Kris Kristofferson: On Writing For and Outliving His Idols

"Kris Kristofferson writes the kind of songs that people love to sing: songs like 'Help Me Make It Through The Night,' from 1970. Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a version, as did Joan Baez — and even Elvis."

"Kristofferson has had a long career, writing songs covered by the likes of Johnny Cash and Janis Joplin. He's a country music Hall of Famer with a few movies to his name, too. He's 76 now, and still writing songs. When he's not out touring, he's back home in Hawaii. Success, he says, has not gone to his head."

"'I spend most of my time on my tractor, mowing the grass around there,' Kristofferson says. 'That's my therapy. No one can mess with me on the tractor.'"