- HELLO.
TODAY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT KRIS KRISTOFFERSON.
- [laughing]
- KRIS KRISTOFFERSON GOT INCREDIBLE GRADES,
AND HE WAS A RHODES SCHOLAR,
AND THEN HE TRAINED AS AN ARMY RANGER
TO FLY HELICOPTERS.
HIS PLATOON COMMANDER KNEW SOMEONE IN NASHVILLE
THAT WORKED FOR JOHNNY CASH.
HE CAN GET YOU IN FOR FREE TO A SHOW AT THE GRAND OLE OPRY.
YEAH? I LOVE IT.
LET'S DO IT.
SO KRIS TAKES A ONE-WEEK LEAVE AND WATCHES JOHNNY CASH.
HE FELT A POWER AND AN ENERGY,
'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT JOHNNY CASH DID.
KRIS FELT TRANSFIXED. MY GOD, THIS IS MY HERO.
AND KRIS SAID IN THAT MOMENT THAT HE WAS THUNDERSTRUCK.
AND THEN JOHNNY CASH WALKED OFF,
AND JOHNNY CASH WALKED OVER AND SHOOK HIS HAND.
BOOM. HOLY [bleep]!
THIS IS MY HERO, AND HE JUST CAME UP TO ME
AND CONNECTED WITH ME.
SO KRIS SAYS, YOU KNOW WHAT?
I'M GONNA QUIT THIS, AND HE QUITS THE ARMY.
AND HE MOVES TO NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE,
WITH THE IDEA OF BECOMING A GREAT SINGER-SONGWRITER.
FINALLY, A JOB OPENS UP OF BEING A JANITOR
AT COLUMBIA RECORDS,
AND THEN HIS MOTHER WRITES HIM A LETTER--
YOUR HERO, JOHNNY CASH, IS A DRUG ADDICT,
AND OF COURSE HE SINGS AT SAN QUENTIN
AND FOLSOM RIGHT NOW,
BECAUSE A JAILBIRD SINGS WITH JAILBIRDS,
SO WE HAVE NOW OFFICIALLY DISOWNED YOU.
I HOPE SOMEHOW YOU COME TO YOUR SENSES,
'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT A SONGWRITER.
SORRY, KRIS. YOU'RE DONE.
AND HE FELT LIKE A GIANT FAILURE.
HE'S A [bleep] JANITOR.
AND THEN ONE DAY JOHNNY CASH COMES IN.
HE'S LIKE, WHO IN THE WORLD IS IN THERE RIGHT NOW
CHANGING THE ASHTRAYS WITH THOSE BROWN--
WITH THE INCREDIBLE BLUE EYES?
WELL, IT'S KRIS. WHO IS HE?
HIS MOM JUST DISOWNED HIM BECAUSE YOU'RE HIS HERO.
AND KRIS WAS IN THERE CHANGING THE ASHTRAYS,
AND JOHNNY CASH COMES IN AND SAYS,
WELL, IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO GET A LETTER FROM HOME, AIN'T IT?
AND KRIS CAN'T BELIEVE IT.
HE'S LIKE, YEAH.
BUT THEY BONDED OVER IT,
BECAUSE HE WAS PASSIONATE AND HE HAD HIS DREAM.
I'M GONNA QUIT ALL THIS,
AND I WANT TO PURSUE AN ARTIST'S LIFE.
SO HE QUIT.
KRIS IS STARVING. HE HAS NO MONEY.
HE'S NOW WRITING THESE SONGS.
AND THEN KRIS, SO FRUSTRATED, AND HE HAS ONE SONG.
IT'S ABOUT THAT FEELING TO BE ON A SUNDAY
WHEN THE BARS DON'T OPEN,
AND IT'S CALLED
IT'S A THAT FEELING, LONELINESS
AND NOBODY BELIEVING IN YOU BUT YOU
AND WISHING, LORD, THAT I WAS STONED,
'CAUSE THERE AIN'T NOTHING IN A SUNDAY
THAT MAKES A BODY FEEL ALONE.
SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN
WAS SOMETHING SPECIAL.
HOW CAN I GET MY SONG TO JOHNNY CASH
AND MAKE AN IMPACT?
SO, FOR JOHNNY,
KRIS LANDED A HELICOPTER IN HIS LAWN
TO GIVE HIM THIS SONG.
SOME FOOL'S LANDING IN OUR YARD WITH A HELICOPTER
RIGHT OUT OF THE SKY.
HE REALLY LISTENED TO THE SONG,
AND THE SONG WENT TO THE NEXT LEVEL FOR JOHNNY,
BECAUSE HE UNDERSTOOD IT.
HE UNDERSTOOD THE ISOLATION AND THE LONELINESS
AND WISHING, LORD, THAT HE WAS STONED.
EXCUSE ME. - YOU'RE FINE.
- [burps]
- SO, AT THAT TIME, JOHNNY CASH WAS RECORDING
HIS OWN VARIETY SHOW FOR ABC.
SO JOHNNY SAID TO KRIS,
HEY, WE'RE GOING TO DO
RIGHT NOW AND THEN WENT THROUGH A RUN-THROUGH
OF THE SONG:
♪ ON A SUNDAY MORNING SIDEWALK ♪
♪ WISHING, LORD, THAT I WAS STONED ♪
WELL, HE DID IT ONE TIME,
AND THE ABC CENSORS CAME UP AND SAID,
UH, JOHNNY, UH... GREAT SONG,
BUT WE ACTUALLY CAN'T IN ANY WAY PUT ON THE LYRICS,
"WISHING, LORD, THAT I WAS STONED,"
'CAUSE IT'S CLEARLY AN ALLUSION TO MARIJUANA.
AND IT'S IN THE COUNTRY TRADITION.
YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT ALCOHOL,
BUT MARIJUANA IS A NO-GO.
YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THAT.
"WISHING, LORD, I WAS HOME"?
I WROTE IT "WISHING, LORD, THAT I WAS STONED"
'CAUSE I WISHED I WAS STONED.
SO, WHEN IT COMES TIME TO RECORD THE SONG IN THAT SHOW,
THEY PUT KRIS WAY UP IN THE RAFTERS,
'CAUSE HE WAS-- HE WAS ON THE FRINGES, MAN.
SO THE SONG STARTS, AND HE'S LIKE,
"ON A SUNDAY MORNING SIDEWALK,"
AND THEN HIS GAZE GOES RIGHT UP TO KRIS
IN THE VERY BACK ROW,
AND HE'S LIKE, "WISHING, LORD, THAT I WAS
"'CAUSE THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE SIDEWALK,
MAKES A BODY FEEL ALONE."
AND KRIS SAID HE FELT HIS HEART WARM.
GOD BLESS, YOU KNOW?
MY SONG'S ON TV, AND IT MEANT THE WORLD TO KRIS,
'CAUSE HIS HERO DID RIGHT BY HIM.
ONCE JOHNNY CASH SAYS IT'S COOL,
WELL, EVERYONE WANTS TO RECORD A KRISTOFFERSON SONG--
WAYLON JENNINGS, JONI MITCHELL,
JAMES TAYLOR, JANIS JOPLIN.
KRIS KRISKOFF--
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON BECAME THE BIGGEST STAR
IN THE WORLD, TRULY.
IN 1976, AND IT'S BEEN FORGOTTEN,
HE WAS THE BIGGEST STAR IN THE WORLD AT THE TIME.
KRIS WAS HUGE.
both: ♪ OF A SLEEPING CITY SIDEWALK ♪
♪ AND SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN ♪