On This Day in 1973, Kris Kristofferson Landed His First and Only Solo No. 1 on the Country Albums Chart

On this day (November 3) in 1973, Kris Kristofferson went to No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with his fourth studio album, Jesus Was a Capricorn. Interestingly, the album contained his first and only No. 1 single, “Why Me.”

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Kristofferson is remembered as a songwriter’s songwriter. He penned songs that became hits for Ray Price, Gladys Knight, Sammi Smith, Bobby Bare, and many others. Songs like “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down,” and “Me and Bobby McGee” are iconic, timeless, and have been recorded by scores of artists. At the same time, Kristofferson was a member of The Highwaymen, the best-known supergroup in country music. However, he never saw much chart success as a solo recording artist.

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While Kristofferson wrote songs that shaped the face of country and pop music in the 1970s and early ’80s, he only broke into the top 40 of the Hot Country Songs chart once as a solo artist. “Why Me” was his sole country hit. “They Killed Him” became his second-highest charting single when it reached No. 67 in 1987.

Kris Kristofferson Knocked Himself Out of the No. 1 Slot

Jesus Was a Capricorn stayed at No. 1 for a single week. The next week, Full Moon, the collaborative album with his then-wife Rita Coolidge, reached the top spot.

The couple said “I do” just weeks before releasing Full Moon. Additionally, the single “A Song I’d Like to Sing” was a hit on the Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at No. 12. These things helped boost the album’s performance. Then, the song “From the Bottle to the Bottom” won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group in 1974.

A little more than a year later, in December 1974, the couple released Breakaway. The album peaked at No. 19 on the country chart. Two years later, they released Natural Act in December 1978, which peaked at No. 24 on the country chart.

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