Remembering Kris Kristofferson, outlaw and pilgrim

Many obituaries for Kris Kristofferson, the singer and movie star who died last week at the age of 88, noted his importance to the “outlaw country” movement of the 1970s. Along with musicians like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, Kristofferson moved country music away from a more polished Nashville sound and incorporated more Americana into his music. Like many of the aforementioned, Kristofferson also developed a reputation for some rough and rowdy ways—he legendarily worked as a janitor in Nashville while trying to break into the music business, briefly dated Janis Joplin and once landed a helicopter on Johnny Cash’s lawn in the hopes of attracting Cash’s attention… read more >