He was not only one of the biggest country stars, but also a sought-after Hollywood actor: Kris Kristofferson (88) died on Saturday in his home on the Hawaiian island of Maui. This was announced by the family spokeswoman.
He died peacefully surrounded by his family. The cause of death was not disclosed.
“We are all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him for all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know that he is smiling down on all of us,” the family’s statement said. It was made on behalf of Kristofferson’s wife, Lisa, his eight children, Tracy, Kris Jr., Casey, Jesse, Jody, John, Kelly and Blake, and his seven grandchildren.
Country legends among themselves: Johnny Cash (†71, left) is considered Kristofferson’s discoverer. He recorded his first country number 1 hit “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and was the first to bring it on stage
Foto: Clive Dix/Shutterstock
Kristofferson was initially successful as a country singer, writing classics such as “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”, “Help Me Make it Through the Night”, “For the Good Times” and “Me and Bobby McGee” from the late 1960s onwards. .
Above all, however, he was considered one of the most important songwriters of all time. His songs have been sung by music legends such as Elvis Presley (†42), Jerry Lee Lewis (†87), Joan Baez (83), Janis Joplin (†27) and Ray Charles (†73).
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The charismatic singer combined complicated folk lyrics about loneliness and tender romance with popular country music. With his long hair, bell-bottoms and counterculture songs influenced by Bob Dylan (83), he represented a new generation of country songwriters.
Kristofferson was later also successful as an actor in Hollywood, playing alongside Ellen Burstyn (91) in Martin Scorsese’s (81) film “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (1974), and alongside Barbra Streisand (82) in “A Star Is Born” from 1976 and in 1998 alongside Wesley Snipes (62) in Marvel’s “Blade”.
Kristofferson performing in Austin, Texas in 2004
Foto: FilmMagic
The grandson of Swedish immigrants was born in 1936 in Brownsville in the very south of Texas. At college he was a boxer and football player, he studied at Oxford in the UK on a scholarship for gifted students and initially wanted to become a writer. When he was unsuccessful, he became a helicopter pilot in the US military and was stationed in Bad Kreuznach (Rhineland-Palatinate) from 1962 to 1965.
Then he went to the stronghold of country music, Nashville. Hoping to break into the industry, he even worked as a part-time janitor at Music Row Studio in Nashville in 1966 when Dylan was recording tracks for the groundbreaking double album Blonde on Blonde. Soon Kristofferson was on stage next to him, writing one hit after another.
Kristofferson and Streisand in the film “A Star is Born” (1976)
Foto: Snap/Shutterstock
Country colleague Willie Nelson (91) said in 2009: “There is no better living songwriter than Kris Kristofferson.”
In 2021 he largely withdrew and only occasionally gave Alex Reed appearances on stage.
► Over the course of his 50-year career, Kristofferson sold seven million albums in the USA alone. Kristofferson won the Grammy three times and received the honorary award for his life’s work. He also received the Golden Globe in 1977 for his role in “A Star Is Born”.
