Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson were as special to one another as each was to the world at large. And their lifelong bond led to some truly unbelievable duets throughout their illustrious careers. Following Kristofferson’s death Sept. 28 at age 88, country music fans are mourning the loss of a legend. Meanwhile, Nelson is mourning his close friend. Here’s what he had to say about the “Me and Bobby McGee” singer’s songwriting skills.
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Willie Nelson Names His Best Songwriters of All Time
Back in 2019, Willie Nelson appeared on the Season 4 opener of Rock and Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar. Sitting across the table from the Red-Headed Stranger, the “I Can’t Drive 55” singer wondered who Nelson would count among the greatest songwriters of all time.
The “On the Road Again” singer seemed to seriously ponder the question. “I don’t know. You got to talk about Merle Haggard and Hank Williams and then… you got Kris Kristofferson and Billy Joe Shaver,” he said. “And then you start running out of names.”
“The Best Possible Lyrics”
Kris Kristofferson always considered his performing secondary to his writing. In 1965, the Brownsville, Texas-born artist left behind a promising military career in favor of pursuing his true passion in Nashville.
“I thought if I didn’t make it as a songwriter, I would at least get material to be the Great American Novelist,” he told Rolling Stone in 2009.
Indeed, Willie Nelson revered his buddy’s skills so much that, in 1979, he released Sings Kris Kristofferson, an album consisting entirely of Kristofferson covers. With gems like “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down” and “For the Good Times,” the album reached No. 5 on the U.S. Country albums chart.
“Kris brought (country music) kind of from the dark ages up to the present-day time, made it acceptable and brought great lyrics—I mean, the best possible lyrics,” Willie Nelson told CBS’s “60 Minutes” in a 1999 interview. “Simple but profound.”
Featured image by Bob Daemmrich/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
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