Kris Kristofferson enjoyed more than 50 years as an artist and songwriter, before he passed away in 2024. With numerous awards, hit singles, successful albums and more, along with a successful acting career, Kristofferson still offers a cautionary tale to others considering a similar career path.
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"I would just say, if you have a choice, don't do it," Kristofferson says with a laugh, in a 1985 interview with a young fan. "The only reason to devote yourself to this kind of life, is you have no other choice, and that you'd be miserable doing anything else, because it's real hard. You gotta be real lucky to be able to do it. And it's a risky business. You have to show a lot of yourself. You have to be willing to take rejection, and criticism and abuse.
"People are always going to be criticizing you, and judging your behavior," he adds. "If you can take that - better yet, if you can't do anything else, then be an actor or go to Hollywood. But if you got any other thing you can do, do it."
Kris Kristofferson And His Impact On Country Music
Few artists have been as influential in country music as Kris Kristofferson. It's a fact that was evident to everyone perhaps, except Kristofferson, who humbly deflected any praise about his impact on the genre.
"My first impulse is to deny it... of being leader of anything," Kristofferson says in a 1978 interview.
"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 continues, adding who he really believes had the greatest influence.
"Waylon and Willie and Johnny Cash were like... heroes, and Roger Miller — all those," Kristofferson says.
It's Kristofferson who introduced Nelson and Jennings. But throughout his life, he still felt others were more influential to him than the other way around.
"It's kinda weird for me to try and take credit for helping my heroes," Kristofferson claims. "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, 'cause when I went back to Nashville once everyone was wearing beards."
