Kris Kristofferson

He helped to open up a staid and conservative Nashville music scene to a new kind of country song that wasn’t afraid to embrace poetic sensibilities.

by Peter Stone Brown

No one could say that Kris Kristofferson, has led a life unfulfilled.  Kristofferson has had three long lasting careers were some people have had one, songwriter, performing and recording artist, and actor.  Kristofferson himself might disagree with this assessment because his original ambition was to be a novelist.

Born in 1936 to a military family, Kristofferson’s family moved frequently before settling in San Mateo, California, where he attended Pomona College, graduating a degree in literature.  He earned a Rhodes Scholarship and attended Oxford University at Merton.  While in England, he started writing songs and recorded unsuccessfully as Kris Carson.

Returning home after graduation, he married and delighted his family by joining the army, achieving the rank of captain and becoming a helicopter pilot.  He was eventually stationed in West Germany…