Me and Bobby McGee

"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, originally performed by Roger Miller. Others performed the song later, including the Grateful Dead, Kristofferson himself,[1]  and Janis Joplin who topped the U.S. singles chart with the song in 1971 after her death, making the song the second posthumous number-one single in U.S. chart history after "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.



Contents
[hide]  *1 History  ==History[ edit] == In the original version of the song, Bobby is a woman. Joplin, who was allegedly a lover (but also a good friend and mentor) of Kristofferson's from the beginning of her career to her death changed the sex and a few of the lyrics in her cover. Kristofferson states he did not write this song for her, but the song is associated with her, especially in the line "Somewhere near Salinas, Lord, I let her slip away."[2]
 * 2 Recordings and notable performances
 * 3 Chart positions (Roger Miller version)
 * 4 Selected list of recorded versions
 * 5 References
 * 6 External links

In a conversation with director Monte Hellman called "Somewhere Near Salinas" (available in the supplements to the Two-Lane Blacktop Criterion Collection DVD release, a film in which Kristofferson's version is used on the soundtrack), Kristofferson states that the film La Strada was an inspiration for the song and remarks on the irony of how a song inspired by a classic "road movie" should come to be used in another. “The title came from [producer and Monument Records founder] Fred Foster. He called one night and said, ‘I’ve got a song title for you. It’s “Me and Bobby McKee.”’ I thought he said ‘McGee.’ Bobby McKee was the secretary of Boudleaux Bryant, who was in the same building with Fred. Then Fred says, ‘The hook is that Bobby McKee is a she. How does that grab you?’ (Laughs) I said, ‘Uh, I’ll try to write it, but I’ve never written a song on assignment.’ So it took me a while to think about.[1]  -Kris Kristofferson The song was essentially a road story about two drifters, the narrator and his girlfriend Bobby McGee (boyfriend in Joplin's version). He speaks about thumbing a diesel truck and singing with the driver all the way. The couple travels to California, as they grow more intimate and help each other through the hardships of life, but by the final verse, Bobby gets tired of the road life and decides to settle down.

She parts ways with the narrator who still continues his lifestyle, though he might never be happy again without her, as he would trade his life just to be with her again for just one day. ==Recordings and notable performances[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.399999618530273px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Roger Miller was the first artist to have a hit with the song, peaking with it at No. 12 on the US country chart in 1969.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.399999618530273px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Gordon Lightfoot's version hit No. 13 on the pop chart and No. 1 country in his native Canada in 1970, and was also a top 10 hit in South Africa in 1971. Lightfoot sang the song after a detailed tribute to Kris Kristofferson in a CBC broadcast from the summer 1969 Charlottetown Festival.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.399999618530273px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In a 2008 autobiography, Don Reid and Harold Reid of the Statler Brothers say Kristofferson promised it to them, but when they later inquired about recording it, they learned Miller had already cut the song. The Reids say there were no hard feelings, and were happy about Miller's success with the song. The song was later included on a Statler Brothers album, and was not released as a single.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.399999618530273px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Joplin also covered the song for inclusion on her Pearl album only a few days before her death in October 1970. Kristofferson had sung the song for her, and singer Bob Neuwirth taught it to her. Kristofferson did not know she had covered it until after her death. The first time he heard her recording of it was the day after she died.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.399999618530273px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Joplin's version topped the charts to become her only number one single and in 2004, her version of this song was ranked No. 148 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. She also had heard Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead's accelerated ending and liked it so much she added her much more energetic "rap" to the end of the song. The Dead regularly covered the song between 1970 and 1981.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.399999618530273px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Kristofferson performed the song live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 and a CD and DVD of the event were issued 30 years later as Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival 1970.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.399999618530273px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Joplin version was used prominently in the epilogue of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's epic film of Berlin Alexanderplatz.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.399999618530273px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2002, Jennifer Love Hewitt covered Joplin's version of the song, used acoustic equipment and included it in her fourth studio album BareNaked. ==Chart positions (Roger Miller version)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Selected list of recorded versions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==
 * 1969 Roger Miller on the album Roger Miller
 * 1969 Kenny Rogers & The First Edition on the album Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town
 * 1970 Ramblin' Jack Elliott on the album Bull Durham Sacks & Railroad Tracks
 * 1970 Gordon Lightfoot on the album Sit Down Young Stranger
 * 1970 Kris Kristofferson on his debut album Kristofferson (Kristofferson's version also appears in the film Two-Lane Blacktop)
 * 1970 Bill Haley & His Comets on the album Rock Around the Country. (According to the biography Bill Haley by John Swenson, Kristofferson gave Haley's version his seal of approval.)
 * 1970 Sam The Sham from the Atlantic single "Me And Bobby McGee/Key To The Highway" (Atlantic #2757)
 * 1971 John Mogensen single release (And on the 1973 album "John" (Danish lyrics: Carsten Levin)
 * 1971 Janis Joplin U.S. number-one single, and on the album Pearl
 * 1971 & 1972 Jerry Lee Lewis (single, flip side to "Would You Take Another Chance on Me") and on the album The Killer Rocks On
 * 1971 Dottie West on the album Have You Heard...
 * 1971 The Grateful Dead on the album Skull & Roses, and numerous other live recordings
 * 1971 Loretta Lynn on the album I Wanna Be Free
 * 1972 Johnny Cash on the live På Österåker
 * 1972 Jeannie C. Riley on her album Give Myself a Party
 * 1973 Waylon Jennings on the album Lonesome, On'ry and Mean
 * 1973 Chet Atkins on the album Alone
 * 1973 Thelma Houston on Thelma Houston
 * 1973 Olivia Newton-John on the album Let Me Be There
 * 1974 Cornelis Vreeswijk on the album Getinghonung (Swedish lyrics: Jag och Bosse Lidén)
 * 1975 Lonnie Donegan
 * 1979 Gianna Nannini (Io e Bobby McGee) on the album California
 * 1984 Joan Baez included a live version of the song on her Live Europe '83 album; Baez also performed the song with the Boston Pops in 1985.
 * 1994 Blind Melon records the song in the studio during a session in The Netherlands, appears on their B-sides collection.
 * 1994 Melissa Etheridge on the album Acoustic
 * 1997 Loquillo on the album Compañeros de viaje
 * 1999 LeAnn Rimes on the album LeAnn Rimes
 * 1999 Barb Jungr on the album Bare
 * 2002 Anne Murray on the album Country Croonin'
 * 2002 Jennifer Love Hewitt on the album Bare Naked
 * 2002 Waterloo & Robinson (Ich und BobbyMcGee) on the album Marianne
 * 2003 Jerry Jeff Walker on the album Too Old To Change
 * 2004 Pink on the album Live in Europe
 * 2005 Allison Crowe on the double-album Live at Wood Hall
 * 2005 Dolly Parton on the album Those Were The Days
 * 2005 Arlo Guthrie on the album Live In Sydney
 * 2005 Tori Amos live in Hartford 4 Oct 2005
 * 2007 Angela Kalule on the soundtrack of The Last King of Scotland
 * 2007 Caroline af Ugglas on the album Joplin på Svenska
 * 2008 Amanda Strydom on the album kerse teen die donker
 * 2010 Crystal Bowersox on American Idol iTunes release of studio version from Top 11 week, and Final 2 week, of season 9
 * 2013 Grace Askew recorded a studio version on the fourth season of The Voice USA after defeating Trevor Davis in the Battle Round performing the same song.
 * Other artists
 * Amanda Overmyer
 * Joan Baez
 * Arlo Guthrie
 * Loretta Lynn
 * Willie Nelson
 * Dave Dudley
 * The Statler Brothers
 * Aaron Lewis
 * John Doe (Listen)
 * Charley Pride
 * Taylor Horn
 * Kenny Rogers
 * Brian McKnight
 * Celinda Pink
 * The Platters
 * Impotent Sea Snakes
 * Bobbie Gentry
 * Buck Owens
 * Roy Clark
 * Hank Snow
 * Lee Conway