US SINGER - SONGWRITER KRIS KRISTOFFERSON DIES AT 88

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Kris Kristofferson, a country music superstar who famously starred opposite Barbra Streisand in “A Star is Born,” died at the age of 88, his family confirmed on Sunday.

A statement published by the artist’s family, a Country Music Hall of Fame honouree and Grammy winner known for authoring hits such as “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Me and Bobby McGee,” did not indicate the cause of death.

Kristofferson spent decades performing solo before joining Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson to form the supergroup The Highwaymen in the mid-1980s.

In film, the Golden Globe winner played Whistler alongside Wesley Snipes in the vampire trilogy “Blade.”

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28, at home” In Hawaii, the family said in a statement carried on his official Facebook page.

“We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all.”

Kristofferson was born on June 22, 1936, in Brownsville, Texas, and relocated frequently as a child due to his father’s service in the United States military. According to his official website, he attended Pomona College in California and received a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford.

He joined the army but continued to pursue his passion for music and songwriting. He was offered a teaching position at West Point but instead chose to relocate to Nashville, where he began submitting compositions for others to record.

He finally signed his own record deal and put out a first album in 1970. He would earn success both with his own voice and by providing tunes for other hitmakers.

Cash took “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” to the top of the charts, and Ray Price did the same with “For the Good Times.”

“Me and Bobby McGee” became a posthumous hit for Janis Joplin, who once dated Kristofferson.

“You can look at Nashville pre-Kris and post-Kris, because he changed everything,” Bob Dylan is quoted on Kristofferson’s website as saying.

Kristofferson sang in a hoarse voice of loneliness, hardship, and love. One of his heroes was the English poet William Blake.

Kristofferson would later transition to acting, where his good looks led to collaborations with directors Sam Peckinpah and Martin Scorsese.

Then followed the smash hit “A Star Is Born” (1976), in which he played a washed-up rock singer who discovers a new talent (Streisand).

He received a Golden Globe for best actor for the picture, which was a remake of a 1937 film that was recreated in the 1950s with Judy Garland and then again in 2018 with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.

Kristofferson’s acting career suffered a setback when he starred in the renowned flop “Heaven’s Gate” in 1980. He struggled with drugs and alcohol, but he went on to play dozens of other TV and film roles.

As a solo artist, his album output decreased after the 1980s. Over the course of a decade, The Highwaymen released three successful albums, and he frequently collaborated with Nelson in the years since.

Kristofferson travelled extensively until the COVID-19 pandemic, although he suffered from memory loss and declared his retirement from music in early 2021.

“He created a body of work that gave voice not only to his soul but also to ours,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame.