Kris Kristofferson Songs: 20 Essential Songs

As far as country songwriters go — or songwriters of any genre — Kris Kristofferson was among the most authentic. That’s a word that Nashville loves to freely toss around, but in the case of the Texas native, it was appropriate. Kristofferson knew intimately about the tales of love and loss, peaks and valleys, and drunken nights and regret-filled mornings that he wrote about. He experienced and endured them and, in turn, they birthed his songs, from “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’” and “Why Me?” to “Help Me Make It Through the Night” and “To Beat the Devil.” These are his essential works.