Kris Kristofferson, Country Singer, Songwriter and Actor, Dies at 88

Kris Kristofferson, the singer and songwriter whose literary yet plain-spoken compositions like “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” infused country music with rarely heard candor and depth, and who later had a successful second career in movies, died at his home in Maui, Hawaii on Saturday.He was 88.His death was announced by Ebie McFarland, a spokeswoman, who did not give a cause.Hundreds of artists have recorded Mr.

Kristofferson’s songs, from Al Green and the Grateful Dead to Michael Bublé and Gladys Knight and the Pips.Mr.Kristofferson’s breakthrough as a songwriter came with “For the Good Times,” a bittersweet ballad that topped the country chart and reached the pop Top 40 for Ray Price in 1970.

His “Sunday Morning Coming Down” became a No.1 country hit for his friend and mentor Johnny Cash later that year.Mr.

Cash memorably intoned the song’s indelible opening couplet:Well, I woke up Sunday morningWith no way to hold my head that didn’t hurtAnd the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t badSo I had one more for dessert.Expressing more than just the malaise of someone suffering from a hangover, “Sunday Morning Coming Down” gives voice to feelings of spiritual abandonment that border on the absolute.“Nothing short of dying” is the way the song’s chorus describes the desolation its protagonist is experiencing.Steeped in a neo-romantic sensibility that owed as much to John Keats as to the Beat Generation and Bob Dylan, Mr.

Kristofferson’s work explored themes of freedom and commitment, alienation and desire, darkness and light.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....