Watch Tyler Childers Deliver a Soulful Cover of a Kris Kristofferson Classic at Farm Aid 2021

Since releasing his debut album Bottles and Bibles in 2011, Tyler Childers has proven himself to be one of this generation’s finest songwriters. His catalog is full of expertly crafted songs about love, life, loss, and nearly everything in between. He and his band, the Food Stamps, can also turn in some top-notch covers. Any fan who has been to a Childers concert could attest to that. Below, they deliver a stunning cover of the Kris Kristofferson classic “Help Me Make It Through the Night.”

The pandemic couldn’t stop Farm Aid from taking place. However, the 2020 event was a strange socially distanced concert streamed from the homes of the musicians on the bill. So, when everyone could come together again in 2021, it was a special night. The lineup included Willie Nelson, Lukas Nelson, Margo Price, Jamey Johnson, Bettye LaVette, Childers, and many more. In the video below, Childers closes his set with his rendition of the Kristofferson classic.

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This was not the first time he played “Help Me Make It Through the Night” in concert. He has been playing the song solo and with his band for years. It was also a constant on setlists for his recent Mule Pull World Tour. Additionally, Childers included the song as one of the two covers on his 2023 album Rustin’ in the Rain. The other was S.G. Goodman’s “Space and Time.”

Tyler Childers Covers a Legendary Kris Kristofferson Song

According to Songfacts, Kris Kristofferson wrote “Help Me Make It Through the Night” before he found much success as a songwriter. At the time, he was flying a helicopter, shuttling people and supplies between Louisiana and an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While waiting on the helipad one night, he took out his guitar and wrote the song.

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He had been sitting on the title for quite some time before the rest of the song came to him. As the story goes, he took the title from an Esquire magazine interview with Frank Sinatra. Ol’ Blue Eyes told the publication, “I’m for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers, or a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.”

Kristofferson included the song on his 1970 debut album. However, his version wasn’t a hit. Instead, Sammi Smith recorded a gender-swapped version of the song in 1970 that became a major crossover hit. Since then, many artists have put their spin on the classic track, Tyler Childers is just the most recent to do so.

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