Five Good Covers: “Help Me Make It Through the Night” (Kris Kristofferson)

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

Kris Kristofferson’s resume may be one of the most remarkable documents of 20th century music. With his passing earlier this week at the age of 88, it was de rigueur for all In Memoriam pieces to bring it up. The man was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, a Golden Gloves boxer, and a prizewinning short story writer. He was a US Army veteran, a helicopter pilot, and an award-winning actor. He could quote William Blake from memory, and he could rip Toby Keith a blistered new one. And, of course, he gifted the world with truly classic songs, plain poetry that dazzled in its simplicity and its emotional heft. He truly was, as he wrote in “The Pilgrim Chapter 33,” a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction.

“I’m for anything that gets you through the night,” said Frank Sinatra in a 1963 interview with Playboy, “be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.” Kristofferson, struggling to finish writing a song in the Gulf of Mexico, came back to that line and used it as the linchpin for “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” The song was about a one-night stand and therefore wore controversy on its back like a target. But the words were so plainspoken and intimate, the need far more naked than the girl, that people fell over themselves running to cover the story of a man all alone with his heart, no matter who else was in the room.

The song has more than 500 covers listed on secondhandsongs.com, three of them hits – Sammi Smith took it to number one on the country charts; Willie Nelson made it to number four; and Gladys Knight reached number 13 on the soul charts. Kristofferson himself sang it in any number of duets, with partners ranging from Brenda Lee to Miss Piggy. The song even got a shout-out from Snoopy in a Peanuts strip. Now that’s a sure sign of the country weaving a song into its fabric.

With so much greatness to sort through, choosing five artists to represent “HMMITTN” is both easily doable and well-nigh impossible. Consider these five to represent approaches to the song, instead.

Percy Sledge – Help Me Make It Through the Night (Kris Kristofferson cover)

Percy Sledge gets the pole position for covers of “HMMITTN,” releasing his a month before Kristofferson’s own version got out. It has the sound of soul going to church – perhaps that’s why he changed the line “Come and lay down by my side” to “Hold your body close to mine.” Why this version didn’t go anywhere, I have no idea.

Ike and Tina Turner – Help Me Make It Through the Night (Kris Kristofferson cover)

By contrast, Tina Turner leaves no doubt as to what the song is about: “‘Cause tonight, I need a man,” she sings, her voice coated in lonesome lust. That’s not a ribbon lying against his skin; that’s Tina herself. When the song is sung by a female instead of a male, the adaptation is an easy one, proof positive that emotional isolation knows no gender.

Wilson Pickett – Help Me Make It Through the Night (Kris Kristofferson cover)

The Wicked Pickett may have dialed things back a notch from his “Hey Jude,” recorded half a decade earlier, but 1973’s Miz Lena’s Boy saw him still knowing how to hit those notes of urgency. For him, “HMMITTN” has “Help Me” as its backbone, and he makes sure to land hard on every vertebra all the way down.

Pig – Help Me Make It Through the Night (Kris Kristofferson cover)

Raymond Watts, an early member of KMFDM, brings his industrial music chops to PIG, of which he is the sole member. In 2019, PIG released Candy, an all-cover collection. When asked about the title, he said he liked the slightly sinister sound to it: “There’s something a bit nasty and creepy about the word, even though it alludes to sweet sugary things and fun. It’s that kind of edge that I liked about it.” Indeed, he takes froth like “Love Is In The Air” and “That’s the Way (I Like It)” and makes vaguely threatening music about them. For “HMMITTN” he slowed the song down to a sledgehammer pace and sang in a combination of growl and wheeze. It makes the listener – let alone the one the song is being sung to – very, very uneasy.

Big Daddy – Help Me Make It Through the Night (Kris Kristofferson cover)

After that, you might need a sweet musical sorbet to cleanse the palate. Well, here’s a dandy from Big Daddy, putting the song through a “Yakety Yak” filter. Another case where the loneliness doesn’t really come across, but then, it’s not supposed to – this is fun with a capital Fun.

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