Nashville's Dolly Parton, Eric Church and more honor Kris Kristofferson

The September 28, 2024 passing of iconic singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson had a huge impact on music and entertainment industry favorites.

The announcement Sunday evening that award-winning stage and screen singer, songwriter and performer Kris Kristofferson passed away on September 28, 2024, sent shockwaves of sadness through the entertainment and music industries.

He was a craftsman as inspired by legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, poet William Yeats and seminal country legend Hank Williams as by fellow art music titans Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. Hall of Fame caliber artists have composed his songs, including Janis Joplin, Al Green, Emmylou Harris, Gladys Knight, Ronnie Milsap, Elvis Presley, Ray Price and Frank Sinatra. He has also shared the big screen with names such as Burt Reynolds and Barbra Streisand while starring in films directed by Paul Mazursky, Sam Peckinpah and Martin Scorsese.

Thus, a wave of memories emerged from notable creators and figures who knew him best and admired his work.

Other icons of the 70s react

Dolly Parton, was a contemporary of Kristofferson who topped the charts with “Joshua” when Kristofferson released his first self-titled top 10 album with “To Beat The Devil” in 1970, offering: “What a great loss, what a great writer , what a great actor, what a great friend”, via social networks.

Kristofferson’s inspiration and Highwayman member Johnny Cash’s son John Carter Cash – with whom Kristofferson appeared alongside the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on 2004’s “The Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family” – offered via Instagram, “Time passed and God called my friend home. Kris was one of the most important and impactful people in my entire life. He gave me confidence in my own abilities as a writer and music producer, he showed me how to laugh and poetry while living the dream, without sleeping through life. He held a big part of my heart and only he could have created that space.

Willie Nelson is now the last living member of the iconic Highwaymen quartet.

Alongside Cash, Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings, the quartet re-recorded Jimmy Webb’s “Highwayman” in 1977 and won single of the year from the Academy of Country Music in 1985.

Asked about his career revival, Kristofferson replied, “God save fools and songwriters,” to then-60 Minutes co-host Charlie Rose.

“According to William Blake, if you were meant to be an artist, you had a duty to express all your talent in that direction,” he added.

His on-screen lover, Streisand, with whom he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for “A Star Is Born” in 1976, offered the following:

“The first time I saw Kris play at the Troubadour club in Los Angeles, I knew he was something special. Barefoot and strumming his guitar, he seemed like the perfect choice for a script I was developing, which eventually became “A Star Is Born”. In the film, Kris and I sang the song I wrote for the film’s main love theme, “Evergreen”. London, I asked Kris to join me on stage to sing our other duet from A Star Is Born, “Lost Inside Of You”. It was a joy to see him receive the recognition and love that he received. he deserved so much My heart goes out to Kris’s wife, Lisa, who I know supported him in every way possible.

Stars of the modern era react

Kristofferson’s iconoclastic tendencies also continued to impact Nashville throughout its modern era.

In 2015, Americana and Grammy Award winners Jason Isbell, Brandy Clark and Raul Malo, as well as sellers of 10 million albums and 20 million singles Lady A, paid tribute to Kristofferson in a 90-year concert minutes to downtown Nashville.

Eric Church and Ashley McBryde, two stars intrinsically linked by the era, also offered thoughts on the icon’s impact on their careers during that era.

Sharing photos saved on his cellphone, “Springsteen” singer Church noted that his “hero and role model” Kristofferson had “the ultimate life well lived” and was “a beacon of light in a darkening world “.

“You managed to exceed my expectations when you became my friend. See you soon, Captain. See you again,” he added.

McBryde, whose fame stems from Church spotlighting her career in 2017, captioned a photo of her and Kristofferson with: “Thank you for teaching us how to write. And for teaching me how to conquer the devil .”

McBryde’s latest album, released in 2023, is called “The Devil I Know”.

Professional organizations reflect on Kristofferson’s legacy

Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004.

Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, released the following statement regarding his legacy:

“Kris Kristofferson deeply believed that creativity is a gift from God and that those who ignore or misappropriate such a sacred gift are doomed to failure and unhappiness. He preached that a life of the spirit gives voice to the his soul, then he created a body of work that gave voice not only to his soul but to ours. Kris’s heroes included the fighter Muhammad Ali, the great poet William Blake and the “Hillbilly Shakespeare”, Hank. Williams lived his life in a way that honored and exemplified the values of each of these men, and he leaves a righteous, courageous and resounding legacy that resonates with theirs.

Sarah Trahern, CEO of the Country Music Association, also made a statement about the artist who won CMA Song of the Year for writing Johnny Cash’s “Sunday Mornin’ Coming Down” in 1970 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019:

“The world of country music has lost one of its most profound storytellers. I was fortunate to work with Kris on many projects over the years. His charm was exactly what you’d expect: unpretentious and slightly mysterious yet deeply warm as a prolific writer, actor and performer, his gifts were unlike anyone else. We regret that we no longer benefit from his incredible words and talents. Our hearts go out to friends and. to Kris’ family during this sad time.

It is also worth noting that in 1967 Kristofferson was one of the 42 founding members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). The NSAI’s highest honor, the Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award — received most recently by Alan Jackson and accepted by Bill Anderson, Bobby Braddock, Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson over the past decade — is named after him.

NSAI President Lee Thomas Miller said: “Songwriters have lost an icon and a friend. As one of the founding fathers of Music Row, Kris Kristofferson set the bar for greatness in the art of songwriting. He was a real star. The air changed when he walked into the room, country music, Nashville and NSAI would not be what we are today without the incredible Kris Kristofferson.