Despite All Expectations, Kris Kristofferson Achieved Success His Way

In college, Kris Kristofferson was a Rhodes scholar and a Golden Gloves boxer who also happened to play guitar and write music. After Oxford, he moved to Nashville to pursue songwriting and eventually managed to gain Johnny Cash's attention by delivering a demo tape by helicopter to Cash's home. Cash ended up recording Kristofferson's song "Sunday Morning Coming Down," which became a hit.So began Kristofferson's wildly successful career that included starring roles in movies. The image in this episode's chapters and thumbnail is from the cover of the 2010 unauthorized biography of Kristofferson by Stephen Miller (not the White House deputy chief of staff!). Miller also wrote "Johnny Cash: Life of an American Icon," which is available on Kindle and in paperback, and "The Million Dollar Quartet" about the recordings made during an impromptu jam session at Sun Record Studios in Memphis. The musicians were Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Cash.To watch Kristofferson and Cash performing "Sunday Morning Coming Down," go here. The clip is from Cash's Christmas show in 1978.This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.Send us Fan MailThis is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in major podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.