Rock 'n' Roll Rabbit Hole

'Me and Bobby McGee': Janis Joplin or Kris Kristofferson?

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In this episode of Rock 'n' Roll Rabbit Hole, hosts Kevin Gibson and Butch Bays focus on the enduring song "Me and Bobby McGee." Written by Kris Kristofferson, its most successful recorded version was done by Janis Joplin, who topped the Billboard Top 40 chart in 1971 with her take on the tune. But along the way, many artists covered "Bobby McGee," with a wide variety of results. So, whose song is it, anyway? Does it belong to Kristofferson? Or Joplin, given it's her version most people remember?

On this episode, Butch and Kevin discuss a number of aspects of the song:

  • How Kristofferson conceived and wrote the song, and how Fred Foster fits into the picture.
  • Who the subject of the song really was -- and you may not know that her name wasn't Bobby McGee.
  • Before his music career, Kristofferson, a Rhodes Scholar who studied at Oxford, was flying planes down in Louisiana. He wrote the song in a time when he was going broke, which informed the song's lyrics.
  • Kevin and Butch break down the song and some of its best lines, as well as where they came from.
  • Having tossed aside his education to become a "music bum," Kristofferson's family shunned him out of shame. Enter Cowboy Jack Clement, who saw the letter from Kris's mother and showed it to Johnny Cash. It launched another song.
  • The hosts move on to talk about Janis Joplin and her unique life as an outcast. Much like Kristofferson, she was shunned, not by her family, but by her community.
  • She ended up becoming a singer while dating a member of the Grateful Dead, performing in bands such as the Full-Tilt Boogie Band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and others.
  • They briefly discuss some of the other versions of "Me and Bobby McGee." Other artists to cover it include: Jerry Lee Lewis, Roger Miller, Gordon Lightfoot, Pink, the Statler Brothers and ... Jennifer Love Hewitt?
    • ...more
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    Rock 'n' Roll Rabbit HoleBy Kevin Gibson/Butch Bays