Sunday evening's announcement of the death of singer, songwriter and award-winning performer of stage and screen, Kris Kristofferson , on Sept. 28, 2024, has sent shock waves of sadness throughout the entertainment and music industries.
He was a craftsman as inspired by legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, poet William Yeats and fundamental country legend Hank Williams as he was by eventually fellow artistic musical titans Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. Hall of Fame caliber artists cut his songs, including Janis Joplin, Al Green, Emmylou Harris, Gladys Knight, Ronnie Milsap, Elvis Presley, Ray Price and Frank Sinatra. He also shared the silver screen with names including Burt Reynolds and Barbra Streisand while acting in films directed by Paul Mazursky, Sam Peckinpah and Martin Scorsese.
Thus, an outpouring of remembrances by notable creatives and personalities who knew him best and admired his work has emerged.
Fellow 70s-era icons react
Dolly Parton, was was a contemporary of Kristofferson who topped the charts with "Joshua" when Kristofferson released his top-10, eponymously-titled debut album featuring "To Beat The Devil" in 1970, offered, "What a great loss, what a great writer, what a great actor, what a great friend," via social media.
Kristofferson's inspiration and fellow Highwayman member Johnny Cash's son John Carter Cash — with whom Kristofferson appeared alongside the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on 2004's "The Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family" project — offered via Instagram , "Time has passed and God has called my friend home. Kris was one of the most important and impactful people in my entire life. He gave me faith in my own ability as a writer and music producer, he showed me how to laugh. He showed me the purpose of music and poetry by living his dream, not sleeping through life. He held a large part of my heart and only he could have ever created the space."
Willie Nelson is now the last living member of the iconic Highwaymen quartet.
Alongside Cash, Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings, the foursome re-recorded Jimmy Webb's 1977-penned "Highwayman" and achieved the Academy of Country Music's Single of the Year in 1985.
When queried about his career revival, Kristofferson offered, "God protects fools and songwriters," to then 60 Minutes co-host Charlie Rose.
"According to William Blake, if you were supposed to be an artist, you had a duty to express whatever talent you had in that direction," he added.
His on-screen paramour Streisand, with whom he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award for 1976's "A Star Is Born," offered the following:
"The first time I saw Kris performing at the Troubadour club in L.A. I knew he was something special. Barefoot and strumming his guitar, he seemed like the perfect choice for a script I was developing, which eventually became 'A Star Is Born.' In the movie, Kris and I sang the song I'd written for the film's main love theme, 'Evergreen.' For my latest concert in 2019 at London's Hyde Park, I asked Kris to join me on-stage to sing our other A Star Is Born duet, "Lost Inside Of You." He was as charming as ever, and the audience showered him with applause. It was a joy seeing him receive the recognition and love he so richly deserved. My thoughts go to Kris' wife, Lisa who I know supported him in every way possible."
Modern-era stars react
Kristofferson's iconoclastic leanings also continued to impact Nashville through its modern era.
In 2015, Americana and Grammy Award winners Jason Isbell, Brandy Clark and Raul Malo, plus then sellers of 10 million albums and 20 million singles Lady A, paid tribute to Kristofferson in a 90-minute concert in downtown Nashville .
Eric Church and Ashley McBryde, two stars intrinsically linked by the era, also offered reflections about the icon's impact on their careers from that era.
Sharing photos saved on his cell phone, "Springsteen" vocalist Church noted his "hero and role model" Kristofferson had "the ultimate life well lived" and was "a beacon of light in a darkening world."
"You managed to exceed my expectations when you became my friend. So long Captain. Till we meet again," he added.
McBryde, whose stardom is linked to Church shining a light on her career in 2017, captioned a photo of her and Kristofferson with, "Thank you for teaching us to write. And for teaching me how to beat the devil."
McBryde's latest album, released in 2023, is entitled "The Devil I Know."
Professional organizations reflect on Kristofferson's legacy
Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004
Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, offered the following statement regarding his legacy:
"Kris Kristofferson believed to his core that creativity is God-given, and that those who ignore or deflect such a holy gift are doomed to failure and unhappiness. He preached that a life of the mind gives voice to the soul, and then he created a body of work that gave voice not only to his soul but to ours. Kris's heroes included the prize fighter Muhammad Ali, the great poet William Blake, and the 'Hillbilly Shakespeare,' Hank Williams. He lived his life in a way that honored and exemplified the values of each of those men, and he leaves a righteous, courageous and resounding legacy that rings with theirs."
Also, Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern made a statement about the artist who won the CMA's Song of the Year for penning Johnny Cash's "Sunday Mornin' Coming Down" in 1970 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019:
"The Country Music world has lost one of its most profound storytellers. I was fortunate to get to work with Kris on many projects over the years. His charm was exactly what you'd expect — unassuming and slightly mysterious yet deeply warm. As a prolific writer, actor and performer, his gifts were unlike anyone else. We regret that we will no longer be beneficiaries of his incredible words and talents. Our hearts go out to Kris's friends and family during this sad time."
Notable, too, is that, in 1967, Kristofferson was one of the 42 founding members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). NSAI's highest honor, the "Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award" — received most recently by Alan Jackson and accepted by Bill Anderson, Bobby Braddock, Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson in the past decade — bears his name.
NSAI President Lee Thomas Miller said, "Songwriters have lost an icon and a friend. As one of the founding fathers of Music Row, Kris Kristofferson set the bar for greatness in the art of writing songs. He was a true star. The air changed when he walked in the room. Country music, Nashville and NSAI would not be who we are today without the incredible Kris Kristofferson."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Kris Kristofferson remembered by Dolly Parton, Eric Church, more
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