“An epic human with the biggest heart”: Tributes pour in for country legend Kris Kristofferson, who has died aged 88
Country singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson has died at the age of 88 at his Maui, Hawaii home, his family have confirmed.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, 28 September at home,” they write.
“We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all.”
Born in Brownsville, Texas on 22 June 1936, Kristofferson later became a leading figure in the country music scene, but was a serial success story in many other areas of his life. He was also a merited actor, and earned a degree at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar.
As the bio of his website explains: “He was an Oxford scholar, a defensive back, a bartender, a Golden Gloves boxer, a gandy dancer, a forest-fighter, a road crew member, and an Army Ranger who flew helicopters. He was a peacenik, a revolutionary, an actor, a superstar, a Casanova, and a family man. He was almost a teacher at West Point, though he gave that up to become a Nashville songwriting bum.”
After graduating with a masters from the University of Oxford in 1960 – during which time he performed unreleased music under the name ‘Kris Carson’ – he returned to the US and joined the army as a helicopter pilot.
Five years later in 1965, he visited Nashville, Tennessee, and within two weeks resigned from his army position and moved there to pursue a music career. Things didn’t get off the ground quite as fast as his stint as a helicopter pilot, though, as he worked as a janitor and did other odd jobs while pursuing music.
Per Guitar World, legend has it that his big break came when he flew a National Guard helicopter to Johnny Cash’s house to drop off some tapes of his music. Soon after, big artists began covering his songs. Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down was recorded by Johnny Cash and Ray Stevens, which led to Kristofferson receiving his first award for Songwriter of the Year at the 1970 CMAs.
Kristofferson released his self-titled debut album in 1970, and followup The Silver Tongued Devil and I in 1971. Bob Dylan once credited Kristofferson with changing “everything” in Nashville.
Around the same time, his acting career was also beginning to flourish; he appeared in films directed by Martin Scorsese, Sam Peckinpah and others, and won a Golden Globe for his performance in 1976’s A Star is Born.
Tributes have begun pouring in for the late actor and musician, with his A Star is Born co-star Barbra Streisand writing: “The first time I saw Kris performing at the Troubadour club in LA I knew he was something special. Barefoot and strumming his guitar, he seemed like the perfect choice for a script I was developing, which eventually became A Star is Born.
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Meanwhile, country legend Dolly Parton simply writes: “What a great loss. What a great writer. What a great actor. What a great friend. I will always love you.”
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Elsewhere, LeAnn Rimes called him an “epic human with the biggest heart”.
an epic human with the biggest heart you will be so, so missed. rest easy, my friend. #kriskristofferson pic.twitter.com/VUcUz3KFta
— leann rimes cibrian (@leannrimes) September 29, 2024
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