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He was the silver-tongued devil himself.
Brownsville native Kris Kristofferson, who died Saturday at his Hawaii home, is a true legend, in every sense of the word. He is one of few people whom fellow music superstars speak of with reverence. In fact, he inspired some legends himself — most of them based in truth, although sometimes with some embellishment.
They include the tale that he was driving through Nashville on his way to teach at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and never made it out of town; the reality wasn’t so spontaneous. Another frequently told legend is that Kristofferson, using skills he learned in Vietnam, landed a helicopter on Johnny Cash’s lawn to drop off a demo tape. The story is true, although Kristofferson refutes Cash’s version that describes him landing with the throttle in one hand and a beer in the other.
Artists and critics alike agree that Kristofferson had a transformative effect on the music world, particularly country music, infusing it with a depth and sophistication that previously relied on simple, punny verses. His lyrics stood on their own as poetry that ranks with some of the classics. No wonder — inside his rough-hewn exterior ticked the mind of a top intellect who could quote works of Shakespeare, William Blake and others.
In fact, Kristofferson studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
The son of an Army Air Corps officer who was stationed in the Valley and eventually became an Air Force major general, Kris himself was an Army Ranger and flew helicopters in Vietnam, and was on a fast track to top military positions.
His two seemingly separate paths converged when Kristofferson was offered a commission to teach English and literature at West Point.
Instead, he decided to leave the military and head to Nashville and try to sell some songs he’d written.
The decision changed his life — and the world’s.
Kristofferson’s career in the entertainment industry proved as auspicious as those in the military and academia. His music transcended his targeted country and folk genres; one of his earliest, and biggest, hits became a rock ’n’ roll classic when Janis Joplin recorded his song “Me and Bobby McGee.” Other songs also became music standards, building the careers not just of himself but of other artists who recorded his work.
His success didn’t end there. Kristofferson’s rugged good looks made him a leading man in the film world, with 80 movies in his resume. Many teamed him with other music stars, ranging from Willie Nelson to Barbra Streisand and even Chayanne.
While he collaborated with other artists throughout his career, Kristofferson primarily was a solo artist, until he joined the country music supergroup The Highwaymen with Nelson, Cash and Waylon Jennings.
Kristofferson said joining forces with such icons felt like being on Mount Rushmore.
If a music Mount Rushmore existed, he’d be on it. He has been enshrined in the Country Music and Songwriters’ halls of fame and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
These and other tributes, which have flooded in locally and worldwide, ensure that Kris Kristofferson will live on in music history — and Valley history as well.