The second posthumous #1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100 came three years after the first. In 1971, Janis Joplin’s cover of Kris Kristofferson’s ‘Me and Bobby BcGee’ reached the top spot a few months after her drug overdose death at 27.
Joplin recorded the song for her second album, Pearl. Kristofferson was out of the country at the time and didn’t know about the cover. He heard the track for the first time the day Joplin was found dead in her hotel room.
Kris Kristofferson started off in the Carole King mode, writing great songs that were hits for everybody but him. So I thought I’d give him the spotlight today as a singer, too.
‘Me and Bobby McGee’ was a big hit for Janis Joplin, maybe the biggest hit of any Kristofferson song. But he does it a lot of justice as a performer. Here’s a link to Joplin’s version, recorded shortly before she died. She and Kristofferson were an item once upon a time.
This song contains some absolutely stunning lyrics, starting with that classic line from the chorus: “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” But the whole thing is strong. I love that opening image (“Busted flat in Baton Rouge, headin’ for the train, feelin’ nearly faded as my jeans”) and this poignant line toward the end: “I’d trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday.”
Meet Me In Montauk 