The Talented Triangle Between Janis Joplin, Kris Kristofferson, and Leonard Cohen

It seems Kris Kristofferson was Mr. Gregarious back in his day. In addition to being a star in both music and film and introducing John Prine to Bob Dylan, Kristofferson also introduced Leonard Cohen to Janis Joplin. Though, he wasn’t even present. The story of how the two met guided by Kristofferson’s absent hand is something out of the ordinary. In essence, it’s one of those stories that wreaks of old Hollywood nostalgia and reminds one of just how colorfully creative and cultural the world was in its prime.

Regardless of the nostalgic appeal, what Kristofferson’s introduction resulted in was a heavy-weight meeting between two of the ’60s greatest songwriters. Besides a friendly and sadly short relationship between the two, Joplin and Cohen’s friendship also amounted to one of Leonard Cohen’s hit songs, “Chelsea Hotel #2.” Though, that would not have been the case if it wasn’t for The Rhodes Scholar from Texas, Kris Kristofferson.

Impersonating Kris Kristofferson at The Chelsea Hotel

It was the ’60s in New York, the city was flooded with bohemians and people looking to make a name for themselves in the arts. And one of the hubs for this scene was none other than the Chelsea Hotel. On an arbitrary night in 1968, Cohen had been out drinking, eating, and painting the town red. Once he finished with his self-indulgent drinking and eating tour, Cohen went back to the Chelsea Hotel to call it a night.

While in the elevator heading back to his room, he ran into an unknown woman and asked her, “Are you looking for someone?” per Rolling Stone. Little did he know that woman was Janis Joplin. Before he came to this realization, Cohen seemingly was just trying to spark a little casual conversation with her. That being so, when Joplin replied, “Yes, I’m looking for Kris Kristofferson,” Cohen quickly said, “Little lady, you’re in luck, I am Kris Kristofferson.”

It is unknown how Joplin replied and what the two did after the fact. Nonetheless, it’s hilarious to realize that Kristofferson was such a hot commodity in those days that someone such as Leonard Cohen would impersonate him to get closer to a woman he thought fondly of.

“Those were generous times. Even though she knew that I was someone shorter than Kris Kristofferson, she never let on” and “Great generosity prevailed in those doom decades,” Cohen recollected about the memory. Stories such as this one seem to becoming rarer and rarer in pop culture, and it is a shame. Hopefully, someone with as much gusto as Leonard Cohen can do something as charmingly irrational sometime soon, as stories like this never go out of style.

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