Kris Kristofferson, born in 1936, has always been one of my favorite songwriters and singers, even with his gravel voice. Tonight I had the pleasure of seeing him here in SR at the Luther Burbank Center. (My friend Lance Cutler once said that if you think they are dead or close to dying and you find out that they are in town, it is imperative that you see them. So I did.) My friend Margaret bought the tickets and there we were.
His voice is even more craggly than I remembered. But he looks pretty good for a guy in his 80's and he doesn't waste time on stage. He sings, there's not much banter, and (old school) he says "thank you " to the audience after every song.
Kristofferson's songs have been covered by dozens and dozens of singers and he has won many awards for his songwriting. He never hit it big as a singer or as an actor but many of his songs climbed to the top of the charts, sung by Janis Joplin, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and so many others. He is well known and respected in the industry: to say his name to anyone even remotely cognizant of music means an automatic "Oh, he is amazing" kind of comment.
The concert tonight was very soft and mellow, in a good way. He doesn't have the juice he once had but he doesn't seem to mind that. He played for about 50 minutes, took a 15 minute break and played for another 45 minutes. Sang all the old numbers that won him awards and he sang so many other songs that made him so well-known as a lyrical balladeer. I am so glad I saw him.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment