Kristoffer Kristofferson June 22, β September 28, was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a more raw, introspective style. During the s, he also embarked on a successful career as a Hollywood actor. Kristofferson released his debut album Kristofferson in Kristofferson was also a member of the country music supergroup the Highwaymen between and He has charted 12 times on the American Billboard Hot Country Songs charts; his highest peaking singles there are "Why Me" and "Highwayman", which reached number one in and , respectively.
He was a three-time Grammy Award winner, out of 13 total nominations. His acting career waned somewhat following his role in the box office bomb Heaven's Gate , but he continued to act in films such as Stagecoach , Lone Star , and the Blade film trilogy β Kristofferson moved around frequently as a youth because of his father's military service, and the family settled in San Mateo, California. These stories touch on the roots of Kristofferson's passions and concerns.
At the age of 17, Kristofferson took a summer job with a dredging contractor on Wake Island in the western Pacific Ocean. He called it "the hardest job I ever had". Kristofferson attended Pomona College and experienced his first national exposure in , appearing in the March 31 issue of Sports Illustrated for his achievements in collegiate rugby union , American football , and track and field. Kristofferson graduated in with a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude , in literature.
He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa his junior year. In a interview with Pomona College Magazine , Kristofferson mentioned philosophy professor Frederick Sontag as an important influence in his life. At Oxford, he became acquainted with fellow Rhodes scholar, art critic, and poet Michael Fried. Parnes was working to sell Kristofferson as "a Yank at Oxford" to the British public; Kristofferson was willing to accept that promotional approach if it helped his singing career, which he hoped would enable him to progress toward his goal of becoming a novelist.
This early phase of his music career was unsuccessful. Kristofferson joined the Army in after graduating from Oxford. He later used his piloting skills as a source of income while trying to succeed in Nashville in his early years there. After relocating to Nashville, Tennessee, Kristofferson contacted Marijohn Wilkin , the aunt of his former platoon commander, who signed Kristofferson to her publishing house Buckhorn Music.
