‘A Gentleman, Kind Soul, and Lover of Words’: Tributes to Kris Kristofferson Pour In
Country luminaries like Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, and Sheryl Crow — and many, many, many more — paid tribute to Kris Kristofferson following the legendary musician and actor’s death this weekend.
“What a great loss, what a great writer, what a great actor, what a great friend,” Parton wrote. “I will always love you.” Parton recorded Kristofferson’s “For the Good Times” in 1996, while the pair also sang together on songs like “From Here to the Moon and Back,” “Ping Pong,” and “Put It Off Until Tomorrow.”
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Crow and McEntire both got the chance to perform with Kristofferson live, and even duetted with him on the same tune, Kristofferson’s immortal, “Me and Bobby McGee.” McEntire recorded the track (along with “Why Me”) for a Kristofferson tribute album, and the pair sang it on stage at a special 2016 concert in Nashville.
“What a gentleman, kind soul, and a lover of words,” McEntire wrote on X. “I am so glad I got to meet him and be around him. One of my favorite people. Rest in peace, Kris.”
And Crow sang “Me and Bobby McGee” with Kristofferson on a couple of occasions, including the 40th anniversary special for Austin City Limits. “It is hard to imagine a world without Kris Kristofferson in it,” Crow wrote on social media. “Knowing and singing with him has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. I feel certain he will be holding court in heaven. RIP Kris. You will be missed.”
Rucker, who performed with Kristofferson at the White House in 2011 (they played the Townes Van Zandt classic “Pancho and Lefty”), wrote, “We lost one of the kindest most beautiful souls that God gave us. I will miss u my friend. I love u Kriss. I just love u man!!”
Brandi Carlile, who performed with Kristofferson’s backing band in 2016, penned a tribute on Monday, saying she was still very much processing the singer’s death. In her post, she shared a video of herself yodeling along to “Lovesick Blues” by Hank Williams, a song Carlile wrote was Kristofferson’s favorite song. In 2019, the two recorded a live duet of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You.”
“I’ve got the lovesick blues today…but I’m so lucky to have known Kris Kristofferson,” she wrote. “Above all things, Kris had (and will always have) a once-in-a-century family…the kind that history remembers. I love the life he had and the way it ended.”
Eric Church thanked Kristofferson for being “a beacon of light in a darkening world,” adding, “You were my hero and my role model. And even then, you managed to exceed my expectations when you became my friend.” Church also shared a video of he and Kristofferson performing a bit of “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” backstage.
Other tributes came in from LeAnn Rimes, who called Kristofferson an “epic human with the biggest heart”; Wynonna Judd, who celebrated Kristofferson as “one of my favorite people on the planet” on Instagram Stories; and Travis Tritt, who cited Kristofferson as an “inspiration” and spoke about getting to know him on the set of the 1999 film Outlaw Justice (also known as The Long Kill).
“This one hurts,” wrote Trisha Yearwood. “The word legend gets tossed around a lot but with Kristofferson the shoe fits. These are shoes that won’t be filled. Rest easy.”
And George Strait said, “Artists and songwriters of this caliber come along very rarely and he certainly made his mark on the world. My family, like most people, were huge fans and we will all miss him. I knew him on a professional level only but I always felt like it was more because of the kindness and respect he showed me on the times we met. I’ll treasure those times forever. He lived one heck of a life and I’m hoping it has only just begun for him. God bless Kris and all of the Kristofferson family.”
Of course, plenty of additional tributes poured in from outside the world of country music. Tom Morello celebrated Kristofferson’s tireless work as an activist, and Melissa Etheridge tweeted, “Loved this man, his talent, his mind and his beautiful heart.” Songwriter Diane Warren noted Kristofferson’s many achievements as a musician, a Rhodes scholar, and actor, while also adding, “not to mention criminally handsome.” And Chuck D shared a portrait of Kristofferson, calling him “one helluva Songwriter.”
From the world of acting, tributes came in from Kristofferson’s many co-stars like Dakota Fanning, who worked with Kristofferson on the 2005 movie Dreamer. “This legend was so good to me when we worked together,” Fanning wrote on Instagram Stories. “What an honor to have spent time in his presence.”
Josh Brolin, who worked with Kristofferson on the 1993 movie Paper Hearts, called him a, “Poet, lovely human being, road scholar redneck old schooler,” before sharing lyrics from his 1971 classic “Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again).”
And John Cusack called Kristofferson “a true great. Brilliant songwriter singer actor activist. Warrior for justice.” He added: “You never had to wonder what side of the line he was on. He was always in the intelligent human soulful space — come hell or high water. A man and artist I deeply respected.”
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