album recorded in San Francisco.
In 2004, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2006, he received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and released his first album full of new material in 11 years; This Old Road. On April 21, 2007, Kristofferson won CMT's Johnny Cash Visionary Award. Rosanne Cash, Cash's daughter, presented the honor during the April 16 awards show in Nashville. Previous recipients include Cash, Hank Williams, Jr., Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire and the Dixie Chicks. "John was my hero before he was my friend, and anything with his name on it is really an honor in my eyes," Kristofferson said during a phone interview. "I was thinking back to when I first met him, and if I ever thought that I'd be getting an award with his name on it, it would have carried me through a lot of hard times."[citation needed]
In July 2007, Kristofferson was featured on CMT's "Studio 330 Sessions" where he played many of his hits.
On June 13, 2008, Kristofferson performed an acoustic in the round set with Patty Griffin and Randy Owen (Alabama) for a special taping of a PBS songwriters series to be aired in December. Each performer played 5 songs. Kristofferson's included "The Best of All Possible Worlds," "Darby's Castle," "Casey's Last Ride," "Me and Bobby McGee," and "Here Comes that Rainbow Again." Taping was done in Nashville.
Kristofferson released a new album of original songs entitled Closer to the Bone on September 29, 2009. It is produced by Don Was on the New West label. Previous to the release, Kristofferson remarked: "I like the intimacy of the new album. It has a general mood of reflecting on where we all are at this time of life."[23]
On November 10, 2009, Kristofferson was honored as a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI Country Awards. Throughout his career, Kristofferson's songwriting has garnered 48 BMI Country and Pop Awards.[24] He later remarked, "The great thing about being a songwriter is you can hear your baby interpreted by so many people that have creative talents vocally that I don't have."[25] Kristofferson had always denied having a good voice, and as he aged, what quality it might once have had commenced to decay.[according to whom?]
Kristofferson sitting
Kristofferson speaking at the 2014 PEN New England Song Lyrics Award ceremony held in Boston's John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
In December 2009, it was announced that Kristofferson would be portraying Joe in the upcoming album Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a collaboration between rock singer John Mellencamp and novelist Stephen King.[26]
On May 11, 2010, Light in the Attic Records released demos that were recorded during Kristofferson's janitorial stint at Columbia. Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends: The Publishing Demos is the first time these recordings have been released and includes material that would later be featured on other Kristofferson recordings and on the recordings of other prominent artists, such as the original recording of "Me and Bobby McGee."
On June 4, 2011, Kristofferson performed a solo acoustic show at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, showcasing both some of his original hits made famous by other artists, and newer songs.
In early 2013, Kristofferson released a new album of original songs called Feeling Mortal. A live album titled An Evening With Kris Kristoffrson" will be available in September 2014.
Kris Kristofferson voiced the character Chief Hanlon of the NCR Rangers in the hit 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas.
Kris Kristofferson mentioned that he has a new album coming out. In an interview for Las Vegas Magazine Q&A by BY MATT KELEMEN on 23 October 2015, he informs that the new album, The Cedar Creek Sessions, recorded in Austin, includes some old and some new songs.[27]
Personal life
Kristofferson has been married three times and has eight children. In 1960, Kristofferson married his high-school sweetheart Frances (Fran) Beer.[citation needed] They had two children, a daughter, Tracy, and a son, Kris, before divorcing in 1969.[citation needed] Afterwards, Kristofferson dated Janis Joplin, not long before her death, before dating Barbra Streisand.[citation needed]
In 1973, he married singer Rita Coolidge and together they had one child, Casey Kristofferson. They divorced in 1980.[citation needed]
In 1983, he married Lisa Meyers and together they have five children—son Jesse Turner, son Jody Ray, son Johnny Robert, daughter Kelly Marie and son Blake Cameron.[citation needed]
Kristofferson wrote a portion of the I'll Be Here in the Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt book.[28]
In November 2013 Kristofferson revealed that he had suffered from memory loss for several years.[29]
Kristofferson has said that he would like the first three lines of Leonard Cohen's "Bird on the Wire" on his tombstone:[30]
Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Early life
Kristoffer Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas, to Mary Ann (née Ashbrook) and Lars Henry Kristofferson, a U.S. Army Air Corps officer (later a U.S. Air Force Major General).[2] His paternal grandparents emigrated from Sweden, while his mother had English, Scottish-Irish, German, Swiss-German, and Dutch ancestry.[3][4] Kristofferson's paternal grandfather was an officer in the Swedish Army. When Kristofferson was a child, his father pushed him towards a military career.[5]
At the age of 17, Kristofferson took a summer job with a dredging contractor on Wake Island. He called it "the hardest job I ever had."[6]
Education
Like most "military brats," Kristofferson moved around frequently as a youth, finally settling down in San Mateo, California, where he graduated from San Mateo High School. An aspiring writer, Kristofferson enrolled in Pomona College in 1954. He experienced his first dose of fame when he appeared in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" for his achievements in collegiate rugby union, football, and track and field. He and his classmates revived the Claremont Colleges Rugby Club in 1958, which has remained a Southern California rugby institution. Kristofferson became a member of Kappa Delta fraternity at Pomona College, graduating in 1958 with a BA, summa cum laude, in literature. In a 2004 interview with Pomona College Magazine, Kristofferson mentioned philosophy professor Frederick Sontag as an important influence in his life.[7]
Kristofferson earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he studied at Merton College.[8] While at Oxford, he was awarded his Blue for boxing,[8] played rugby for his college, and began writing songs. With the help of his manager, Larry Parnes, he recorded for Top Rank Records under the name Kris Carson. Parnes was working to sell Kristofferson as "a Yank at Oxford" to the British public; Kristofferson was willing to accept that promotional approach if it helped his singing career, which he hoped would enable him to progress towards his goal of becoming a novelist.[9] This early phase of his music career was unsuccessful.[10]
In 1960, Kristofferson graduated with a master's degree in English literature.[8][11][12] The following year he married his long-time girlfriend, Frances Mavia Beer.[8]
Career
Military service
Kristofferson, under pressure from his family, ultimately joined the U.S. Army and attained the rank of Captain. He became a helicopter pilot after receiving flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He also completed Ranger School. During the early 1960s, he was stationed in West Germany as a member of the 8th Infantry Division.[13] During this time, he resumed his music career and formed a band. In 1965, when his tour of duty ended, Kristofferson was given an assignment to teach English literature at West Point.[14] Instead, he decided to leave the Army and pursue songwriting. His family disowned him because of this decision and they never reconciled with him.[15] They saw it as a rejection of everything they stood for, in spite of the fact that Kristofferson has said he is proud of his time in the military, and received the American Veterans Awards "Veteran of the Year Award" in 2003.[16][17]
Music
After leaving the Army in 1965, Kristofferson moved to Nashville. He worked at a variety of odd jobs while struggling for success in music, burdened with medical expenses resulting from his son's defective esophagus. His wife and he soon divorced.
He got a job sweeping floors at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville. He met June Carter there and asked her to give Johnny Cash a tape of his. She did but Johnny put it in a large pile with others. Weeks later Kristofferson landed a helicopter in Cash's front yard, gaining his full attention.[18] [Note: In a later interview, Kristofferson maintained Cash was not at home when he landed the helicopter. The story about Kristofferson having a beer in one hand and some songs in the other is a fable.] Cash decided to record "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" and that year Kristofferson won songwriter of the year at the country music awards.
He also worked as a commercial helicopter pilot for a south Louisiana firm called Petroleum Helicopters International (PHI), based in Lafayette, Louisiana. Kristofferson recalled of his days as a pilot, "That was about the last three years before I started performing, before people started cutting my songs ... I would work a week down here [in south Louisiana] for PHI, sitting on an oil platform and flying helicopters. Then I'd go back to Nashville at the end of the week and spend a week up there trying to pitch the songs, then come back down and write songs for another week ... I can remember "Help Me Make It Through the Night" I wrote sitting on top of an oil platform. I wrote "Bobby McGee" down here, and a lot of them [in south Louisiana]."[19]
Kristofferson with Rita Coolidge at the 1972 Dripping Springs Reunion
In 1966, Dave Dudley released a successful Kristofferson single, "Viet Nam Blues." In 1967, 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," and "Darby's Castle"). He achieved some success as a performer himself, following Johnny Cash's introduction of him at the Newport Folk Festival.
Kristofferson signed to Monument Records as a recording artist. In addition to running that label, Fred Foster also served as manager of Combine Music, Kristofferson's songwriting label. His debut album for Monument in 1970 was Kristofferson, which included a few new songs, as well as many of his previous hits. Sales were poor, although this debut album would become a success the following year when it was re-released under the title Me & Bobby McGee. 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 received the same award from these two organizations in the same year for different songs.
In 1971, Janis Joplin, who dated Kristofferson for some time until her death, had a number one hit with "Me and Bobby McGee" from her posthumous album Pearl. When released, it stayed on the number-one spot on the charts for weeks. More hits followed from others: Ray Price ("I'd Rather Be Sorry"); 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"). The country music performer Kenny Rogers has also covered some of Kristofferson's material, including a version of Me and Bobby McGee in 1969 with The First Edition for the Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town album.
Kristofferson released his second album, The Silver Tongued Devil and I in 1971; including Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again). It was a success and established Kristofferson's career as a recording artist in his own right. Soon after, Kristofferson made his acting debut in The Last Movie (directed by Dennis Hopper) and appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival. A portion of his Isle of Wight performance is featured on the three disc compilation The First Great Rock Festivals of the Seventies. In 1971, 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 that year with numerous songs nominated, winning country song of the year for "Help Me Make It Through the Night." Kristofferson's 1972 fourth album, Jesus Was a Capricorn, initially had slow sales, but the third single, "Why Me," was a success and significantly increased album sales. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA on November 8, 1973.[20]
Film
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). He continued acting, in Sam Peckinpah's Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Convoy, (another Sam Peckinpah film which was released in 1978), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Vigilante Force, a film based on the Yukio Mishima novel The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, and A Star Is Born (with Barbra Streisand), for which he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and Flashpoint in 1984 (directed by William Tannen). At the peak of his box-office power, Kristofferson turned down William Friedkin's Sorcerer (1977), the romantic war film Hanover Street and the first Rambo-installment, First Blood.[21] In spite of his success with Streisand, Kristofferson's solo musical career headed downward with his non-charting ninth album, Shake Hands with the Devil. His next film Freedom Road did not earn a theatrical release in the U.S. Kristofferson's next film was Heaven's Gate. Despite being a phenomenal industry-changing failure at the time, the film gained critical recognition in subsequent years. In 1986, he starred in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James with Johnny Cash. In 1989, he was the male lead in the film Millennium with Cheryl Ladd. In 1996, he earned a supporting role as Charlie Wade, a corrupt South Texas sheriff in John Sayles' Lone Star, a film nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay. In 1998, he took a role in the film Blade, playing alongside Wesley Snipes as Blade's mentor Abraham Whistler. He reprised the role in Blade II (2002) and again in Blade: Trinity (2004). In 1999, he co-starred with Mel Gibson in Payback. He was in the 2001 version of Planet of the Apes. He has also played the title character "Yohan" as an old man in the Norwegian film Yohan-the Children Wanderer. He co-starred in the 2011 film Dolphin Tale and its 2014 sequel, Dolphin Tale 2. In 2012, Kristofferson was in Joyful Noise with longtime friend, Dolly Parton. In 2013, Kristofferson co-starred in The Motel Life, as well as "Angels Sing" with Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett.
Mid-career
After his singing success in the early 70s, Kristofferson met singer Rita Coolidge. They married in 1973 and released an album titled Full Moon, another success buoyed by numerous hit singles and Grammy nominations. However, his fifth album, Spooky Lady's Sideshow, released in 1974, was a commercial failure, setting the trend for most of the rest of his career. Artists such as Ronnie Milsap and Johnny Duncan continued to record Kristofferson's material with much success, but his distinctively rough voice and anti-pop sound kept his own audience to a minimum. Meanwhile, more artists took his songs to the top of the charts, including Willie Nelson, whose 1979 LP release of (Willie Nelson) Sings Kristofferson reached #5 on the U.S. Country Music chart and certified Platinum in the U.S.
In 1979, Kris Kristofferson traveled to Havana, Cuba, to participate in the historic Havana Jam festival that took place between March 2–4, alongside Rita Coolidge, Stephen Stills, the CBS Jazz All-Stars, the Trio of Doom, Fania All-Stars, Billy Swan, Bonnie Bramlett, Mike Finnegan, Weather Report, and Billy Joel, plus an array of Cuban artists such as Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Tata Güines and Orquesta Aragón. His performance is captured on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary Havana Jam '79.
On November 18, 1979, Kristofferson and Coolidge appeared on the Muppet Show.
Later work
In 1982, Kristofferson participated (with Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Brenda Lee) on The Winning Hand, a double album consisting of remastered and updated performances of recordings the four artists had made for the Monument label during the mid-1960s; the album reached the top-ten on the U.S. country album charts. He married again, to Lisa Meyers, and concentrated on films for a time, appearing in The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck, Flashpoint, and Songwriter, the last of which also starred Willie Nelson. 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 The Highwaymen. Their first album, Highwayman, was a huge success, and the supergroup continued working together for a time. The single from the album Highwayman, also titled "Highwayman," was awarded the ACM's single of the year in 1985.[22] In 1985, Kristofferson 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 Mahatma Gandhi. Kristofferson also appeared in Amerika at about the same time, a miniseries that attempted to depict life in America under Soviet control.
Kristofferson at the 2006 South by Southwest Festival
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 record successfully with the Highwaymen. Lone Star (1996 film by John Sayles) reinvigorated Kristofferson's acting career, and he soon appeared in Blade, Blade II, Blade: Trinity, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, Fire Down Below, Tim Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes, Chelsea Walls, Payback, The Jacket and Fast Food Nation.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted Kristofferson in 1985, as had the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier, in 1977. 1999 saw the release of The Austin Sessions, an album on which Kristofferson reworked some of his favorite songs with the help of befriended artists such as Mark Knopfler, Steve Earle and Jackson Browne. In 2003, Broken Freedom Song was released, a live album recorded in San Francisco.
In 2004, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2006, he received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and released his first album full of new material in 11 years; This Old Road. On April 21, 2007, Kristofferson won CMT's Johnny Cash Visionary Award. Rosanne Cash, Cash's daughter, presented the honor during the April 16 awards show in Nashville. Previous recipients include Cash, Hank Williams, Jr., Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire and the Dixie Chicks. "John was my hero before he was my friend, and anything with his name on it is really an honor in my eyes," Kristofferson said during a phone interview. "I was thinking back to when I first met him, and if I ever thought that I'd be getting an award with his name on it, it would have carried me through a lot of hard times."[citation needed]
In July 2007, Kristofferson was featured on CMT's "Studio 330 Sessions" where he played many of his hits.
On June 13, 2008, Kristofferson performed an acoustic in the round set with Patty Griffin and Randy Owen (Alabama) for a special taping of a PBS songwriters series to be aired in December. Each performer played 5 songs. Kristofferson's included "The Best of All Possible Worlds," "Darby's Castle," "Casey's Last Ride," "Me and Bobby McGee," and "Here Comes that Rainbow Again." Taping was done in Nashville.
Kristofferson released a new album of original songs entitled Closer to the Bone on September 29, 2009. It is produced by Don Was on the New West label. Previous to the release, Kristofferson remarked: "I like the intimacy of the new album. It has a general mood of reflecting on where we all are at this time of life."[23]
On November 10, 2009, Kristofferson was honored as a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI Country Awards. Throughout his career, Kristofferson's songwriting has garnered 48 BMI Country and Pop Awards.[24] He later remarked, "The great thing about being a songwriter is you can hear your baby interpreted by so many people that have creative talents vocally that I don't have."[25] Kristofferson had always denied having a good voice, and as he aged, what quality it might once have had commenced to decay.[according to whom?]
Kristofferson sitting
Kristofferson speaking at the 2014 PEN New England Song Lyrics Award ceremony held in Boston's John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
In December 2009, it was announced that Kristofferson would be portraying Joe in the upcoming album Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a collaboration between rock singer John Mellencamp and novelist Stephen King.[26]
On May 11, 2010, Light in the Attic Records released demos that were recorded during Kristofferson's janitorial stint at Columbia. Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends: The Publishing Demos is the first time these recordings have been released and includes material that would later be featured on other Kristofferson recordings and on the recordings of other prominent artists, such as the original recording of "Me and Bobby McGee."
On June 4, 2011, Kristofferson performed a solo acoustic show at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, showcasing both some of his original hits made famous by other artists, and newer songs.
In early 2013, Kristofferson released a new album of original songs called Feeling Mortal. A live album titled An Evening With Kris Kristoffrson" will be available in September 2014.
Kris Kristofferson voiced the character Chief Hanlon of the NCR Rangers in the hit 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas.
Kris Kristofferson mentioned that he has a new album coming out. In an interview for Las Vegas Magazine Q&A by BY MATT KELEMEN on 23 October 2015, he informs that the new album, The Cedar Creek Sessions, recorded in Austin, includes some old and some new songs.[27]
Personal life
Kristofferson has been married three times and has eight children. In 1960, Kristofferson married his high-school sweetheart Frances (Fran) Beer.[citation needed] They had two children, a daughter, Tracy, and a son, Kris, before divorcing in 1969.[citation needed] Afterwards, Kristofferson dated Janis Joplin, not long before her death, before dating Barbra Streisand.[citation needed]
In 1973, he married singer Rita Coolidge and together they had one child, Casey Kristofferson. They divorced in 1980.[citation needed]
In 1983, he married Lisa Meyers and together they have five children—son Jesse Turner, son Jody Ray, son Johnny Robert, daughter Kelly Marie and son Blake Cameron.[citation needed]
Kristofferson wrote a portion of the I'll Be Here in the Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt book.[28]
In November 2013 Kristofferson revealed that he had suffered from memory loss for several years.[29]
Kristofferson has said that he would like the first three lines of Leonard Cohen's "Bird on the Wire" on his tombstone:[30]
Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Kris Kristofferson - Vietnam Blues (1993)
Merle Haggard & Kris Kristofferson - T B Blues
Kris Kritofferson - Late John Garfield Blues - Live at Philadelphia Philharmonic 1972
R.I.P.
Back Alley John +22.06.2006
Back Alley John (born John Carl David Wilson),[1] (February 10, 1955 – June 22, 2006) was a Canadian blues singer, songwriter and harmonica player.
Beginnings, 1969-1971: Ottawa to Venice, California
Born into a strict military family in Ottawa, Ontario, the young John Wilson rebelled and ran away from home, travelling to Venice Beach, California at the age of 14 in a stolen truck.[1] He stayed in Venice for approximately two years, making a living as a busking harmonica player, and it was in Venice that he acquired the name "Back Alley John". As his brother, Peter Wilson, recalls, "When he got (to Venice), he needed money and he had been playing harmonica since he was little, so he started busking. The street people there kind of took him under their wing and they said 'Listen John, you can't busk on the street 'cause you'll get arrested. You've gotta busk in the back alleys.' So he busked in the back alleys of Venice for a couple of years and that's how he was named Back Alley John."[2][1]
1971-1988: Venice to Ottawa and The Back Alley John Revue
Deported back to Canada, Back Alley John continued to develop his harmonica and singing skills in the Ottawa area. In 1980 together with guitarist Drew Nelson and drummer Sandy Smith, also professionally known as "Sandy Bone",[3] the Back Alley John Revue was formed.[4] They initially played in clubs in Ottawa and nearby towns and often busked on the streets of Ottawa during the early 1980s, particularly on Saturday afternoons in Ottawa's Byward Market, playing blues for passersby in front of the historic Chateau Lafayette House tavern,[5] sometimes gathering crowds numbering in the hundreds. Back Alley John's early reputation was enhanced in 1982 when he won the harmonica competition at the Ottawa Bluesfest, where the jury included Kim Wilson and John Hammond. He later performed with Kim Wilson and Hammond at Ottawa's National Arts Centre and joined Albert Collins on stage during a live performance. During this period, both Back Alley John and Drew Nelson were particularly supportive of the commencement of the blues career of Sue Foley who, in 1984 at the age of sixteen, was singing and playing guitar with Back Alley John. John identified his influences as including Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Carrie Bell, Johnny Winter, John Hammond, Norm Clark and Dutch Mason.
The popularity of The Back Alley John Revue grew beyond Ottawa. The group toured Canada on several occasions, but did not release an album.
In 1987 the band reformed under the name "The Blue Lights", including Sandy Smith on drums, plus Drew Nelson and Sue Foley on guitars. The group became the house band of an establishment in Hull, Quebec that was regularly frequented by local musicians and many who were on tour.(citation required) Jeff Healey, Tom Lavin and Emmett "Maestro" Sanders[6] of Koko Taylor's band were among those who showed up to play. It was at this time that The Blue Lights recorded a 45rpm with Greg Labelle's Lowertown Records featuring Back Alley John's song "Mr. Postman" on the A side and Sue Foley singing Big Bill Broonzy's "All By Myself" on the B side.
1988-2006: Calgary
He was a wealth of knowledge on the history of the blues, from the experience he gained by hanging and playing with the masters. I felt he was playing the real blues, not show or pop-styled blues, but the old stuff. Musically, what set John apart was his passion for the country blues style, and not glossing over the in-depth melodies and rhythms of this period of music.
Lindsay Wilson, Remembering Back Alley John[7]
In 1988, Back Alley John fell seriously ill and decided to relocate to Calgary, Alberta, to be near his brother Peter.[8] It was in Calgary that Back Alley John developed his recording career, releasing four independently-distributed albums, and where he continued to develop his reputation as a blues performance artist. Back Alley John's records were generally produced or co-produced by Tim Williams, who is both a producer and performer, well known in blues and folk music circles.[9] Former Ottawa bandmate Sandy Smith joined Back Alley John in Calgary, playing and recording with him regularly.[10]
Back Alley John's recordings were subject to significant critical acclaim. By 1998, he was considered to have become one of the finest blues recording artists in North America.[11] In 1999, he was a "Canadian Real Blues Award" winner, cited by Real Blues Magazine[12] as the Best Canadian Unsigned Talent.[13] In 2002, Calgary country and blues singer Ralph Boyd Johnson[14] included the original song "(Hard Act to Follow) Back Alley John", referencing rougher elements of Back Alley John's life, on Johnson's debut album, Dyin' to Go.[15] Johnson had been housemates with Back Alley John and Billy Cowsill, the latter who had also produced Dyin' to Go.[16]
Back Alley John remained based in Calgary for nearly twenty years, until his death. During this period, Back Alley John was noted for his generosity in sharing his talent with others.[17]
Illness and death
Music is life. Anything less would be uncivilized.
Frequently-expressed sentiment of Back Alley John[1]
Back Alley John's career was cut short by respiratory disease, which resulted in him being in continuous third party care for the last two years of his life. Notwithstanding his physical challenges, which included hepatitis and severe oxygen deprivation, necessitating a wheelchair and constant use of an oxygen tank.[18] Back Alley John literally played the blues until his last breath.[8] He continued to record and to contribute to the recordings of others.[19] Two months before his death, having "flatlined in an ambulance, he somehow made his way to (Calgary's) Ambassador Motor Inn,[20] where he got onstage for a final performance.[1][21] 'He was so close to the end, really bad off, and I couldn't believe he could play,' (his brother) Peter said. 'It wasn't the John I knew, but he still sounded good. It was impressive, but it was heartwrenching, too.'"[8] As the late[22] Mick Joy, John's last steady bass player, close friend and roommate for seven years recalled, "In the final days, he wasn't getting enough oxygen, but it was amazing. He could barely breathe, but he could always pick up harp and blow the harp fine. It was like a mini-miracle every time."[18]
Back Alley John died in Calgary, Alberta on June 22, 2006.
Tributes: 2006 and 2008
On Canada Day, 2006, a memorial concert was held in Calgary in honour of Back Alley John.[8]
In February, 2008, Back Alley John was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame of the Calgary Blues Music Association.[23]
Postscripts
Back Alley John's music continues to receive national radio play. Holger Petersen, founder and owner of Stony Plain Records, has been particularly supportive, through his Saturday Night Blues program on CBC Radio. Drew Nelson included "Please Come Home", a song co-written in the 1980s with Back Alley John, on Nelson's 2014 album, The Other Side.
Beginnings, 1969-1971: Ottawa to Venice, California
Born into a strict military family in Ottawa, Ontario, the young John Wilson rebelled and ran away from home, travelling to Venice Beach, California at the age of 14 in a stolen truck.[1] He stayed in Venice for approximately two years, making a living as a busking harmonica player, and it was in Venice that he acquired the name "Back Alley John". As his brother, Peter Wilson, recalls, "When he got (to Venice), he needed money and he had been playing harmonica since he was little, so he started busking. The street people there kind of took him under their wing and they said 'Listen John, you can't busk on the street 'cause you'll get arrested. You've gotta busk in the back alleys.' So he busked in the back alleys of Venice for a couple of years and that's how he was named Back Alley John."[2][1]
1971-1988: Venice to Ottawa and The Back Alley John Revue
Deported back to Canada, Back Alley John continued to develop his harmonica and singing skills in the Ottawa area. In 1980 together with guitarist Drew Nelson and drummer Sandy Smith, also professionally known as "Sandy Bone",[3] the Back Alley John Revue was formed.[4] They initially played in clubs in Ottawa and nearby towns and often busked on the streets of Ottawa during the early 1980s, particularly on Saturday afternoons in Ottawa's Byward Market, playing blues for passersby in front of the historic Chateau Lafayette House tavern,[5] sometimes gathering crowds numbering in the hundreds. Back Alley John's early reputation was enhanced in 1982 when he won the harmonica competition at the Ottawa Bluesfest, where the jury included Kim Wilson and John Hammond. He later performed with Kim Wilson and Hammond at Ottawa's National Arts Centre and joined Albert Collins on stage during a live performance. During this period, both Back Alley John and Drew Nelson were particularly supportive of the commencement of the blues career of Sue Foley who, in 1984 at the age of sixteen, was singing and playing guitar with Back Alley John. John identified his influences as including Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Carrie Bell, Johnny Winter, John Hammond, Norm Clark and Dutch Mason.
The popularity of The Back Alley John Revue grew beyond Ottawa. The group toured Canada on several occasions, but did not release an album.
In 1987 the band reformed under the name "The Blue Lights", including Sandy Smith on drums, plus Drew Nelson and Sue Foley on guitars. The group became the house band of an establishment in Hull, Quebec that was regularly frequented by local musicians and many who were on tour.(citation required) Jeff Healey, Tom Lavin and Emmett "Maestro" Sanders[6] of Koko Taylor's band were among those who showed up to play. It was at this time that The Blue Lights recorded a 45rpm with Greg Labelle's Lowertown Records featuring Back Alley John's song "Mr. Postman" on the A side and Sue Foley singing Big Bill Broonzy's "All By Myself" on the B side.
1988-2006: Calgary
He was a wealth of knowledge on the history of the blues, from the experience he gained by hanging and playing with the masters. I felt he was playing the real blues, not show or pop-styled blues, but the old stuff. Musically, what set John apart was his passion for the country blues style, and not glossing over the in-depth melodies and rhythms of this period of music.
Lindsay Wilson, Remembering Back Alley John[7]
In 1988, Back Alley John fell seriously ill and decided to relocate to Calgary, Alberta, to be near his brother Peter.[8] It was in Calgary that Back Alley John developed his recording career, releasing four independently-distributed albums, and where he continued to develop his reputation as a blues performance artist. Back Alley John's records were generally produced or co-produced by Tim Williams, who is both a producer and performer, well known in blues and folk music circles.[9] Former Ottawa bandmate Sandy Smith joined Back Alley John in Calgary, playing and recording with him regularly.[10]
Back Alley John's recordings were subject to significant critical acclaim. By 1998, he was considered to have become one of the finest blues recording artists in North America.[11] In 1999, he was a "Canadian Real Blues Award" winner, cited by Real Blues Magazine[12] as the Best Canadian Unsigned Talent.[13] In 2002, Calgary country and blues singer Ralph Boyd Johnson[14] included the original song "(Hard Act to Follow) Back Alley John", referencing rougher elements of Back Alley John's life, on Johnson's debut album, Dyin' to Go.[15] Johnson had been housemates with Back Alley John and Billy Cowsill, the latter who had also produced Dyin' to Go.[16]
Back Alley John remained based in Calgary for nearly twenty years, until his death. During this period, Back Alley John was noted for his generosity in sharing his talent with others.[17]
Illness and death
Music is life. Anything less would be uncivilized.
Frequently-expressed sentiment of Back Alley John[1]
Back Alley John's career was cut short by respiratory disease, which resulted in him being in continuous third party care for the last two years of his life. Notwithstanding his physical challenges, which included hepatitis and severe oxygen deprivation, necessitating a wheelchair and constant use of an oxygen tank.[18] Back Alley John literally played the blues until his last breath.[8] He continued to record and to contribute to the recordings of others.[19] Two months before his death, having "flatlined in an ambulance, he somehow made his way to (Calgary's) Ambassador Motor Inn,[20] where he got onstage for a final performance.[1][21] 'He was so close to the end, really bad off, and I couldn't believe he could play,' (his brother) Peter said. 'It wasn't the John I knew, but he still sounded good. It was impressive, but it was heartwrenching, too.'"[8] As the late[22] Mick Joy, John's last steady bass player, close friend and roommate for seven years recalled, "In the final days, he wasn't getting enough oxygen, but it was amazing. He could barely breathe, but he could always pick up harp and blow the harp fine. It was like a mini-miracle every time."[18]
Back Alley John died in Calgary, Alberta on June 22, 2006.
Tributes: 2006 and 2008
On Canada Day, 2006, a memorial concert was held in Calgary in honour of Back Alley John.[8]
In February, 2008, Back Alley John was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame of the Calgary Blues Music Association.[23]
Postscripts
Back Alley John's music continues to receive national radio play. Holger Petersen, founder and owner of Stony Plain Records, has been particularly supportive, through his Saturday Night Blues program on CBC Radio. Drew Nelson included "Please Come Home", a song co-written in the 1980s with Back Alley John, on Nelson's 2014 album, The Other Side.
Back Alley John / bill dowey and the blues devils
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