Kris Kristofferson, the American actor and country star singer, died on Saturday September 28 at the age of 88, his family announced on Sunday. This enormous and very prolific icon notably inspired Bob Dylan and played in the cinema alongside Barbra Streisand, and has left his mark on North American songwriting since the 1960s. His melodies and lyrics have been internationally praised for their simple, yet profound construction.
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“ Kris Kristofferson died peacefully on Saturday at his home » in Hawaii, his relatives said on his Facebook page. “ When you see a rainbow, know that it is the one that smiles on us all “.
Winner of a Golden Globe in 1976 for his role alongside Barbra Streisand in A star is bornKris Kristofferson also distinguished himself in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid by Sam Peckinpah in 1973.
“ He changed everything »
Author notably of the classics “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” (1969) and “Me and Bobby McGee” (1970), covered by Janis Joplin, Kristofferson was a leading country singer-songwriter, like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, with whom he formed The Highwaymen.
Winner of several Grammy Awards, he joined the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004.
Born June 22, 1936 in Brownsville, Texas, Kris Kristofferson first embraced a military career, like his father, before settling in Nashville, the Mecca of country music, writing notably “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down » for Johnny Cash. “ There is Nashville before Kris, and Nashville after Kris. Because he changed everything », Underlined Bob Dylan, quoted by the Kristofferson site.
The singer with the hoarse voice, who throughout his life nurtured a passion for the English poet William Blake, continued to perform regularly on stage until his artistic retirement at the age of 84, in 2021.
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