“Me and Bobby McGee” is a song written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, originally performed by Roger Miller. Others performed the song later, including the Grateful Dead, Kristofferson himself, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, and most famously by Janis Joplin, whose posthumously released version topped the U.S. singles chart in 1971, making the song the second posthumously released No. 1 single in U.S. chart history after “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding. Billboard ranked Joplin’s version as the No. 11 song for 1971. (More from Wikipedia)
Kris Kristofferson is probably better known as a songwriter – such as Janis Joplin’s posthumous hit song, “Me and Bobby McGee”, plus “For the Good Times” (a hit by Ray Price, among others), “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” (recorded by Johnny Cash) and “Help Me Make it Through the Night” (Sammi Smith’s version being the most successful), which were all #1 hits on one Billboard or Canadian chart or other – or as an actor in dozens of films, such as Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, A Star Is Born, the Blade films, and The Motel Life. He has a rough-and-tumble reputation as a hard-liver, and in part, that fuels his interest in spiritual matters. Jesus has clearly been on his mind over the years; his album names include Jesus Was a Capricorn (simply an observation that Christmas Day falls within that astrological sign).
(July 2014)
