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The Time Kris Kristofferson and Rosanne Cash United for “One of the Most Phenomenal Duets Ever”

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Just last year, country legends Kris Kristofferson and Rosanne Cash (daughter of famed country singer Johnny Cash) performed a stunning duet on CBS in celebration of Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday concert. The two singers complimented each other beautifully as they performed “Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)”.

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There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. This included Cash, who could be seen tearing up after embracing Kristofferson at the end of the song. It was a heartwarming thing to see.

It was a lovely performance. But it also wasn’t the first time the pair sang this particular duet. They have performed the song together a few times through the years. One notable performance took place at AVO Session Basel in Switzerland in 2009. You can watch the full performance of the song below:

The History of “Lovin’ Her Was Easier” by Kris Kristofferson and Rosanne Cash

This beautiful country ballad was written and composed by Kris Kristofferson back in 1971 for the album The Silver Tongued Devil And I. It wasn’t originally a duet. Rather, it was recorded by Kristofferson alone. It was also covered by Roger Miller in 1971 as well as Tompall & The Glaser Brothers in 1981. Mark Chesnutt also performed it in 2010 for an album full of classic country cover songs.

[Get Tickets To See Rosanne Cash Live In Concert]

Even though the song was originally a Kristofferson classic, the added vocals from Rosanne Cash completely changed the emotional quality of the song. She’s a respectable country singer in her own right, but the emotional connection between herself and Kristofferson is likely what makes it such a good duet.

For some context, Kristofferson was once in a band called The Highwaymen with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings. We can assume that Rosanne Cash grew up with Kristofferson in her life, considering he was a good friend of her father’s as well as a band member in The Highwaymen. Cash even made her recording debut on her father’s 1974 album The Junkie And The Juicehead Minus Me with “Broken Freedom Song”, which also happens to be a Kristofferson song.

Cash has also worked with Kristofferson a few times in the past as well. She recorded a few songs for tribute albums to the “For The Good Times” hitmaker as well as tribute albums for her father.

Photo via YouTube

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One response to “The Time Kris Kristofferson and Rosanne Cash United for “One of the Most Phenomenal Duets Ever””

  1. anitaken

    The video of the AVO Session is so exquisite, it makes me cry. That was when Kris’s voice was excellent, especially in harmony, and the rapport between the two of them is wonderful to see. When Rosanne presented Kris with the ACM Johnny Cash Visionary Award, she said she had known him since she was 17. Although Kris was only six years younger than her father, Johnny Cash almost had a father-son relationship with him. Rosanne viewed Kris as a sort of uncle. He always supported her as an artist and songwriter. Rosanne once said about him, “Kris cannot lie. Sometimes it would be better for him to lie, or at least simply not comment, but he cannot lie. He has total integrity.” In some ways, it was difficult to see the performance with Rosanne at Willie’s birthday concert. It wasn’t that Kris was frail. For 87, he was fully upright like the old soldier he is. But his VOICE was frail and tentative; he is no longer the young outlaw writing groundbreaking songs. The years and miles and Lyme Disease have taken a toll on him. I’m sure he wanted to be there to honor his best friend, Willie, and by Rosanne singing with him (and Norah Jones singing “Help Me Make It Through The Night” the next night), he had the vocal support to be there and perform. I doubt that he will ever do it again. It was very brave of him to appear. He knew he would be revealing the toll of the years to everyone, but he did it anyway. When he left the stage, the emotional crowd gave him a standing ovation, which he acknowledged with a salute and his “hand on the heart” thank you gesture. I love the man for the icon he has been and remains.

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