Any Major Kris Kristofferson Songbook
In a genre teeming with great lyricists, Kris Kristofferson may well be country music’s eternal poet laureate. A friend once remarked: “There is no human emotion for which there is no Kristofferson song,” and he’s probably right. With his death at the age of 88, Nashville should build a monument to the man!
Much is made of KK’s career in the military (he was an army brat) and how he abandoned that to become a janitor at Nashville’s Columbia studios. But before he joined the army, he had been a Rhodes scholar in English at Oxford. It’s safe to say that Kristofferson knew his way around poetry.
Clearly, he knew his way around creating a good melody as well. So he created superb songs for other people, but had no confidence in his own voice to sing them. It was Johnny Cash and producer Fred Foster who virtually forced Kristofferson to give himself a chance as a recording artist. It turned out that KK was, in fact, a great singer. He was not a “good” singer in the vein of a George Jones, but his growly baritone was filled with character, emotion and warmth. The famous critic Robert Christgau differed, finding that KK was “the worst singer” he had ever heard. “He has no relation to key… no phrasing, no dynamics, no energy, no authority, no dramatic ability, and no control of the top two-thirds of his six-note range.”
With critics like Christgau sniping — not entirely without cause and yet completely missing the point — KK’s first album, eponymously-titled and released in 1970, was not an immediate success. Christgau was a fool on many things, and he was rarely more foolish than he was on KK. It was one of the great debut albums by anybody.
Re-released a year later as Me And Bobby McGee, it did better business. As it should; just look at some of the songs on that album: Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down, For The Good Times, Me And Bobby McGee, Darby’s Castle, Help Me Make It Through The Night, To Beat The Devil, Best of All Possible Worlds, Just The Other Side of Nowhere, Blame It On The Stones, Casey’s Last Ride…
I may be sabotaging the present collection of songs when I say that every version of a Kristofferson song is best when it is sung by him, with the possible exception of Mr And Bobby McGee — though even there, I prefer the sad yearning in Kristofferson’s voice to Janis Joplin’s histrionics.
That is not to say that Kristofferson songs have no value in their covers or, indeed, their original versions recorded by others. Because KK’s versions are not elaborately arranged, and melodically quite uncomplicated, they lend themselves to fruitful interpretation across genres. This mix is evidence of that. It starts off with a soul singer doing KK – a third of tracks here are soul covers – and closes with a trio of rat packers.
Rest in peace, KK!
As ever, this mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R and includes home-devilbeating covers, and the above in an illustrated PDF, which also includes the links to previous Songbooks.
1. Thelma Houston – Me And Bobby McGee (1972)
2. Hank Ballard – Sunday Morning, Coming Down (1970)
3. Millie Jackson – Loving Arms (2014)
4. The Little Willies & Norah Jones – Best Of All Possible Worlds (2006)
5. Mark Chesnutt – Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again) (2010)
6. David Wood – From The Bottle To The Bottom (2009)
7. Bobby Bare – Darby’s Castle (1972)
8. Justin Tubb – Jody And The Kid (1972)
9. Ray Price – When I Loved Her (1971)
10. Percy Sledge – Help Me Make It Through The Night (1970)
11. Al Green – For The Good Times (1972)
12. Sam Baker – Sugarman (1968)
13. Booker T. – Why Me (1974)
14. Rita Coolidge – The Burden Of Freedom (1974)
15. Waylon Jennings – To Beat The Devil (1972)
16. Johnny Cash – Casey’s Last Ride (1985)
17. Willie Nelson – The Pilgrim: Chapter 33 (1979)
18. George Jones – Come Sundown (1984)
19. Frank Sinatra – Nobody Wins (1973)
20. Dean Martin – Just The Other Side Of Nowhere (1972)
21. Sammy Davis Jr. – Please Don’t Tell Me How The Story Ends (1982)
Previous Songbooks:
ABBA
Ashford & Simpson
Barry Gibb Vol. 1
Barry Gibb Vol. 2
Bill Withers
Billy Joel
Bob Dylan Volumes 1-5
Brian Wilson
Bruce Springsteen
Burt Bacharach & Hal David Vol. 1
Burt Bacharach & Hal David Vol. 2
Burt Bacharach’s Lesser-Known Songbook
Carole Bayer Sager
Carole King Vol. 1
Carole King Vol. 2
Chuck Berry
Cole Porter Vol. 1
Cole Porter Vol. 2
Elton John & Bernie Taupin
George Harrison
Gordon Lightfoot
Hank Williams
Holland-Dozier-Holland
John Prine
Jimmy Webb Vol. 1
Jimmy Webb Vol. 2
Jimmy Webb Vol. 3
Lamont Dozier
Laura Nyro
Leonard Cohen
Neil Diamond
Paul McCartney Vol. 1
Paul McCartney Vol. 2
Prince
Rod Temperton
Rolling Stones Vol. 1
Rolling Stones Vol. 2
Sly Stone
Steely Dan
PW = amdwhah
Wow you got this ready in a hurry! Well done, nice tribute to a great talent. Thanks for all you do!
Wow, that came together quickly! Thanks for highlighting his music. I’m sure he’s enjoying singing with his fellow Highwaymen in Heaven. Well, maybe not Heaven since they were a bunch of outlaws, but still…