Kris Kristofferson – “Why Me”: A Humble Prayer of Redemption and Grace
Early in his performing career, Kris Kristofferson himself stated that he couldn’t understand why anyone would want to hear him sing. “I sound like a damned frog,” he said. While it’s true that Kris never made anybody’s list of top vocalists, everyone agreed that he was one of the all-time top-caliber country songwriters, penning such classic tunes as “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Please Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends,” “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down,” “I’d Rather Be Sorry,” “Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)” and many more.
Thanks in large part to Kristofferson’s honesty with the sexual topics of his compositions “For the Good Times” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” in the early ‘70s, Kris is cited by many as the first “outlaw” in country music. Surprising to some, his song “Why Me” (also known as “Why Me, Lord”) was a humble and introspective treatment of a gospel subject.
Kristofferson was inspired to write the song after attending a worship service at Evangel Temple, a Nashville church frequented by many of country music’s top stars. Its pastor was Jimmy Rodgers Snow, son of legendary singer Hank Snow. Never an avid church-goer, Kris was invited to the service by Connie Smith and he tagged along. One of the scheduled performers that night was Larry Gatlin and he sang a new composition of his, “Help Me,” for the congregation. Kristofferson was deeply moved by the song and by the end of the service, he surprisingly found himself kneeling at the altar during Pastor Snow’s invitation.
Later that night, Kris started composing “Why Me.” The song was recorded on July 8, 1972 at the studios of Monument Records. Larry Gatlin served as a background vocalist, as did Rita Coolidge, who married Kristofferson on August 19, 1973. Their union lasted just over six years.
“Why Me” was included on Kris’s album “Jesus Was a Capricorn.” As a single, the song reached the number one position of Billboard’s “Hot Country Singles” chart on July 7, 1973, one year, almost to the day, after it was recorded. Kristofferson’s rendition of the tune that inspired “Why Me,” Larry Gatlin’s “Help Me,” was placed on the “B” side.
On the Billboard pop listing, the record had a unique chart life for its time. Peaking at #16, it had one of the longer runs (19 weeks) in the top 40 and the most chart reversals (6) in one run on Billboard’s “Hot 100.” “Why Me” spent 38 consecutive weeks on the chart, nearly tying the record of 39 weeks set by Johnny Mathis’ “Wonderful! Wonderful!”
“Why Me” was covered by a multitude of country artists over the years, including Connie Smith, George Jones, David Allan Coe, Melba Montgomery, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty.