Country music lost one of its iconic figures as “Me and Bobby McGee” author and “A Star is Born” actor Kris Kristofferson died Saturday at 88 years old at his home in Maui, Hawaii.
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He was surrounded by family, a representative said.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28 at home. We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all,” his family said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
He wrote his first song before he was even a teenager:
Kristofferson was born on June 22, 1936, in Brownsville, Texas, to Mary Ann (née Ashbrook) and Lars Henry Kristofferson — a first-generation Swedish immigrant and U.S. Army Air Corps officer and Air Force general. His love for country music began at a young age, and, according to a 2013 interview with NPR , Kristofferson penned his first song, “I Hate Your Ugly Face,” at only 11 years old. A military brat, he moved often throughout his childhood until his family landed in San Mateo, Calif., when he was a teenager.
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Here’s a part of the country great’s story that some might not know: in addition to being an immense musical talent, he served his country and was a helicopter pilot:
As reported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Kristofferson’s parents urged him to enlist in the military after college. He joined the U.S. Army and, within five years, became a helicopter pilot and reached the rank of captain.
The tributes have been pouring in on social media since the news broke; here’s but one:
Rock and country fans will know that Kristofferson was the author of a song that Janis Joplin so memorably performed before her tragic death, “Me and Bobby McGee”:
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He regularly performed with some of the all-time greats:
The country music legend was part of the Highwaymen with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash.
The supergroup revolutionized the outlaw country music genre in the ’80s.
In addition to his storied musical career, Kristofferson took his rugged good looks to Hollywood, where he was also a standout and even won a Golden Globe:
He was one-of-a-kind and shall be missed.
RIP, Kris Kristofferson.