SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN
Life and its unexpected intersections: Kris Kristofferson, Kenneth Threadgill, Toby Keith and the Armadillo.
Momma’s dying. I got the call from hospice this week to get everyone into town who wants to say goodbye. Knowing something’s coming isn’t the same as going through it, and in this liminal space between life and death, where the emotions are so close to the surface, loss that intertwines with my own is hitting harder than it might otherwise.
Growing up we watched Glen Campbell, Sonny & Cher, Austin City Limits and anything with Johnny Cash. Kristofferson was part of that landscape, and he walked with a power that felt true. Here’s three stories that define what it means to live a value-driven life.
1. STAND YOUR GROUND BUT DON’T HOLD A GRUDGE.
Ethan Hawke penned an ode for Rolling Stone in 2009 where he recalled standing next to Kristofferson and Willie Nelson at Nelson’s 70th Birthday concert. An unnamed country star, later revealed to be Toby Keith, wished Willie a happy birthday. Hawke recounts that Keith then turned and looked at Kristofferson.
“None of that lefty shit out there tonight, Kris.”
Kris: “What the f*ck did you just say to me?”
Willie: “Oh, no. Don’t get Kris all riled up.”
Keith doubled down — “You heard me” — before turning to walk away.
Kris: “Don’t turn your back to me, boy.”
Keith: “I don’t want any problems, Kris… I just want you to tone it down.”
Kris, a former Army Ranger and helicopter pilot, said: “You ever worn your country’s uniform? Don’t ‘What?’ me, boy! You heard the question. You just don’t like the answer. ‘Have you ever served your country?’ The answer is, no, you have not. Have you ever killed another man? Have you ever taken another man’s life and then cashed the check your country gave you for doing it? No, you have not. So shut the f*ck up… you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
But here’s the rest of the story, expertly laid out by Whiskey Riff’s Wes Langeler, starting with Keith going bananas that same year at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
“I don’t know Ethan Hawke. Ethan Hawke wanted to do some kind of superficial Rolling Stone article. And he did everything he could to make his story the greatest story ever in Rolling Stone. And it was a fictitious f*cking lie.”
Kristofferson’s first instinct? To defuse and mend the fence, ever the southern gentleman.
“I would like to state for the record that I am friends with Ethan Hawke, Toby Keith and Tennessean reporter Peter Cooper. Although I do not remember the events at Willie’s birthday party as reported in Rolling Stone, what does it matter? There are a lot of things in artistry that transcend politics.”
As a footnote, in 2018 Ethan Hawke cast Kristofferson in what would turn out to be his final film role, playing troubled Austin singer-songwriter Blaze Foley’s father in Blaze, which Hawke directed.
2. STAND ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY WITH GRACE.
”This ain't no rag, it's a flag
And we don't wear it on our heads
It's a symbol of the land where the good guys live.”
Those are the first three lines of a song that hasn’t exactly aged well.
In 2003, little-known but widely respected Nashville producer Tamara Saviano was working with the Great American Country Channel. After Charlie Daniel’s publicist forwarded yet another rant to reporters and media figures in the country music field, Saviano pushed back, calling the posting ''offensive,'' ''an insult'' and ''bullshit propaganda.'' The Great American Country Channel fired her.
Unemployed and ostracized, Saviano hung out her own shingle. The first person to hire her was Kris Kristofferson. Three years later, when Saviano was serving as president of the Americana Music Awards, the show honored Daniels with the “Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award'.
"If you believe in 'free speech,' you believe in free speech for everybody, regardless of whether they agree with you, or not. So it's interesting that Charlie's here because the majority of the artists that are performing tonight do not agree with Charlie. That's what makes America great. All of us can express our opinion at any time, without fear of retribution." Tamara Saviano, VOA News, Oct 12, 2006.
Saviano worked with Kristofferson for the rest of his life.
Kris played Bonnaroo in 2010. A van dropped off Jamey Johnson and his entourage and they sauntered over to us. Jamey had two or three towering, ripped, brick-house sturdy dudes with him. Kris craned his neck as he looked up at Jamey’s friends. Jamey said “This is my muscle.” Without cracking a smile, Kris nodded his head toward me and said “This is mine.” Tamara Saviano writing on Facebook
3. HOLD AND HONOR THOSE YOU LOVE.
In 1970, during the last few turbulent months of Janis Joplin’s life, she and Kristofferson fell for each other, and he encouraged her to record a version of his song “Me and Bobby McGee,” which posthumously would become Joplin’s only number one record.
“The first time I heard Janis's recording of Bobby McGee was when I had just gone down because she had died. The producer asked me to come by the office the next day. I didn't even know she'd cut it. He played it for me. I had to leave the room - it was impossibly hard to hear. So much love and emotion going into the song - and knowing she wasn't there to enjoy that.” Kristofferson quoted in The Daily Mail, Sept 30, 2024.
Two years later, as recounted by Auspop’s Maddie McVey, Kristofferson heard Joplin’s mentor Kenneth Threadgill yodel at Willlie Nelson’s Dripping Springs Reunion. He flew Threadgill to Nashville to record, covering all the expenses with royalties from “Me and Bobby McGee,” thereby fulfilling Joplin’s promise to get Threadgill a record deal.
If you’re curious about Threadgill, his legacy and relationship with Joplin, check out the Sept. 5 Happy Heat.
We’ll close with Kristofferson’s final live performance, at Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Bash last year, a tender duet with Roseanne Cash.
THE ARMADILLO LIVES
You can touch history today at the South Congress Hotel, when a pop-up dedicated to the Armadillo World Headquarters kicks off First Thursday with live performances by @robbairdmusic, @floats4uu and @flightbynothing, alongside DJ sets by @king_louie, @rruuex, @soularreal, @lonnysounds, @hippiescumtx, and @jordanlanepierce. Sip, socialize, or maybe bust out a few signature dance moves– your call.
Full disclosure — Arts+Labor’s partnering with Armadillo World to handle social media, and it’s a story we’re excited to help bring to life. For that matter, another Armadillo World Headquarters legend is playing this weekend in south Austin.
EXTREME HEAT CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
Armadillo mainstay Extreme Heat (top ten list below) takes the stage at 7pm Saturday at El Mercado South.
Join us as we celebrate the here and now, tap into the spirit and dance. Because at some point that’s impossible to predict, it will end in the snap of a finger. So goes the sweetness of life.
Alan Berg, Publisher.
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