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Kris Kristofferson was one of my fav song-writers. For the longest time, I thought _Me and Bobby McGee_ was Janis Joplin's original song, until I learnt it was

by aanet 2y ago

Kris Kristofferson was one of my fav song-writers. For the longest time, I thought _Me and Bobby McGee_ was Janis Joplin's original song, until I learnt it was Kris' writing. He actually wrote it for a woman named Bobby... the rest is history. [1] A Golden Globe-winning actor, Golden Gloves boxer, Rhodes scholar, author, U.S. Army veteran, pilot, and onetime record-label janitor. A full fledged Renaissance man. They sure don't make 'em like that anymore. Whattay guy! RIP Kris. Thanks for all the enduring songs!! [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNblxfWTWU4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNblxfWTWU4

rob74 2y ago
> He actually wrote it for a woman named Bobby... Bobby being short for... Roberta? But then again, after I recently saw female pop singer Taylor Swift watching male tennis player Taylor Fritz at the US Open, I realized that some American first names are just... flexible.
- bdndndndbve 2y ago
  There's many English names that aren't gendered ex. Morgan, Casey, Charlie, Jayme (plus Taylor and Bobby as mentioned previously)
  - WalterBright 2y ago
    Charlie is a nickname for Charles and Charlene.
    - bdndndndbve 2y ago
      There are men and women who, at least professionally, just go by Charlie. So it's kind of moot if it's on their birth certificate, you can't tell their gender by name.
    - zeroonetwothree 2y ago
      I would think Charlotte more than Charlene
- jetrink 2y ago
  It's pretty common in the US for a name that is traditionally associated with boys become unisex (Taylor) or even prominently female (Lauren). Typically it is an uncommon male name (so not, e.g. John or Brian) that sees a sudden increase in popularity and becomes unisex. Some other examples include Leslie, Casey, Jordan, Morgan, Addison, and Riley. I can't think of any examples of the reverse off the top of my head. A chart of this phenomenon for Taylor: https://engaging-data.com/baby-name-visualizer/?n=taylor&sex=b&data=n https://engaging-data.com/baby-name-visualizer/?n=taylor&sex...
  - cafard 2y ago
    "Jordan" goes some ways back--there is a woman named Jordan in The Great Gatsby. And it isn't entirely an American phenomenon: the critic Clive James was named Vivian James at birth, but the actress Vivian Leigh more or less claimed the name for the female sex when Gone With the Wind came out. James or his family fell back on his middle name to spare him teasing.
    - mindcrime 2y ago
      more or less claimed the name for the female sex when Not entirely so however. Vivian Campbell[1] is still rocking the "Vivian" name for the male sex[2]! [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Campbell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Campbell [2]: Not that any of this really matters of course. Vivian's name just popped to mind for me as I'm a huge fan of his work with Whitesnake and Def Leppard.
    - toyg 2y ago
      > "Jordan" goes some ways back [...] The Great Gatsby Jordan is a river in the Middle East (also in the Bible) and more recently a country near such river. Like Brooklyn or Paris, it is a topological name that was co-opted into a first name. As such, it could always be used for either sex. (Yes, Paris is also a male name found in the Iliad, but that doesn't share the etymology with the city of Paris, which is what most people refer to nowadays.)
  - dctoedt 2y ago
    And Evelyn (as in, e.g., Waugh, who pronounced it EEV-lin).
- maxerickson 2y ago
  Even the ones that aren't are flexible.
- wholinator2 2y ago
  Bobby short for Barbara, a secretary who worked at his managers office. He also didn't write it exactly _for_ her, his manager guy had the idea for the name and theme during a conversation with the guy who's secretary was bobby mckee. All this can be seen at the link in gp comment
cafard 2y ago
I once heard or read an interview with him on NPR, saying that he wrote the song at a time when he was working flying helicopters to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. This had the odd effect of reminding me of the distance between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and calling into question size of the truck driver's repertory of songs.
buscar 2y ago
One of my all time favorites - Jody and the kid! Such a joy whenever I listen to it.
sixthDot 2y ago
He played "Me and Bobby McGee" at the Isle of White festival (1970). For some reason, the audience was not enjoying and he decided to left the stage before the end of the song. Fantastic moment [1] I enjoy watching semi-frequently. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmk94uooJCU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmk94uooJCU

by aanet 2y ago

rob74 2y ago

> He actually wrote it for a woman named Bobby... Bobby being short for... Roberta? But then again, after I recently saw female pop singer Taylor Swift watching male tennis player Taylor Fritz at the US Open, I realized that some American first names are just... flexible.

bdndndndbve 2y ago
There's many English names that aren't gendered ex. Morgan, Casey, Charlie, Jayme (plus Taylor and Bobby as mentioned previously)
- WalterBright 2y ago
  Charlie is a nickname for Charles and Charlene.
  - bdndndndbve 2y ago
    There are men and women who, at least professionally, just go by Charlie. So it's kind of moot if it's on their birth certificate, you can't tell their gender by name.
  - zeroonetwothree 2y ago
    I would think Charlotte more than Charlene
jetrink 2y ago
It's pretty common in the US for a name that is traditionally associated with boys become unisex (Taylor) or even prominently female (Lauren). Typically it is an uncommon male name (so not, e.g. John or Brian) that sees a sudden increase in popularity and becomes unisex. Some other examples include Leslie, Casey, Jordan, Morgan, Addison, and Riley. I can't think of any examples of the reverse off the top of my head. A chart of this phenomenon for Taylor: https://engaging-data.com/baby-name-visualizer/?n=taylor&sex=b&data=n https://engaging-data.com/baby-name-visualizer/?n=taylor&sex...
- cafard 2y ago
  "Jordan" goes some ways back--there is a woman named Jordan in The Great Gatsby. And it isn't entirely an American phenomenon: the critic Clive James was named Vivian James at birth, but the actress Vivian Leigh more or less claimed the name for the female sex when Gone With the Wind came out. James or his family fell back on his middle name to spare him teasing.
  - mindcrime 2y ago
    more or less claimed the name for the female sex when Not entirely so however. Vivian Campbell[1] is still rocking the "Vivian" name for the male sex[2]! [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Campbell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Campbell [2]: Not that any of this really matters of course. Vivian's name just popped to mind for me as I'm a huge fan of his work with Whitesnake and Def Leppard.
  - toyg 2y ago
    > "Jordan" goes some ways back [...] The Great Gatsby Jordan is a river in the Middle East (also in the Bible) and more recently a country near such river. Like Brooklyn or Paris, it is a topological name that was co-opted into a first name. As such, it could always be used for either sex. (Yes, Paris is also a male name found in the Iliad, but that doesn't share the etymology with the city of Paris, which is what most people refer to nowadays.)
- dctoedt 2y ago
  And Evelyn (as in, e.g., Waugh, who pronounced it EEV-lin).
maxerickson 2y ago
Even the ones that aren't are flexible.
wholinator2 2y ago
Bobby short for Barbara, a secretary who worked at his managers office. He also didn't write it exactly _for_ her, his manager guy had the idea for the name and theme during a conversation with the guy who's secretary was bobby mckee. All this can be seen at the link in gp comment

cafard 2y ago

I once heard or read an interview with him on NPR, saying that he wrote the song at a time when he was working flying helicopters to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. This had the odd effect of reminding me of the distance between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and calling into question size of the truck driver's repertory of songs.

buscar 2y ago

One of my all time favorites - Jody and the kid! Such a joy whenever I listen to it.

sixthDot 2y ago

He played "Me and Bobby McGee" at the Isle of White festival (1970). For some reason, the audience was not enjoying and he decided to left the stage before the end of the song. Fantastic moment [1] I enjoy watching semi-frequently. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmk94uooJCU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmk94uooJCU