– I was a janitor for several years. – San Diego Union Tribune

“Freedom is just another word for having nothing to lose.” — “Me and Bobby McGee” by Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson, who died Saturday at age 88 of undisclosed causes, will be remembered as a singer-songwriter whose best lyrics and melodies still resonate strongly today, more than 50 years after they were created.

His 1969 classic “Me and Bobby McGee,” which became a posthumous hit for Janis Joplin in 1971, is still performed around the world. The same goes for Kristofferson’s gems like “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “For the Good Times” and others.

His concise songs were earthy and eloquent, carefully constructed but always with a conversational tone. They painted vivid pictures, containing not a single foreign note, word or inflection.

No less could be expected of Kristofferson, who earned a doctorate in creative literature from Pomona College, was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and turned down an offer to teach at West Point so he could move to Nashville with no job prospects. There he worked as a janitor in a recording studio, struggling to find someone – do it anyone – to cut one of your songs.

“I never think of myself as some kind of artist, I just do what I can. The only reason I even record now is because I’m a writer. “I’m not a great singer,” Kristofferson told me in a 2012 interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“I think honesty (in my voice and lyrics) is an advantage, at least for me, whether you’re trying to be an artist or a star.”

This sincerity permeated both his strongest and weaker songs, whether performed by Kristofferson himself or by his many music lovers past and present. These include Alison Krauss, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Eric Church, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Waylon Jennings, Carly Simon, Roy Orbison, former San Diegan Chris Hillman, Joan Baez, Percy Sledge, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan , who once memorably commented, “You can look at Nashville, before Kris and after Kris. Because it changed everything.”

But this change didn’t come easy.

Kristofferson struggled to establish himself as a songwriter in Nashville. In addition to his work as a janitor, he worked as a bartender and a helicopter pilot, the latter of which he learned while serving in the U.S. Army near Frankfurt, Germany, where he fronted a country band called The Losers.

“My platoon commander really liked the songs,” Kristofferson recalled. “I remember rewriting songs by (country music icon) George Jones, whose lyrics were generally not very favorable about the military.”

His lack of success in Nashville and lack of interest in looking for a steady, well-paying job influenced his first wife’s decision to leave him. She took their young daughter with her, a double whammy that inspired his classic song “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” It begins: “Well, I woke up Sunday morning and I couldn’t hold my head up without it hurting/And the beer I drank for breakfast wasn’t bad, so I drank another one for dessert.”

“Most people who have been Rhodes Scholars have done something more noteworthy than being a janitor,” Kristofferson admitted with a laugh in our 2012 interview.

“I was a janitor for a few years and tried to become a songwriter,” Kristofferson continued. “It was a stimulating and exciting place to be, and I didn’t feel like I was overqualified in any way… I wasn’t worried about the fact that I was a Rhodes Scholar and should probably try to be president. Through my creative love of songwriting, I have been able to maintain my independence.”

Working as a janitor provided Kristofferson with an unexpected epiphany when he witnessed some of the recording sessions for Bob Dylan’s “Blonde On Blonde.” This groundbreaking 1966 album featured such visionary songs as “Just Like a Woman,” “Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 and 35”, “I Want You” and “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands”.

“He was busy recording and he recorded unlike anyone I had ever seen in that studio,” Kristofferson said of Dylan.

“They usually had three-hour (recording) sessions. Most people thought that if they didn’t record 3 songs in 3 hours, they wouldn’t do well. (Dylan) went in there and didn’t even record all night. He sat at the piano while the band played ping-pong and waited for him! By 7 a.m. he was done and they went in and cut another masterpiece. I couldn’t believe how they did it.”

Kristofferson has already written a lot of songs. His own rise to fame was just five years away. But he credited Dylan with creating an enduring template.

“I wanted to communicate, and Bob was a great example to follow,” he said.

At the time of our 2012 interview, Kristofferson was headed to San Diego to perform a benefit concert for the United Farm Workers at the Spreckels Theater downtown. A lifelong activist, he was particularly fond of the UFW and its founder, Cesar Chavez.

“I was trying to figure out the date of the first UFW benefit I played at; I know it was in the early 70s.” Kristofferson said. “Someone asked me if I would be interested in doing something for farm workers. I grew up in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, near Brownsville, and I felt sorry for the workers, the Mexicans, who did all the hard work there.

“Shortly later, I met (UFW founder) Cesar Chavez. He was one of my favorite people I have ever known, completely dedicated to working for farmers. His whole life was selfless. I worked a variety of jobs growing up, from construction to working on the railroad, and I could always identify with blue-collar workers, especially Mexicans, because of where I grew up. I was raised by a Mexican mother and was told that before I spoke English, I spoke Spanish.

“I can’t tell you how many charity concerts I’ve played over the years, but most of them were for farm workers. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help some of the causes I believe in.”

Kristofferson’s beliefs were especially evident during the 1992 pay-per-view telecast of “Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert,” a star-studded event held at Madison Square Garden in New York . Irish singing star Sinead O’Connor, who had recently launched an overt attack on the Catholic Church at the time, was loudly booed by many of the 20,000 attendees at the Dylan tribute event.

Kristofferson, who was also performing there that night, was asked by the production manager to come on stage and escort O’Connor out. He didn’t agree to this. Instead, Kristofferson walked up to O’Connor, put his right hand on her shoulders and said, “Don’t let those bastards take you down.”

It was wise advice.

And at least for some of Kristofferson’s longtime fans, there is no better epitaph in his honor. “Don’t let the bastards bring you down” – indeed.

Originally published: September 30, 2024 at 1:44 pm