Craig and I were singing last night -- going through some old cover songs. We tend to stick to originals when we play out, but our playlist here at home includes lots of great tunes by some brilliant songwriters.
Singing Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make it Through the Night" is a good exercise, because besides being a sweet tune, it's written in a wide vocal range, with some tricky intervals - things I shy away from in my own melody writing.
Kristofferson and his then-wife Rita Coolidge do a very sexy version in this video:
Youtube link is here.
2 comments:
Mr. Kristofferson provides me with my main opportunity for name dropping. He worked for my employer as a helicopter pilot before getting his break as a songwriter, and there are still a couple of old-timers around who remember him. I went to a Steve Earle concert down in Ventura in the mid-eighties and met him there. We talked for a few minutes, and it was funny because he was really excited about meeting fellow offshore helicopter pilot. He parted with, "Tell anybody out the in the Gulf who remembers me that I said hello." I said, "Kris, you're a celebrity: they'll probably all remember you." He laughed and said, "Oh yeah." A bartender later told me that Kris would often stop by to help opening acts--folks who couldn't afford road crew--set up their equipment, and he'd offer advice and moral support. I thought that was pretty dang cool.
Thanks for the video link. That was fun.
Great story, Hal - thanks for posting. I love it when the artists I admire turn out to be admirable for many reasons.
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