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Me and Bobby McGee

"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Kristofferson and Miller are distant cousins in the Chenoweth surname family tree. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster.[1] A posthumously released version by Janis Joplin topped the U.S. singles chart in 1971, making the song the second posthumously released No. 1 single in U.S. chart history after "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding. Gordon Lightfoot released a version that reached number 1 on the Canadian country charts in 1970. Jerry Lee Lewis released a version that was number 1 on the country charts in December 1971/January 1972 as the "B" side of "Would You Take Another Chance On Me." Billboard ranked Joplin's version as the No. 11 song for 1971.

For the album entitled Me and Bobby McGee, see Kristofferson (album).

"Me and Bobby McGee"

"Half Moon"

January 12, 1971 (1971-01-12)

September 5 – October 1, 1970

4:09 (Single version)
4:28 (LP version)

In 2002, the 1971 version of the song by Janis Joplin on Columbia Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[2]

History[edit]

The suggestion for the title was a cordial challenge from producer and Monument Records founder Fred Foster to Kris Kristofferson. The titular character was named for a studio secretary, Barbara "Bobbie" McKee, but Kristofferson had misheard her surname. He explained that he was trying to convey the despair of the last scene of Federico Fellini’s La Strada in which a broken, war-torn, inebriated man (played by Anthony Quinn) stares up from the beach at the night's stars, and breaks down sobbing.[3]

Narrative[edit]

The song is the story of two drifters, the narrator and Bobby McGee. The pair hitch a ride from a truck driver and sing as they drive through the American South before making their way westward. They visit California and then part ways, with the song's narrator expressing sadness afterwards. Due to the singer's name never being mentioned and the name "Bobby" being gender-neutral (especially in America), the song has been recorded by both male and female singers with only minor differences in the lyrical content.

Recordings and notable performances[edit]

Roger Miller was the first artist to record the song (in May 1969), and it appeared at No. 12 on the U.S. country chart in 1969.[4] Kenny Rogers and The First Edition recorded the song in May/June 1969, and released it on their album Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town in 1969. On the Canadian charts, Gordon Lightfoot's version (recorded in November 1969) hit No. 13 on the pop music chart and No. 1 on the country music chart in 1970. The song was included on the 1970 Statler Brothers album Bed of Rose's, but was not released as a single.


Kristofferson recorded his own version of the song on his debut album Kristofferson in 1970. Later that year, his version of the song appeared in Monte Hellman's psychedelic road movie Two-Lane Blacktop. Kristofferson also appears briefly singing the song in the 1971 Dennis Hopper film The Last Movie.


Janis Joplin recorded 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 recorded the song until after her death. The first time he heard her recording of it was the day after she died.[5] Record World called it a "perfect matching of performer and material."[6] Joplin's version topped the charts to become her only number one single; her version was later ranked No. 148 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

1969 - album Roger Miller

Roger Miller

1969 - album The Everlovin' Soul of Roy Clark

Roy Clark

1969 - album Dawn of the Stonemans' Age

The Stonemans

1969 - album Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town

Kenny Rogers & The First Edition

1970 - album Just Plain Charley

Charley Pride

1970 - album Bull Durham Sacks & Railroad Tracks

Ramblin' Jack Elliott

1970 - album Bed of Rose's

The Statler Brothers

1970 - album Sit Down Young Stranger

Gordon Lightfoot

1970 - album Kristofferson, this version also appears in the film Two-Lane Blacktop

Kris Kristofferson

1970 - album Rock Around the Country

Bill Haley & His Comets

1970 - single "Me And Bobby McGee/Key To The Highway" (Atlantic #2757)

Sam The Sham

1971 - album If Not for You

Olivia Newton-John

1971 - album Will the Real Dave Dudley Please Sing

Dave Dudley

1971 as "Carsten Levin" Danish - single, featured on the album John (1973)

John Mogensen

1971 U.S. number-one single, from the album Pearl

Janis Joplin

1971 & 1972 - B-side of "Would You Take Another Chance on Me" / album The Killer Rocks On

Jerry Lee Lewis

1971 - album Have You Heard...

Dottie West

1971 - album Skull & Roses

Grateful Dead

1971 - album I Wanna Be Free

Loretta Lynn

1971 as "Anna & mej" Swedish - album Upp till Ragvaldsträsk[27] scoring a Tio i Topp hit.

Lalla Hansson

1972 - album På Österåker

Johnny Cash

1972 - album Charlie McCoy

Charlie McCoy

1972 - album Give Myself a Party

Jeannie C. Riley

1973 - album Lonesome, On'ry and Mean

Waylon Jennings

1973 - album Alone

Chet Atkins

1973 - album Thelma Houston

Thelma Houston

1974 - album Lonnie Donegan Meets Leinemann

Lonnie Donegan

1974 as "Jag och Bosse Lidén" Swedish - album Getinghonung

Cornelis Vreeswijk

1979 as "Io e Bobby McGee" Italian - album California

Gianna Nannini

1979 - album Willie Nelson sings Kristofferson

Willie Nelson

1984 - album Live Europe '83 album

Joan Baez

1990 - Live: American Outlaws

The Highwaymen

1994 - album Acoustic

Melissa Etheridge

1997 - album Compañeros de viaje

Loquillo

1999 - album LeAnn Rimes

LeAnn Rimes

1999 - album Bare

Barb Jungr

2002 - album Country Croonin'

Anne Murray

2002 - album Bare Naked

Jennifer Love Hewitt

2002 as "Ich und BobbyMcGee" German - album Marianne

Waterloo & Robinson

2003 - album Too Old To Change

Jerry Jeff Walker

2004 - album Live in Europe

Pink

2005 - album Those Were The Days

Dolly Parton

2005 - album Live In Sydney

Arlo Guthrie

2006 - album Catch Tomorrow

Dale Ann Bradley

2007 Angela Kalule - soundtrack

The Last King of Scotland

2007 - album Joplin på Svenska

Caroline af Ugglas

2008 - album kerse teen die donker

Amanda Strydom

2010 on American Idol iTunes release of studio version from Top 11 week, and Final 2 week, of season 9

Crystal Bowersox

2016 - album Uncontrolled

Matt Doyle

New Yorker cartoon quoting the song

A SecondHandSongs list of selected artists who covered "Me and Bobby McGee"

by The Modern School of Film at ArcLight Presents...

FILM:ACOUSTIC - Kris Kristofferson performs "Me and Bobby McGee" and relates La Strada

at History by Day

The Epic Story Behind Janis Joplin’s "Me and Bobby McGee"

on YouTube

Janis Joplin - Me and Bobby McGee