May 052015
 
Kris-Kristofferson

I hesitated to write about Kris Kristofferson covering Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”, mostly because I just wrote about POP ETC’s cover of the same song a few weeks ago and I didn’t want to get typecast as the “All Tom, All The Time” writer.

Plus, I figured that Kris’ fellow Highwayman, Johnny Cash, already recorded a nearly perfect cover of this song for his American III album, and I wondered if this would be a cover of that cover.

I’m happy to report that Kris does his own thing here.  The piano and string section really change up the song.  And while one can definitely hear the age in Kris’ voice (he’s 78), it works well with these lyrics.  The video – which features clips from the History Channel’s upcoming mini-series, Texas Rising – helps bring the lyrics to life.

By the way, Kristofferson plays President Andrew Jackson in the series, which begins on Memorial Day (May 25) on History.

Find out more about Kris Kristofferson on his website.  

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