Tag Archives: Kris Kristofferson

Playlist: 20 Overlooked gems from Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson beer breakfast
“…beer for breakfast”

 

20 Overlooked gems from Kris Kristofferson

KristofferKrisKristofferson (born June 22, 1936)  songwriter, musician, actor, and former soldier. He is best known for writing and recording such hits as “Me and Bobby McGee”, “For the Good Times”, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night”. Kristofferson is the sole writer of most of his songs, and he has collaborated with various other figures of the Nashville scene such as Shel Silverstein. In 1985, Kristofferson joined fellow country artists Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash in forming the country music supergroup, The Highwaymen. In 2004, Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He is also known for his acting work, including starring roles in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and A Star Is Born, the latter for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.

Continue reading Playlist: 20 Overlooked gems from Kris Kristofferson

Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson duets and covers


Bob Dylan Tom Petty Willie Nelson Farm Aid 1985

We have listened a lot to Willie lately and have dug up some duets with him and Bob Dylan. They have shared the stage on many occasions. We have also added a few cover versions of Dylan’s songs done by Willie Nelson.

His latest album is well worth checking out by the way.

from Billboard:

“…Kris Kristofferson invited Nelson down to Mexico to the set of Sam Peckinpah’s “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” where he introduced him to Bob Dylan. Nelson played a song for a group of new friends.

“And Bob Dylan was so knocked out that he made him keep playing,” Kristofferson remembered during a visit to the bus late last year. “I think you played there all day by yourself. … Dylan was just amazed. It made me respect Dylan, too. But (Nelson) has always been a songwriter’s hero. Because he’s a great songwriter. Because he’s absolutely unlike anybody else and because he’s the funniest human being on the planet. And very much like God.””

Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan – Heartland (1993):

Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” is a 1981 single from the film Honeysuckle Rose. “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” was written and performed by Willie Nelson. The single would be Willie Nelson’s seventh number one on the country chart as a solo artist and stayed at number one for one week and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the country chart.

This song is commonly believed to have been written about Charlie Magoo a good friend of Nelson’s who happened to also be a member of The Hells Angels. This has never been confirmed or denied by Nelson who usually says he’s not going to argue with a load of bikers. He did once claim the song was about his wife Connie.

Bob Dylan – Angel flying too close to the ground (Infidels outtake) (written by Willie):
Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground by Bob Dylan on Grooveshark

Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson -You win again:

Continue reading Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson duets and covers

Video of the day: Willie Nelson The Big Six-0 concert 1993


willie six

In 1993, Willie Nelson joined with his friends for a fantastic birthday concert with Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, Kris Kristofferson, Marty Stuart, B.B. King, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Edie Brickell and Neil Young.

we get  Willie Nelson and a dazzling array of stars for a superb birthday concert, celebrating the life and music of one America’s most popular singer/songwriters. Filled with power-packed performances, unforgettable songs and candid interviews with Willie and many of the superstars he’s influenced! It was out on VHS and Laserdisc but has not been released on DVD (yet…)

The concert film also has statements and messages from his friends, like Lesley Ann Warren, Sydney Pollack, Dennis Hopper and Lou Diamond Phillips and Bill Clinton, all talking about the man and artist. The songs are wonderful in this big party for Willie Nelson.

Set-list:

  1. Graceland – Willie Nelson and Paul Simon
  2. Whiskey River — Willie Nelson
  3. Getting Over You — Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt
  4. Seven Spanish Angels — Ray Charles and Willie Nelson
  5. Pancho and Lefty – Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan
  6. Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys — Willie Nelson and Waylon Jenning
  7. On The Road Again — Willie Nelson
  8. Song for You — Ray Charles
  9. Old OUtlaws Like Us — Travis Tritt
  10. How Do You Feel About Fooling Around? — Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson
  11. Way More’s Blues — Marty Stuart & Waylon Jennings
  12. Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line — Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, Marty Stuart
  13. Night Life — Bonnie Raitt and B.B. King
  14. Funny How Time Slips Away — Lyle Lovett
  15. Crazy — EmmyLou Harris
  16. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain — Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Edie Brickell
  17. Valentine — Willie Nelson
  18. Are There Any More Real Cowboys? — Willie Nelson and Neil Young
  19. Hard Times, Come Again No More — Bob Dylan
  20. American Tune — Willie Nelson and Paul Simon
  21. Always On My Mind — Willie Nelson
  22. Whiskey River — Willie Nelson and Family, Don Was and the Healing Hands of Time Band

– Hallgeir

June 22 in music history

Kris Kristofferson is 78, Happy Birthday! (read more)

American country music singer, songwriter and musician as well as a film actor. He is known for such hits as “Me and Bobby McGee”, “For the Good Times”, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down”, and “Help Me Make It Through the Night”. Kristofferson is the sole writer of most of his songs, and he has collaborated with various other figures of the Nashville scene such as Shel Silverstein. In 1985, Kristofferson joined fellow country artists Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash in forming the country music supergroup “The Highwaymen”. In 2004 Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Kris_Kristofferson-The_Austin_Sessions-Interior_Frontal
A Ghost Is Born is the fifth studio album by Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco. Released on June 22, 2004, it features singer Jeff Tweedy on lead guitar more than any previous Wilco album. The band streamed the album online for free, and offered a five song EP to purchasers. wilco - album-a-ghost-is-born
Blue (1971) is the fourth album of Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Exploring the various facets of relationships from infatuation on “A Case of You” to insecurity on “This Flight Tonight”, the songs feature simple accompaniments on piano, guitar, and Appalachian dulcimer. Blue was a critical and commercial success, reaching #15 on the Billboard 200 and #3 in the UK Albums Chart. The single “Carey” reached #93 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In January 2000, the New York Times chose Blue as one of the 25 albums that represented “turning points and pinnacles in 20th-century popular music”. It was released June 22 in 1971 Joni_Mitchell-Blue
Cynthia Ann Stephanie “Cyndi” Lauper (born June 22, 1953)  American singer-songwriter, actress whose career has spanned over four decades. Her debut solo album She’s So Unusual (1983) was an instant commercial success. The album was the first debut female album to chart four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100—”Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” “She Bop,” and “All Through the Night,” earning Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985. Cyndi_Lauper
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop star, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, his career has produced a diverse range of recordings, both as a solo artist and as a member of the band Utopia. He has also been prolific as a producer and engineer on the recorded work of other musicians. 220px-Todd_Rundgren_at_Revolution_Live_(cropped)

Spotify Playlist – June 22:

Today: Janis Joplin passed away in 1970, 43 years ago

janis-joplin

On stage I make love to twenty five thousand people; and then I go home alone.
~Janis Joplin

You know why we’re stuck with the myth that only black people have soul? Because white people don’t let themselves feel things.
~Janis Joplin

The greatest white female rock singer of the 1960s, Janis Joplin was also a great blues singer, making her material her own with her wailing, raspy, supercharged emotional delivery.
~Richie Unterberger (allmusic.com)

Nice tribute video from youtube:


Piece Of My Heart (Live In Germany) – 1968:

From Wikipedia:

Birth name Janis Lyn Joplin
Also known as Pearl, Mary Jane
Born January 19, 1943
Port Arthur, Texas,
United States
Died October 4, 1970 (aged 27)
Hollywood, California,
United States
Genres Blues rock, soul, psychedelic rock, acid rock, country, folk,hard rock, jazz blues
Occupations Singer, songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar, auto-harp, harmonica, piano, percussion
Years active 1962–1970
Labels Columbia
Associated acts Big Brother and the Holding Company
Kozmic Blues Band
Full Tilt Boogie Band
Grateful Dead

Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter. Joplin first rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of the psychedelic-acid rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, and later as a solo artist with her more soulful and bluesy backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band. She was one of the more popular acts at the Monterey Pop Festival and later became one of the major attractions to the Woodstock festival and the Festival Express train tour.

Janis Joplin charted five singles, and other popular songs from her four-year career include “Down On Me”, “Bye, Bye Baby”, “Coo Coo”, “Summertime”, “Piece of My Heart”, “Turtle Blues”, “Ball ‘n’ Chain”, “Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)”, “Maybe”, “To Love Somebody”, “Kozmic Blues”, “Work Me, Lord”, “Move Over”, “Cry Baby”, “A Woman Left Lonely”, “Get It While You Can”, “My Baby”, “Trust Me”, “Mercedes Benz”, “One Night Stand”, “Raise Your Hand” and her only number one hit, “Me and Bobby McGee”.

Joplin was well-known for her performing abilities, and her fans referred to her stage presence as “electric”. At the height of her career, she was known as “The Queen of Rock and Roll” as well as “The Queen of Psychedelic Soul”, and became known as Pearl amongst her friends. She was also a painter, dancer and music arranger.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Joplin number 46 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004, and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

The party’s all over
Drink up and go home.
It’s too late to love her
And leave her alone.
~Kris Kristofferson (Epitaph (Black and Blue))

Joplin’s death in October 1970 at the age of 27 stunned her fans and shocked the music world, especially when coupled with the death just sixteen days earlier of another rock icon, Jimi Hendrix. Music historian Tom Moon wrote that Joplin had “a devastatingly original voice”. Music columnist Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote that Joplin as an artist was “overpowering and deeply vulnerable”. Author Megan Terry claimed that Joplin was the female version of Elvis Presley in her ability to captivate an audience.

To Love Somebody – July 18, 1969 Janis Joplin in The Dick Cavett Show:

Album of the day – Pearl (1970):

janis joplin pearl

From allmusic – Steve Huey:

Janis Joplin’s second masterpiece (after Cheap Thrills), Pearl was designed as a showcase for her powerhouse vocals, stripping down the arrangements that had often previously cluttered her music or threatened to drown her out. Thanks also to a more consistent set of songs, the results are magnificent — given room to breathe, Joplin’s trademark rasp conveys an aching, desperate passion on funked-up, bluesy rockers, ballads both dramatic and tender, and her signature song, the posthumous number one hit “Me and Bobby McGee.” The unfinished “Buried Alive in the Blues” features no Joplin vocals — she was scheduled to record them on the day after she was found dead.
.. read more @ allmusic 

 

Other October 4:

Continue reading Today: Janis Joplin passed away in 1970, 43 years ago