‘One of my favorite songwriters’

On November 22, 2024By Littum

At Wednesday’s (November 20) CMA Awards, Ashley McBryde turned into one of the night’s highlights with his tribute to the late Country Music Hall of Famer Kris Kristoffersonwith a performance of one of the star’s best-known songs, “Help Me Make It Through the Night.”

During rehearsals ahead of the CMA Awards, McBryde said Billboard by Kristofferson, “He’s one of my favorite songwriters. So Kris Kristofferson, Guy Clark, John Prine, the list goes, and that’s my dad’s favorite musician-songwriter. That’s his favorite voice to listen to.”

More from Billboard

Kristofferson died at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Sept. 28 and was known for writing classics including “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “For the Good Times” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” Kristofferson was a singer/performer himself, although many of his songs were best known as performed by other artists. He was also a well-known actor who appeared in films including A star is born, Alice doesn’t live here anymore and Blade.

“Help Me Make It Through the Night” has a special meaning in McBryde’s own musical journey. “My dad taught me to play that song when I was about seven years old, before I even had my own guitar,” McBryde said. “And I had no concept (at that age) of who writes songs and who sings songs and all that. So if I can just hold it together, I think it’s going to be a good moment.”

Kristofferson wrote and recorded “Help Me Make It Through The Night” for his 1970 debut album Kristofferson. Sammi Smith’s recording of the song topped the Hot Country Songs chart for three weeks in 1971 and became a crossover pop hit. The song also earned Smith a 1971 Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, and the Country Music Association’s Single of the Year award. Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette and Gladys Knight and the Pips are also among the many artists who have recorded the song.

McBryde’s favorite line in the song? “‘Let the Devil go tomorrow/tonight, I need a friend,'” McBryde said. “I mean, I was just a little girl singing it with my dad. I also grew up in a really strict, religious household. So (it was) interesting to hear my dad sing something like, ‘Let the devil take tomorrow. Tonight I need a friend.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, I’ve never heard (anything that says) I don’t care what it costs me. I’m not worried about it.’ I never heard it said that way at that age. And Kris Kristofferson is responsible for me being a songwriter.”

Next month, McBryde will release her new song, “Ain’t Enough Cowboy Songs,” which she co-wrote with Chris Harris and Patrick Savage. After landing on the song title, they realized it had to do with “missing the things that made me make the choices that made me who I am,” McBryde said.

“The more we talked about it, the more we noticed that it had a lot to do with the cowboys we looked up to when we were little and the songs about the life they led,” she added. “It was the way they lived their lives, the way they presented. They do what they say they will do and they are where they say they will be and they stick up for people when they have weak moments. For us (it was about) trying to hold on to that touchstone.”

Asked about her own favorite “cowboy songs,” she notes Chris LeDoux’s “This Cowboy’s Hat” as a contender.

“I love the moment when he sings, ‘But if you touch my hat/ you’ll fight us all,'” she said. “I thought, ‘Yes, this is the life I want to live.’ It’s having each other’s back, and it’s knowing that the people standing around you have your back, and that’s very much what country music is built on. So I think it’s time to get back to some cowboy songs.”

The best of Billboard