The Beginning of a Journey
This epic journey of an even more epic song started in 1969, with Kris Kristofferson, who at the time was a struggling musician. He had just signed to Monument Records and was about to head to Nashville for another job when he was briefed on an idea for a song by Fred Foster, the record label’s founder.
Kris Kristofferson. Photo by Moviestore Collection / Shutterstock
Kristofferson only half-heartedly wanted to do the song, which was meant to be called Me and Bobby McKee. Kristofferson later recalled that he thought he heard “McGee,” and so he named it accordingly. And this is when it all began…
While Kristofferson did agree to write the song, he later admitted that it took him a very long time to develop all the components of the track.