Songwriter Hero Kris Kristofferson Dead at 88

Kris Kristofferson, the man who penned some of the greatest songs in the canon of popular music, died Saturday (9/28) at the age of 88. Spokesperson Ebie McFarland confirmed Kristofferson’s passing and confirmed that he “passed away peacefully in his home in Maui, Hawaii… surrounded by family.”

Born in Brownsville, Texas on June 22, 1936, Kristofferson wrote his first song, “I Hate Your Ugly Face,” at the age of 11. His family eventually moved to San Mateo, California when he was in his teens, and he attended Pomona College, earning a bachelor’s degree in creative writing. To that end, he published short stories in Atlantic Monthly and even graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1958. In 1960, he graduated from Oxford University’s Merton College with a master’s in English. After serving with the Army in West Germany, Kristofferson decamped to Nashville and “fell in love with the music community that was going on there.” Well, you know what happened next.

Kristofferson’s hands were all over the Great American Songbook for more than 55 years, as he was the poet behind songs like “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” He was a member of the Highwaymen with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, and he starred in films like Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, A Star is Born and Heaven’s Gate. In 2004, Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

But the influence didn’t stop there, as he was also a Golden Globe-winning actor, boxer, Rhodes scholar, Army vet, pilot, janitor and author. Considering him to be one of the most crucial outlaw singer-songwriters only scratches the surface of what he means to the lineage of thinkers and performers he’s left behind.

Listen to Kris Kristofferson perform at the Country Club on June 25, 1982 below.