53 Years Ago, an Outlaw Songwriter and Pop Singer Said “I Do” and Became a Country Music Power Couple

In August 1973, Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge said “I do” in Malibu, California. Both had established careers before they met. Coolidge was an in-demand backing vocalist who had worked with a long line of legends, including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Joe Cocker. Kristofferson’s star as a songwriter was on the rise with songs like “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” Their collaborations yielded chart success and a pair of Grammy Awards.

Kristofferson and Coolidge met on a flight from California to Tennessee in 1971. They started talking and quickly fell for one another. She was on her way to Memphis, and he was headed to Nashville, where he was scheduled to attend a meeting. However, when the plane landed in West Tennessee, Kristofferson chose to blow his meeting off and spend the night with Coolidge.

“I like to say that it was love at first flight. We literally talked all the way to Memphis,” Coolidge told People. “Before we went to sleep that night, we’d picked out a name for our first child. There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to be together,” she revealed.

Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson Worked Well Together

During their seven-year marriage, Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson recorded three collaborative albums. Their first, Full Moon, dropped just weeks after they tied the knot. It topped the country albums chart and peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard 200.

None of the couple’s collaborative singles were huge chart hits. “Rain,” from their album Breakaway, became their most successful country single when it peaked at No. 87. “A Song I’d Like to Sing,” taken from Full Moon, was their biggest pop hit. It reached No. 49 on the Hot 100.

“From the Bottle to the Bottom” brought them the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1974. Two years later, “Lover Please” won the same award.

“I think it was probably my idea,” Kristofferson said of their musical partnership. “I love singing with people anyway, and I loved to sing with Rita together in Harmony,” he added. “Harmony came easily for both of us. It was very natural.”

[RELATED: 3 Songs Written by Then-Husband and Wife Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge (1973-1979)]

They divorced in 1980. However, the connection between them never died. “Kris and I have a connection, and we laugh at stuff that nobody else gets,” Coolidge said in 2016. “We just have a bond that is beyond any kind of understanding.”

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