The great Bob Dylan once said of the equally exceptional Kris Kristofferson, “You can look at Nashville pre-Kris and post-Kris, because he changed everything.” In the mid-1960s, the Texas-born Rhodes scholar decided to forego a teaching position at the U.S. Army’s prestigious West Point to chase his songwriting dream in Nashville. After working as a janitor for Columbia Records, he recorded his debut studio album, Kristofferson, in 1970. The singer-songwriter worked his way up to become one of Nashville’s premier truth-tellers. He penned massive hits for other artists including Johnny Cash’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee”.
While best remembered as a songwriter, Kristofferson — who died in 2024 at age 88 — recorded and released numerous albums of his own. On this day (November 3) in 1973, his fourth studio album Jesus Was a Capricorn sat at No. 1 on the U.S. Top Country Albums chart. It displaced Loretta Lynn’s Love is the Foundation.
Kris Kristofferson “Owed” the Title Track to John Prine
If the album’s title track sounds reminiscent of singer-songwriter John Prine, that’s not a coincidence. After discovering the younger artist on the 1960s Chicago folk scene, Kris Kristofferson later declared, “If God’s got a favorite songwriter, I think it’s John Prine.”
Speaking to Uncut’s Graeme Thomson in 2016, Kristofferson recalled, “I wrote ‘Jesus Was A Capricorn (Owed To John Prine)’ because I was so influenced by John. When I heard his songs I felt like his writing had kicked me into doing it.
“You take things from all over the place, though you don’t always admit it!” he continued. “I was really influenced by Roger Miller, Shel Silverstein and Mickey Newbury. Everybody you admire influences you somehow in your art.”
The No. 1 Hit Inspired By a Religious Experience
Notably, Jesus Was a Capricorn also contained the track “Why Me”. Kris Kristofferson’s lone No. 1 hit as a solo artist featured backup vocals from singer Rita Coolidge — to whom Kristofferson was married from 1973 to 1980 — as well as country singer Larry Gatlin.
Kristofferson wrote “Why Me” during a low point in his life after attending a religious service conducted by the Rev. Jimmie Rogers Snow.
At one point, the pastor asked, “Is anybody feeling lost?”
“Up goes my hand,” Kristofferson said.
Next, the pastor asked if he would accept Christ into his life.
“I’m kneeling there,” Kristofferson continued, “and I carry a big load of guilt around…and I was just out of control, crying. It was a release. It really shook me up.”
[RELATED: 3 Songs Written by Kris Kristofferson That Became Incredible Hits for Other Artists]
Dozens of country artists went on to cover “Why Me”. That auspicious list includes Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, George Jones, David Allan Coe, Conway Twitty, Elvis Presley, and Connie Smith.
Jesus Was a Capricorn spent just one week at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. However, Kristofferson found himself back on top the following week, this time with Full Moon. That marked the first of three duet albums with wife Rita Coolidge.
Featured image by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
The post 53 Years Ago Today, Kris Kristofferson Topped the Charts With an Album Whose Title Was Inspired by John Prine appeared first on American Songwriter.