Kristoffer Kristofferson is a retired American country singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night", all of which were hits for other artists.
"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posthumously released version by Janis Joplin 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. Gordon Lightfoot released a version that reached number 1 on the Canadian country charts in 1970. Jerry Lee Lewis released a version that was number 1 on the country charts in December 1971/January 1972 as the "B" side of "Would You Take Another Chance On Me." Billboard ranked Joplin's version as the No. 11 song for 1971.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1970.
Noble Ray Price was an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone is regarded as among the best male voices of country music, and his innovations, such as propelling the country beat from 2/4 to 4/4, known as the "Ray Price beat", helped make country music more popular. Some of his well-known recordings include "Release Me", "Crazy Arms", "Heartaches by the Number", "For the Good Times", "Night Life", and "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me". He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He continued to record and tour into his 80s.
Jewel Fay "Sammi" Smith was an American country music singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1971 country-pop crossover hit "Help Me Make It Through the Night", which was written by Kris Kristofferson. She became one of the few women in the outlaw country movement during the 1970s.
"Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson that was recorded in 1969 by Ray Stevens before becoming a No.1 hit on the Billboard US Country chart for Johnny Cash.
Kristofferson is the debut album of singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, which was produced by Fred Foster and released in June 1970 by Monument Records. After working a series of temporary jobs, Kristofferson became a helicopter pilot for oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico. While he worked, he wrote songs and pitched them to singers around Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee during his free time. Kristofferson's songs were recorded by country singers Roy Drusky, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roger Miller and later he persuaded Johnny Cash to try his material. Cash invited Kristofferson to perform with him at the Newport Folk Festival, after which Fred Foster signed Kristofferson to Monument Records as a songwriter and recording artist.
Gary Gene Watson is an American country music singer. He is most famous for his 1975 hit "Love in the Hot Afternoon," his 1981 No. 1 hit "Fourteen Carat Mind," and his signature 1979 song "Farewell Party." Watson's long career has included five number one hits, 21 top tens, and 48 charted singles.
Hello, I'm Johnny Cash is the 33rd album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1970. "If I Were a Carpenter", a famous duet with Cash's wife, June Carter Cash, earned the couple a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1971 ; the song also reached #2 on the Country charts. This album also includes "To Beat the Devil", the first Kris Kristofferson song covered by Cash; the two would later collaborate numerous times, most famously on "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down". "See Ruby Fall" and "Blistered" were also released as singles, and the album itself reached #1 on the country charts and No. 6 on the pop charts. It was certified Gold on January 29, 1970 the RIAA. The album has been released on CD and it has been made available on official download sites. This album is not to be confused with a 1977 Columbia Special Products compilation LP with the same name.
"Help Me Make It Through The Night" is a country music ballad written and composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album Kristofferson. It was covered later in 1970 by Sammi Smith, on the album Help Me Make It Through the Night.
Breakaway is the second duet album by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, released in 1974 on Monument Records. It is one of three duet albums by the couple. Unlike Kristofferson solo albums, it features several covers. "I've Got to Have You" and "I'd Rather Be Sorry" had both previously been hits for other artists; they appear here by Kristofferson for the first time.
Natural Act is the third and final duet album by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, released in 1978 on A&M Records. The couple would divorce the following year. The album was released while Coolidge's career was at a peak; her recent albums Anytime...Anywhere and Love Me Again had seen much commercial success. Natural Act is Kristofferson's only album to chart in the United Kingdom.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released in 1979 by RCA Records.
Waylon Live is a live album by Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1976.
Marijohn Wilkin was an American songwriter, famous in country music for writing a number of hits. Wilkin won numerous awards over the years and was referred to as "The Den Mother of Music Row," as chronicled in her 1978 biography Lord, Let Me Leave a Song. It was honored as “One of the 100 Most Important Books about Nashville’s Music Industry.”
Rose Garden is a multi-million selling, RIAA Platinum-certified studio album by country singer Lynn Anderson. It was released in late 1970 as the title song was climbing country and pop music charts around the world. The single went on to top the Country charts, where it stayed at the number 1 position for five weeks. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in early 1971 and hit number 1 in both Cash Box and Record World. It was an international top five pop hit in numerous countries. Anderson received a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for the record. It would remain the biggest selling album by a female country artist for 27 years (1970-1997).
Last of the Breed is a two-disc album by American country music artists Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price, released in 2007. It debuted at number 64 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 13,000 copies in its first week. The album has 100,000 copies in the U.S. as of May 2015. The album was ranked number 33 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.
"Why Me" is an American country and gospel song written and recorded by American country music singer and songwriter Kris Kristofferson.
Sings Kristofferson is the 23rd studio album recorded by Willie Nelson in 1979 consisting of all covers of Kris Kristofferson songs. It reached #5 on the US Country albums chart, #42 on the US Pop albums charts, and was certified gold in Canada and platinum in the US. The cover is very simple, a single picture of Nelson's face against a black background, with the song titles to the right of his face. The back cover is the same background with both Nelson and Kristofferson's faces together.
"For the Good Times" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson, first recorded by singer Bill Nash in 1968 before appearing on Kristofferson's own debut album in April 1970. After a recording by Ray Price became a #1 hit single in June of that year, the song established Kristofferson as one of country and popular music's top songwriters while giving Price his first chart-topping country and western song in 11 years.
