Kris Kristofferson
The silver-tongued devil of country music, Kris Kristofferson was a part of the outlaw cowboy movement in the 70s. Standing alongside other great performers of the era, Kristofferson was the charming one. His songs tend toward poetic depictions of misfits, druggies, counter culture dreamers, drifters and the beautiful women who fall for them. There's a lot of grim country types that write songs about drinking and regret, but Kristofferson's music has a certain charismatic wit that goes along with the sorrow. His music is also very clever and experimental, with riffs that test the boundaries of what country music can be.
Trying to summarize Kris Kristofferson's biography is quite the task. He's pretty much done everything, from being a Rhodes scholar at Oxford to serving in the Army as a ranger and a helicopter pilot to writing and performing legendary songs to bedding Janis Joplin and Joan Baez to acting in dozens of movies. In what appears to be a reoccuring theme among country music greats, he struggled with drugs and alcohol and had several political changes of heart, bashing the sixties protest movement with his famous "Viet Nam Blues" becoming critical of the government's involvement in Central America and the Middle East. He's lead a long, rich, varied life and he still records amazing music to this day. The man is a living legend and, according to youtube poster antiflg441, one of the sexiest men ever, so shut up!
Shake Hands with the Devil
Kris Kristofferson is one of my favorite artists because he's probably the best poet in country music. In a genre that bases it's songwriting on direct, unpretentious lyrics, Kristofferson can evoke entire life stories in a couple lines. The rest of this guide could easily just be me geeking out on my favorite lyrics of his, but anyone who likes really, really good songs should give "The Pilgrim-Chapter 33" a listen, with lines like "There's a lot of wrong directions on that lonesome way back home" and "Billy Dee" with "Billy Dee was 17 when he turned 21." The list goes on and on, but Kristofferson is a conversation piece. You can give his songs to people who don't like country and watch them change their minds.
He's probably best-known for "Me and Bobby McGee," which has been covered by everyone in creation, and "The Highwaymen," his collaboration with fellow outlaw country stars Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. He's still plucking away to this day, and he's great live. Check his stuff out.
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