Country singer Kris Kristofferson dead at 88

Kristofferson passed away peacefully in his sleep Saturday at his home in Hawaii, according to a family spokeswoman, the Associated Press reported. Known as a deft and acute songwriter, and for being a member of the Highwaymen supergroup with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings, Kristofferson led a successful career in country music for decades. He also became an A-list Hollywood actor, starring in movies such as Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and A Star is Born.

Was Kristofferson religious at all? Kristofferson told the media outlet Country Rebel that he had what he called a profound religious experience at a church service led by Rev. Jimmie Rogers Snow that led him to write the song “Why Me.” The song asks why he led a life that was so blessed. Kristofferson often highlighted sins of partiality and pretense that the established church often failed to acknowledge, John D. Pierce, the director of Belmont University’s Jesus Worldview Initiative, wrote in a 2021 column.

What was his personal life like? Kristofferson married three women over the course of his life—Fran Beer, Rita Coolidge, and Lisa Meyers. He also fathered eight children over the course of his life and each of those marriages, according to media outlet Wide Open Country.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report in The Sift about Kristofferson’s country star comrade Johnny Cash receiving a statue in the U.S. Capitol.