Earlier this month, Marcus King took his Mood Swings Tour to the Brooklyn Paramount at the Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York. His setlist was packed with original songs from his solo catalog as well as cuts from his band. Additionally, he worked a handful of covers into his setlist. He performed songs by Kris Kristofferson, Black Sabbath, Gabe Lee, and more.
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Before coming back for a four-song encore, King brought Grace Powers and Brittany Spencer to the stage for a cover of “Me and Bobby McGee” to close the show. While Kristofferson wrote the song, Janis Joplin made it famous. King’s soulful blues-inspired vocal style fits Joplin’s rendition of the song like a glove. Watch them wrap up the set with the spot-on cover below.
Marcus King Covers a Kris Kristofferson Classic
Marcus King covered a classic song with a deep history.
Kris Kristofferson wrote “Me and Bobby McGee” and included it on his 1970 debut album Kristofferson. He shares writing credit on the song with Fred Foster who gave him the concept for the lyrics. However, he wasn’t the first to record the song and was far from the last. The legendary singer/songwriter Roger Miller was the first to record the song. Miller’s version peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Janis Joplin recorded the most notable version of the song for her second and final album Pearl. Unfortunately, Joplin didn’t live to see her rendition of “Me and Bobby McGee” top the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. While many agree Joplin’s version is the definitive cut of the song she wasn’t the last to cover it. Nor was she the last to get a hit with it. Jerry Lee Lewis topped the country chart with the song in 1972.
According to Songfacts, Kristofferson said “Me and Bobby McGee” was “the song that made the difference for me. Every time I sing it, I still think of Janis.”
While Fred Foster gave Kristofferson the concept for the song, he looked to the film La Strada for inspiration. “I developed this story of these guys who went around the country kind of like Anthony Quinn and Giulietta Masina in La Strada. At one point, like he did, he drove off and left her there. That was ‘Somewhere near Salinas, I let her slip away,’” he explained. Later in the film, Quinn’s character learns of his companion’s death. “So he goes out, gets drunk, gets into a fight in a bar, and ends up on the beach howling at the stars. And that was where ‘Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose’ came from. He was free from her, and I guess he would have traded all his tomorrows for another day with her,” he added.
Featured Image by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images
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