It's no secret that fans regard Kris Kristofferson as the one who opened the doors for outlaw country. However, he is quick to point the finger elsewhere and give himself none of the credit.
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In a 1978 interview between Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, and Melody Maker's Colin Irwin, the "American Remains" crooner argued that he can't take credit for easing outlaw country in. Although quickly provided an example of him doing exactly that.
"My first impulse is to deny it... of being leader of anything," he said after Irwin made a comment about him being responsible for the outlaw revolution. Kristofferson greased up Nashville for the outlaw movement which allowed those like Willie Nelson to shine. But again, he never said so.
"In a sense I can see some justification for stating it, but the thing is, I was a fan of [Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash] before anybody had heard of me," he continued. Although Kristofferson is up there alongside Nelson and Cash, he always saw them as above him after being a fan of their music for so long.
"Waylon and Willie and Johnny Cash were like... heroes, and Roger Miller — all those."
"But Willie was never accepted — I don't think taken seriously even by the people in Nashville — though we thought of him as a great jazz singer," Kristofferson said.
The country legend did share one story, however, of him breaking down some barriers that he'd admit to.
How Kris Kristofferson Helped Waylon Jennings And Willie Nelson
Kris Kristofferson went over a story of how he introduced Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
"And I remember when I started working at the Troubadour and at the Bitter End, the owners asked me specifically, if I could get Waylon there," he explained. "I asked Waylon, and Waylon's manager at the time said, 'Oh, we wouldn't go over in that kind of crowd.'"
"I thought, 'Christ, if I go over I know they're gonna like Willie and Waylon.' And it turned out to be true. But that's the only way you could say I was breaking down any barriers or opening any doors."
"Willie opened up a whole thing of his own in Austin, and all that time from the Seventies on I really didn't know what was going on in Nashville, what they were talking about, what people looked like," he continued, standing firm that he had nothing to do with outlaw's success.
There is one hilarious thing he'd take credit for, however. Beards.
"It's kinda weird for me to try and take credit for helping my heroes. Bob Dylan was much more important — he brought attention to Johnny Cash, he brought attention to Nashville. Maybe I just contributed the fact that a guy could wear a beard, 'cos when I went back to Nashville once everyone was wearing beards."
