Kris Kristofferson, Songwriter Whose Poetic Lyrics Transcended Genre, Dies at 88

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Photo: Marina Chavez; used with permission

Kris Kristofferson, a truly legendary singer-songwriter as well as actor, has died at the age of 88. The news of his passing at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, September 28, 2024, was announced by his family on his Facebook page today (Sept. 29). Among his many career highlights are his composition “Me and Bobby McGee,” a #1 hit for Janis Joplin in 1971; his musical collaboration with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings as part of the Highwaymen; and his acting roles in such films as 1976’s A Star is Born and 1973’s Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28 at home,” the family wrote. “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.”

Kristofferson had been officially retired since 2020. That news, announced January 27, 2021, was revealed in an “oh, by the way” manner in a press release from Morris Higham Management (MHM), which represents Kristofferson’s estate. Kristofferson turned 88 on June 22, 2024.

“Kristofferson is the artist that every artist strives to be,” said MHM President Clint Higham at the time. “He is an artist’s artist. If Mount Rushmore had a place for songwriters, Kris would be on it.”

Kris Kristofferson and Rosanne Cash at the Hollywood Bowl, April 29, 2023 (Photo: Joshua Timmermans)

The legend made an increasingly rare public appearance when he performed during both nights of the Willie Nelson 90th birthday concerts at the Hollywood Bowl on April 29-30, 2023. At the first show, he accompanied Rosanne Cash to sing his “”Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again).” The following night, he joined Norah Jones for “Help Me Make It Through the Night.”

Kristoffer Kristofferson was born in the border town of Brownsville, Tex., on June 22, 1936. Among his many unique accomplishments, Kristofferson was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, a college football player, a bartender, a Golden Gloves boxer, a forest fighter and an Army Ranger who flew helicopters.

Kristofferson achieved remarkable success as a country songwriter at the start of the 1970s. His songs “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and “For the Good Times” were all chart-topping hits. By 1987, it was estimated that more than 450 artists had recorded Kristofferson’s compositions.

Watch Kristofferson perform “Me and Bobby McGee” in 1979

The three-time Grammy winner recorded 30 albums, including three as part of the country music supergroup the Highwaymen.

“Kris Kristofferson believed creativity is God-given, and those who ignore such a gift are doomed to unhappiness. He preached that a life of the mind gives voice to the soul, and his work gave voice not only to his soul but to ours. He leaves a resounding legacy.”
—Kyle Young,… pic.twitter.com/JMyZp6lJUr

— Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (@countrymusichof) September 29, 2024

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

It’s estimated that Kristofferson has acted in more than 70 films. In 1977 he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in A Star Is Born, opposite Barbra Streisand.

Watch the trailer for A Star Is Born

Kristofferson is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, winner of the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and was honored with the American Veterans Association’s “Veteran of the Year Award” in 2002. In 2009, BMI lauded Kristofferson with the Icon Award. In 2014, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the PEN Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award.

He said that poet William Blake was correct in asserting that anyone divinely ordered for spiritual communion but buries his talent will be pursued by sorrow and desperation through life and by shame and confusion for eternity.

“(Blake) is telling you that you’ll be miserable if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do,” Kristofferson said in Ken Burns’ documentary Country Music.

Many of Kristofferson’s recordings are available here.