October 15, 2024 • 53 mins
There is no one way to break into the entertainment industry, there's just the way you do it. Country music. legend Kris Kristofferson used a stolen helicopter to impress Johnny Cash. The rest is music history. ...And the story is ridiculous!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
It's Elizabeth doddon Sarah Burnett. Do we admit that we've
been gone for a while or just skip all past that?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Do we did what?
Speaker 4 (00:12):
Now?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Okay? Like I said, do you know what's ridiculous? I
do what? What's ridiculous?
Speaker 5 (00:17):
This happened about ten years ago? And I'm just bringing
this up because I like to bring up things that
happened ten years.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You really are did that whole Desenniel thing?
Speaker 5 (00:24):
But also you know we're getting close to Halloween and
a spooky season as some people call it. Did you
know that a man was once fined for pretending to
be a ghost in a cemetery? It was inouth fined
for It was in Portsmouth in England. And this guy,
(00:46):
Anthony Stollard, he was you know, he'd been out drinking
with friends, naturally, and they wanted to play a little footy,
not foot sea, but footy little soccer.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
So they went to the local cemetery.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
There's a lot of grass, a lot of grass.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
There are some obstacles.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, totally face it right, you got natural goals?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Yes? Is there kicking it about?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Huh? In that?
Speaker 5 (01:08):
And the what nots and the so forth. And but
then he starts throwing his arms in the air and
saying woo. And apparently that was too much for the
people who called the cops.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
The cops showed up.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Uh, the soccer was fine.
Speaker 5 (01:26):
Yeah, And so he got fined thirty five pounds. He
had to pay a twenty pound victim surcharge and twenty
pounds in costs.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Damn the victim. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
They just is it like their version of card costs?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
And then he also had three months added to a
conditional charge for a previous harassment that he was in
breach of.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
So he was it also a cemetery related harassment?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I think?
Speaker 5 (01:49):
So?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I think this is he bring was it his idea
to go to the cemetery? Is he just trying to
get his friends to the cemetery?
Speaker 5 (01:54):
I think this twenty four year old boy gets a
little loose and his you know, pretended to be a
good may be pretended to be someone very loud. I
don't know, but you know what, bottom line ridiculous, arn ridiculous, I.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Know, so ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Thank you know what's as ridiculous? Tell me we'll sit
back down.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah, Oh, I was gonna.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Leave the entertainment industry. Yeah, yeah, I know. There's this
evergreen question. It's one you may get asked, Elizabeth. The
question is this, how do you break into the entertainment industry? Right?
It's really a ridiculous question, is it is? Back in
my Hollywood day? Is this one seasoned producer told me.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Kid, there's no way to break in, no course to follow,
no path to take.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
That's just the way you break in. Whatever that is. Like, No,
that's amazing, Thank you, Thelma. That was really excellent advice.
I'll take that to heart anyway. My whole point is, Elizabeth,
that that advice was certainly true for country music legend
Chris Christofferson. Oh are I pe is right? Rip to
the king, the other king of country King. I know
(02:59):
you love them. So that's why I want to tell
you this one, Elizabeth, buckle up, because you ever heard
the story of how he broke in?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
No, I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Get this. It's a ridiculous crime. What this is? Ridiculous
(03:30):
crime A podcast about absurd and outrageous capers, heist and cons.
It's always ninety nine percent murder free and one percent ridiculous. Yes, Elizabeth,
so I already asked you have you ever heard how
Chris Christofferson broke into country music? And you said, I
don't think so. All right, so were you Were you
(03:53):
being honest about there? Just trying to be friendly with me?
Speaker 3 (03:56):
I'm always honest.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
You really don't know, Okay, I don't have to play
due this here's story. It involves Johnny Cash, a Louisiana
oil rig, and a stolen helicopter. I'm in yeah right, Wait,
let me back up, Elizabeth, What all do you know
about Chris Christophers? And I know he's the king for
both of us, but like, what do you know about him?
Like personal life?
Speaker 3 (04:17):
I got your Rhodes scholar, veteran.
Speaker 5 (04:21):
Actor, yeah right, songwriter, singer, glorious tap dancers.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
He actually was well we'll get into that, but he
he was a gandy dancer. Yeah yeah, right, So but
you know, he just obviously passed away. So all right,
pee friend of the show. I know, as we like
to say, rest easy, cowboy poet, rest easy. Yeah, so
I want to pick him up because he's a cowboy
poet and I'm heavy on the poet. But he was like, you,
(04:48):
I don't know, actually, I don't know if you are.
I think you are because we've mentioned him a lot
to each other. Huge fan of William Blake. Yeah, you
like William Blake, right, I mean not a huge fan
like he was. No, exactly, you don't have the mug
with like infinity in the palm of the hand.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Right.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
But he quoted him all the time as a country singer,
as you pointed out, Rhodes scholar, super literate. Right, he
was actually classically educated military brat. So back to William Blake,
my man, Chris Christopherson, as I said, he loved him
some bad billy Blake. He beheld that infinity in the
palm of his hand. Now on his personal website, Chris
(05:22):
Christopherson dot com, there's a biography page. I read it,
you know, Oh, good for research, and it's careful to
include his love of William Blake, like I'm telling you,
he wants you to know this man's his man. So
and I quote he believed that songwriting is a spiritual
communion of mind, body, and soul. And he believed that
William Blake was correct in asserting that anyone divinely ordered
(05:44):
for spiritual communion, but burries his talent will be pursued
by sorrow and desperation through life and by shame and
confusion for eternity. Basically, you will go to hell if
you don't follow your heart.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Now, as Chris himself clarified into Ken Burns multi part
PBS documentary Country Music, which I recommend, Yeah, he points
out and I quote this is Chris Christofferson quote. Blake
is telling.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
You that you'll be miserable if you don't do what
you're supposed to do.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So there you go. Yeah, spoiler alert, Elizabeth, you don't
want to be miserable. It sucks. I do not listen
to William Blake exactly. No, that was kind of like
the motto of the outlaw country music legends. Chris Christopherson
and Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, they all agreed with that
basic cowboy notion them. Yeah, totally. I'm only leaving Johnny
Cash out because he's more in Elvis's group of age.
He's not really an outlaw countryman. You know, he'd found
(06:35):
Jesus by then. But they all did it, even the highwaymen.
I think you can throw Johnny Cash in this regard.
They all agree with that cowboy notion. If it feels good,
I'll do it. Yeah, right now. You know they're free spirits, yes,
much like your co host. Yes.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
So this is why these guys, as I tell you,
are my favorite philosophers. And Willie is now unfortunately the
only one I can say is my favorite living philosopher.
But Christofferson he's my favorite poet of the bunch. And
as I said, he could quote William Blake from memory,
but not only that, he had all kinds of poems
that he had up there stored in his head. I
always want to be able to do.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
That, just recite poems from memory.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yeah, Like, have a bunch of poems that I love
memorized so I can share them whenever the moment or
need arises, like do you have that? Do you have
poems memorized? And I'm not talking like Robert Frost to
walk in the snow he would, I'm not what I
used to.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
There were a few that I used to know, and
you know, my memory is shot, so that's kind of
fallen away from me.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
But what I do like to do.
Speaker 5 (07:34):
Is say that it's a poem by some famous poet
and just make it up on the spot like that,
you know, it's it's easy.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
You know, everyone has Google in their pocket now right.
People don't care, they don't take the time.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
No one google. People are told things.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
No one looks anything up, Curiodit is actually you could
just riff and make up a pone be like you know,
and that was where it's worth life at seven No way.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
I'm like, yeah, it's so good. I memorized it. You
should do that. And they're like, okay.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
It speaks to beauty and how you find it in
fleeting moments. I mean, there you go. So it's anyway.
The song The Pilgrim Chris Christopherson, he riffed on John
Bunyan's work Pilgrim's Progress, because he's all literate like that.
He had that amazing couple it. He's a walking contradiction,
partly truth and partly fiction, taking every wrong direction on
(08:28):
his lonely way back home. It's very much like kind
of like his own motto, like he always came back
to those. It speaks to the general vibe of Chris Christofferson.
So what else do we need to know or want
to know about the man other than his general vibe
in my love of memorizing poetry and his shared love
of actually having poems memorized. Tell me well for one.
Elizabeth Chris Christopherson was born in a border town in Texas. Yeah, Bordertown,
(08:52):
like Mexican Borderah, like the Louisiana border, the Oklahoma border
now border Brownsville, Texas. Yeah, there you go. I knew
that would get you. So in the middle of the depression. Oh, Brownsville, Texas,
in the middle of the depression. Yeah, June twenty second,
nineteen thirty six. Feel bad for his mom pregnant in
the middle of the depression in Brownsville, Texas, Like nine
(09:13):
months pregnant in June. Oh.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
He's a scrabble that is classified as hard.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Yeah, definitely the hardest. Only diamond can cut that scrabble.
His life is mostly buffeted in early days, but from
the worst of the depression by the fact that he
was raised in a military home, so there was reliable
you know, food and pay and so forth. His father
was an officer, so you know, he wasn't hurting. His
father later would go on to be a modern major general. Yeah. No,
(09:38):
like legit, that's what he was. His rank was major
general in the Air Force.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, I added the modern park, but anyway that helps
to keep food on the table. Yeah, and so this
military brat, he's moving around a lot, makes for a
lonesome childhood, also highly self reliant childhood, so he probably
didn't even notice how lonesome he was until later on.
You know, it's one of those.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Things about being definitely like that is common, right, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
You know that one. So Christ Chris Jfferson, he seems
to excel at everything he does. You pointed out earlier.
He becomes a Rhodes scholar, but he's also moving around
this entire time. So this is somebody who's like also
good at making friends, so he's good socially, he's good
at school. His family moves out to eventually to California.
He graduates not too far from here. Sam Matteo played
football at school, went to Pomona College down south, right.
(10:21):
He played football in college too. He also boxed. And
when I say he boxed, member, I say he's good
at everything. He won the gold gloves.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Really did not know that.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Oh yeah, best of whatever he sets his mind too.
At college, his writing gets noticed, right, so his professor's like,
you know what you should apply for the Rhodes scholarship
to Oxford, and he was like, oh you think so?
So he does. Of course he gets that, becomes a
Rhodes scholar. Start there. That's where he studies classical literature
focuses on William Blake keeps writing his own works. Now,
I don't want to sound like things come too easy
(10:50):
for him, like he does have to work hard, like
the former Oakland now Las Vegas Raiders. His commitment to
excellence was a habit right now, back to when he
worked construction crews in the summer, Chris Christofferson remembered how,
and I quote this is Christofferson, I took.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Pride in being the best labor or the guy that
could dig the ditches the fastest. Some inside we wanted
to do the tough stuff. Part of it was I
wanted to be a writer. I figured that I had
to get out and live. That's why I ran in
front of the bulls in Pamplona. Whoa, yoh, yeah he's
been too. He's that Hemingway Motcho.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yes, sensitive artist guy over in Europe, bouncing around like, oh,
I'm an American expat, I'm gonna go run in front
of some bulls. Before it was cliche to do. You know,
now this is like pre the city Slickers. You know,
this is like exactly like a real legit Hollywood hasn't
even made like middle aged men do this to prove
their masculinity yet, right, so this is like pre anyway,
(11:46):
you get the point. So at this point, straight and narrow,
military raised, macho yet sensitive artist. And he's a college
graduate with a master's from Oxford. So what does he
do for his next path in life? Elizabeth tell me
gets married to his high school sweetheart. Century is just
incredible this story. Right, Then he gets steady work, he
goes into the family business. He joins the military. So
(12:09):
so now he's a college graduate, he's qualified to be
an officer. He joins the army, and of course he
works his behind off. He becomes an army ranger, the
top of the line. Not only that, he becomes an
Army ranger helicopter pilot. He's like, only fly the boys
around us. Army sends him overseas. Now he gets lucky.
His timing is right because he goes to West Germany,
not Vietnam. It's early enough that he's like, oh nice,
(12:29):
so always in West Germany, becomes a captain. Now he's
an Army ranger, helicopter pilot, Oxford educated, former Gold Gloves boxer,
college football player, the dude, capitol badassa guy. So you
see in the army, he starts writing country songs. He's
inspired by Hank Williams, like O G. Hank will Yeah, exactly,
not all my rowdy friends. So he's this also this
(12:50):
new kid on the folk scene, Bob Dylan really.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Him?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yea, that Bobby Dylan. I'm telling you you remember that name.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
I'm selling him not long ago. In concert, how was it?
It was interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
That is not a glowing review.
Speaker 5 (13:05):
It was just like for an outdoor show and an amphitheater.
He picked really quiet blues and jazz.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Stuff in downtown.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
I was wearing like pajama pants and dress shoes and
a hoodie and a.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Chain wallet to the pajamas.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And sitting in ye sitting at PAMO. It was pretty incredible.
But yeah, anyway, sorry.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Hey, I've always got moment for Bob Dolan and his
fashion updates. So this u back to the country music
his first night visiting the home of country music, right
because Chris Kosoffersons goes, oh, I'm gonna run away to
Nashville and see what's up with his country music. So
his very first night in Nashville being Chris Christophers and
what happens He meets the legend cowboy Jack Clement. Oh right, yeah.
(13:48):
A few days later he gets finessed backstage to the
Grand Old Opry. So now he's his backstage. The guy
is just incredible.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
He can't there are no half measures with him. Everything
that he sets his sights to is plus some.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah, and he's like cool for his gump. He's just
everywhere doing everything. So Elizabeth, can you guess who he
met backstage at the Ryman Auditorium there at the Grand
Old Opry.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Taylor, Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
First he's like a couple of days in town, he
meets Johnny Cash backstage at the Grand Old Operay. Hot dang, yeah,
that was it for Chris Christofferson. He's like, my future
is a calling me. I can hear it, just like
a train of coming. Now he decides he wants to
resign from the army and tell his wife's plans. He's
gonna go and become a country music.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Star that goes overwell at home.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Oh, completely, everything you can hear this is all lined
up for honey, I'm gonna throw all this away become
a country music star.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
That's wants to hear.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah. So that was like screeching on the on the
highway of their life, right. So there he is living life.
Nineteen sixty five, Chris Christofferson makes the bold choice, resigns
his army commission, steps off this traditional path of success.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
Well, I mean, his track record is pretty good, so
totally you would think, but his you'll see, Yeah, there's
some complications.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
So the Army they come to him with the next
steps for his life path. And Chris we was assigned
to West Point to teach Cadet's literature. He was going
to become a literature professor at West Point and Chris
Christopherson it's like, okay, yeah, but might have to turn
in a lesson plan. They're like, oh, of course, he'll
turn in a lesson plan so we can tour. You're superior,
so they can approve it. He's like, sounds like hell
to me. That was a literal quote. Sounded like.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
It's like the administrative part of it takes all the
joy out of teaching.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I think that's everything I hear that sounds like like
I don't understand, like why we can't fix that. I
always hear the same problem, like can we tell the
administrators of this, like can we threaten them? Is there anything?
Can we replace them anyway? Elizabeth as I told, my
man loves William Blake, right, And he said, I'm not
going to be miserable. Right. So he moves in Nashville
to see what's up with country music. And when he
(15:45):
gets back to Nashville, he meets songwriter Tom T. Hall
in a bar and Chris introduces himself and Hall tells him,
good to see you. It's a harry legged town.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
It's a harry legged town.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Yeah. Now when his family hears what he's doing throughing
away his life like this, yeah, they get pissed. I'm
sure his mother flies out to Nashville to see what
her son is doing.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Those military families are known to be so open.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
And oh yeah, free spirits. They love him and they're
always like, oh, shirk the rules and and your responsibilities
as a father and provider for your family.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Follow your heart, stand in your truth. Chris.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
I want you writing poem songs like the country star
you are son.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
The way the founding father's intended Yes.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
When she gets to Nashville, she sniffs the air decides
it's no good for the young family. She takes the
wife and kids back to California with her and tells
her son to sort out whatever it is he's doing
here in Nashville. Oh boy, Now Chris is no dummy.
He's got one hell of a head on his shoulders. Right,
So he has a plan, decides he's going to use
his Army ranger training to assess how to break into Nashville.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Like literally breaking exactly.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
So let's take a little break, Elizabeth. Now we got
the plants that before we get back, I'll tell you
how Chris breaks into Nashville.
Speaker 7 (16:52):
Yeah, Elizabeth, Aaron, Hey, we're back.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
We are. My eyes are up here. Oh okay, I
was telling you about Chris Christopherson, right, I was going
to break into nash belt. Those are my pants, they're
pajama pants. That's my chain wallet at my chain walllet.
I got inspired. I changed during the break. I wanted
to see how it felt. It's a really good fit.
(17:35):
But my eyes are up here. Stop looking at my
chain wall at Elizabeth. So anyway, Christmosopher, he's got his plan.
He's gonna have to break into Nashville. So he sides, okay,
he'll need one step one a cover story, of course,
Oh yeah, step one of those. So he gets himself
a job as a janitor at Columbia Records. Okay, in
(17:56):
step two, I'm gonna need a helicopter. No steal helicopter. Wait,
I can't afford a helicopter. I'm gonna need to steal it.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
He's literally breaking in as you need, like the thermal lance.
What's happening?
Speaker 2 (18:07):
That's that's the plan. So oh yeah, So here's how
it goes, right. It's dateline nineteen sixty five. Location Nashville
aka Music City. Sure, okay, my man Chris Christopson is
about to make his move to bust into the entertainment industry.
Kick down them doors. He just needs a helicopter and
a cover.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Story and some hot chicken.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
So, as I told you, he's got a couple of assets.
He's a hard worker, sure, and he's a trained helicopter pilot.
There's that. So boom, he leverages asset one and he
gets a job pushing a broom as a janitor for
Columbia Records. They're like oh you're a hard worker. Boom done.
Mind you. The label is home to country music legend
Johnny Cash and his white Jean Carter right, and also
Bob Dylan, but not on the country list.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
The record company know they had like an officer, a
military officer cleaning there.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
No, he did not put that on his resume. He
did not show up with his CV man. Here you go,
Rhodes scholar.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Languages.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
So while he's working his janitor job, letting his hair
grow long because it's the mid sixties, he's friendly, gets
friendly with June Carter, right, and also with Johnny Cash
as guitarist and Chris Christofferson. He talked about this in
an interview years later over in the UK. It was
like nineteen eighty seven, right, if you were interested in
that kind of thing. Chris Christofferson is on this show
and he says, I used to pitch every song I
ever wrote June Carter and Loutherer Perkins, Johnny's guitar player.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
I found out years later John would throw them in
the lake. I knew he wasn't recording them.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
So he's like, you know, not hurt by it, but
he's been giving them tape after tape all of his demos.
He's like, get this to Johnny, Get this to Johnny?
Can you get this to Johnny? And they get to Johnny.
Good to their word, they're good, you know, you know
Christian country musicians are good to their word. But Johnny's like,
got it fou just outside his house. He's got like
a fisher yea. He was like, keeps it stocked with
(19:54):
like trout and the demos.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
I wonder what would happen if you ever drained it
the stuff that he threw in there.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
That's a really good like I never thought considered Garfield mug.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
He's like, why did you give.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Me this to just like Johnny cash Is Midden, we
could do like an anthropological study and like a museum.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
Three hundred years from now when like the you know,
our ancestors.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
They're looking back at come back.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
From Mars and they're like, let's dig this out Garfield mug.
And is that Chris christ sounds like.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
I wouldn't have recorded this, so as I said, he's
pitching everything he's got right add to Johnny, nothing is
sticking right. So and Johnny even admits this, sitting right
next to Chris Christophers and on the British Show, Johnny said,
I think I was guilty of throwing some of the
Christmas songs in the lake.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
So yeah, see he must have thrown so much in
the lake.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
We gotta get we get hold of some scuba gear
getting this lake do it?
Speaker 3 (20:55):
The disrespect for the environment.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Well, this doesn't stop Chris Christopherson, thank god. It only
gives him something to overcome. I remember hard work or competitive,
macho guy with an artist sensitive heart. So he keeps
giving his demo tapes to Chewing Carter and she keeps
adding them to the large pilot tapes that Johnny Cash
flings when he gets home. And it this is boy
Chris Christofferson. He's in his thirties, right, so he's getting
up there and he's janitor. He's separated from his wife.
(21:19):
He's still knocking on the door of the music industry, right,
and he's riding around town on an old Honda motorcycle, right,
just like a little banger. And he's like he'd attend
guitar pickings with other singers and songwriters, so they're passing
the battle around and maybe some crackers and a guitar,
so yeah, like maybe some cheese, so I don't know rits.
Actually he gets getting all like that's that's the challenge.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Yeah, it's like like, will hand me that hooch and I'll.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Rinse it down exactly. Now what have you been there? Now?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
I'm just full of whiskey and ritz crackers.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
This song was written on whiskey and ritz crackers exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
See, this is how country music comes to be.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
The digestive issues.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
And also they have a bunch of hippy cut so
there's a little bit of pot going around to them,
all sorts of cotton mouth issues in this group. So
to be able to send some money back to his family,
because he's not entirely avoiding his responsibilities. I was portraying
him as like kind of a dead but he was not.
He was like still managing, you know, to get his family,
you know, the money they needed to be you know,
fed clouds.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
To be insulted.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Exactly. So he gets a job for He's get a
job buying helicopters commercially professionally, right, Okay, now the time
is well, no, no, there's big demand for helicopter pilots
for the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico and
that's not so far from Nashville. It's like one state away. Essentially,
he's got to go down to Louisiana. It's the other
(22:41):
end of Tennessee. But you know, anyway, so the time,
the big demand for helicopter pilots is there, so he's
got the Petroleum Helicopters International. Sweet job for him at
a Lafayette, Louisiana, as he tells it, and I quote.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
That was about the last three years before I started performing,
before people started cutting my songs.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
I would work a.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Week down here in South Louisiana for PHI, sitting on
an oil platform and flying helicopters. Then I go back
to Nashville at the end of the week and spend
a week up there trying to pitch the songs, then
come back down and write songs for another week. I remember,
help me make it through the night I wrote it
sitting on top of an oil platform. I wrote, Bobby
(23:20):
McGhee down here, Wow, he's down there sitting on oil
rigs writing Bobby McGee Like.
Speaker 5 (23:25):
If you're his coworker and you're hearing all his stories,
Like I'm a Rhodes scholar and I was in the
military as an officer and then he's like, I just.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Hanging out with Johnny Cash who just like.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Putting the herd on a bunch of Ritz crackers time.
And then he's like, I'm gonna be break into Nashville.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
This copter pilot is he flapping the cartels to eat
anything other than Ritz maybe a couple of kippered herings.
So this last song that I mentioned Bobby McGee that
becomes a hit for him when Janis Jope records it. Now, Elizabeth,
do you know that Janis Joplin and Chris Christofferson had
a thing.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
I just don't know, a romance.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
They got shipped by fate. Yeah, no, they were like
a romantically involved, like legit for the last three months
of her life, Nolah, and she secretly recorded his song,
never told him she did it, and then she passed
away in nineteen seventy.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
Wait, so he didn't know.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
No, he didn't know she'd recorded her song. And then
the next day she passes away, right heroin overdose. Very tragic.
The next day Chris Christofferson walks into a studio and
someone says, like, you got to hear this and plays
him the record and it's Janis Joplin singing Bobby McGee,
and he's like, he said it really.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
It really blew me away because I could just see
her going in and cutting it and saying wait till
that or here's this.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Now at this point, most folks think of that as
her song, right yeah, yeah, right, pretty much it is,
you know, and he even says that, and so that's
the song most folks think of her when they think
of Janis, right, and it's him. So it's there, it's
out of their creative moment, right. So, but that's not
enough for him to break into the entertainment industry. It's
not enough for him to get into Nashville writing a
song for Janis Joplin. It's so he's still those doors
(25:09):
of the Nashville remain closed, all right. Music City record
company founder comes to him with the Janis Joplin thing, right,
and so ites, hey, I want to get you to
sign a deal and record an album from my company.
The dude was not in charge of like Columbia, he
was in charge of Atlantic, none of those.
Speaker 7 (25:24):
Now.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
The dude was in charge of Monument Records. His name
was Fred Foster and it was his secretary mind you
that was the inspiration for Bobby McGee. Yeah, it was
really her name was Bobby McKee with a.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
K, and he misheard it.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
What was her name again? God, she means so much
to me.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Song Bobby McGan, No, it's Bobby McKee.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Yeah, Bobby McGee. Well it's already been published two lates.
So Fred Foster came to him and suggested that you
need to write a song about my secretary. I swear
to God, Elizabeth. He came to him and he said,
do me a favorite, right, it's talking about my secretary,
and then he does. He's like, okay, but I spelled
their name wrong, and he's like, it's fine to sing it.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
What freedom just another word for nothing left to lose exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Jul Bobby. It's Irish, right, Scottish? Something I don't know.
So yeah, this William Blake love and Chris Christofferson comes
back with me and Bob McGee a song about you know,
being low.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Time, Me and the secretary.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
He turns into, like, you know, a traveling woman anyway,
becomes becomes Chance Joblin's huge hit. Right after that, Fred
Foster's like, let's make an album and Chris Christoffers is like, cool,
But have you heard me sing? As he put in,
I quote, I sing like a frog? Oh right, However,
old Fred Foster argued, yes, but like a frog that
(26:43):
can communicate. So boom. Now he has a record yell right,
But he's not a real country music star, not yet, Elizabeth.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
All your songs have to be about my secretary.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Or my driver, my Taylor. No everything, I got a
dry clings good guy.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
I want you to tell me you're having an affair
with your secretary.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Without exactly and trying to downy. She really likes she.
If you wrote her a song, it would really help
me out. So at this point he's like, Okay, how
do I break in. I'm real close, right, I got
a record deal. I've got Bobby McKee, Bobby McGee. So
he's like, you know what, I think. The last thing
(27:19):
that pushed me over the top is I just got
to get a song to Johnny Cash. If I can
get his help, then I do it. I'm gonna need
to steal a helicopter.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
Well, if you really quickly, if you have a bunch
of ritz crackers in your road and you say McKee,
it might sound like McGee.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
That's where it came from. Actually, yeah, you can hear it,
just the glottal stop between the G and the cas
Ritz Cracker. Welcome America, fun factor, Elizabeth. Did you know
that Johnny Cash was also in the Armed forces?
Speaker 3 (27:47):
One more thing about Yeah, I did know that.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Did Jimmy Cash also know that he was the first
American to know that Joseph Stalin was dead.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
I don't think I knew that.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
He didn't kill it.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
He did.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
He was like standing over there. Take that you read faster. No,
So true story is this. Johnny Cash was in the
Air Force. He was trained as a signal intelligence specialist. Okay,
he was also sent over to West Germany because that's
where you sent people back then. Yeah. So he's over
there doing a three year tour. And this is the
nineteen fifties, because remember predates, he's more helps his timeline.
(28:22):
So this is the height of the Cold War. What
that means for Johnny Cash is he was, you know,
spending his days freezing off his ballocks and listening to
coded Soviet messages and reporting on the news he heard fine, right, Yeah,
So one night, March fifth, nineteen fifty three, Staff Sergeant
Johnny Cash is doing his eavesdropping business. He hears his
incoming coded communicate from the Soviets. Right, The message is
(28:44):
Stalin is very sick.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
So is he translating this?
Speaker 5 (28:47):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (28:49):
I'll put its way. He's not speaking Russian, right, So
he's taking their code. We're writing down what he hears
in the dots and dashes or whatever the equivalent would
be in this coded message, and then it gets translated
it to the transmit as far as I know. Or
maybe they're just you know, being lazy and just communicating
in English to make it easier to be eavesdropped.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Maybe Johnny spiel Qushian.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
That too, that too. Never put anything past Johnny.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Cash, Johnny McKee.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
He the Johnny Cash notes that Stalin is very sick,
does his report. Few hours later, he gets word that
another coded message, Joseph Stalin is dead. Yep, kicked the
old communist bucket. Johnny Cash, first American to hear that joke.
Stalin took a dirt nap.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Yeah. So he gives his report to his superior officers,
who then cableman news to the White House and President
Eisenhower learns like threefold after Johnny Cash. Anyway back to
Columbia Records. Years later, Johnny Cash is now a big
star in Nashville, and it's the summer of nineteen sixty nine.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
Just I mean Brian Adams style exactly.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
I was waiting for you. I was trying to give
you the air.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
That's when you had your first real sixties? Did you
buy it at the five? And then?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Because I that's it's the only place you can get
one of them. So Chris Christophers is working there at
Columbia Records as a janitor, still trying to get this
foot firmly in the door, still pushing that broom, and
still flying choppers out to oil rigs. We send money
to his family, right, so he mostly be like, you know,
bringing supplies and ferrying oil Derek workers. You get the idea.
So that's when he gets his big idea, how to
really break into show business and stay there. Now, Elizabeth,
(30:14):
the story has been told by lots of people, so
we're gonna have to hear from a few of them
and split the difference to find the truth. First up,
there's the version that Johnny Cash tells. He starts out
the same each time he says that, and I quote,
I was taking a note and June said, some fools
landed a helicopter in our yard. Now, when Johnny Cash
quotes from his darling wife and fellow country music legend,
(30:34):
June Carter, saying, how she said, and I quote, sweet Jesus,
they come to us from the lake, from the road.
Now they're coming to us out of the sky. So
Johnny Cash always into the story the same and I
quote once again, here comes Chris stumbling out of a
National Guard Harmony helicopter with a beer in one hand
and a tape in the other. Right, But like I said,
(30:58):
tough pocket. So it depends on how you ask who
tells the story. But the best version may be the
one that was posted on the Pensacola Aerospace Museum's Facebook page. Okay,
Pensacola is a big home to a Navy air station,
and that's where the pilots go down and learn. The
Blue Angels are down there, a bunch of flyboys, right,
So they have a Pensacola Aerospace there. Yeah, that's right,
(31:19):
So Pensacola Aerospace Museum. I've been to Florida that has
are you've been so far up in my.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
Estimation, we had special assignments.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
So Facebook page. Yeah, check it out. Next time you're
in Florida. You go and look up the time.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
I'm in Florida, I'll go to their Facebook.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Yeah, visit it, and that's how you'll find David Thayer
shared a story of how he heard from Chris Christofferson
himself in nineteen seventy seven. The story told to his
face Elizabeth, no rich crackers involved. Now you see, he
wanted to correct the record. He felt that the Pensacola
Aerospace Museum's Facebook fan page was the place to do it.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Well, I mean that's just like anywhere you want to
break new Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Mean, if you're gonna make this, this is where you're gonna
put in multiple paragraphs to count the record of country music.
So over to David there, he wrote, and I quote
Chris Christofferson's story is basically correct, although it is not
exactly the same as the story he personally told me
over a few beers back in nineteen seventy seven, Chris
said he'd been fired from his drilling rig helicopter job
(32:22):
for flying drunk. So, wanting to be a songwriter, he
got a job as a janner to Columbia Records in Nashville,
one day in the studio, he handed Johnny Cash a tape,
which Johnny promptly throw in the trash. He didn't give up.
He did, in fact take a US Army helicopter and
land in Johnny's yard. June Carter came out and yelled,
(32:45):
sweet Jesus, they come to us up the road and
now they're coming out of the sky. Cash, not amused,
ordered Chris to fly away, and Chris refused to go
until Cash here one song. Finally gave in and agreed
to listen to one song. Chris played him Sunday Morning
(33:06):
coming Down.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Oh Nice.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Cash melted and wanted to cut it immediately, and it
later became song of the Year. So wins. This tale
from the Pensacola A Museum's Facebook page.
Speaker 5 (33:19):
Love your Facebook comment voice that version, Elizabeth.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
There's no mention that Chris Christofferson getting out of a
stolen helicopter with a half drunk beer, But there is
the exact same line from June Carter.
Speaker 3 (33:31):
Yeah, right, exactly.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Now.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
He also says that Chris Chosofferson was fired from his
job flying for the drilling rigs and the golf. That's
the only detail that we don't hear only in this version.
Speaker 4 (33:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
The other thing is where did he steal this helicopter?
Speaker 3 (33:43):
Yeah, well said national Guard helicopter.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
In some versions, Chris Christofferson steals a National Guard helicopter,
which would be in this case a bell uh one
aka the Huey, the helicopter from all the Vietnam movies.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Yeah, c the Supremes exactly.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
So he steals one of those from Phi, the oil
Rigger Chopper Accompany. He flew it to that to Henderson, Tennessee,
which is where Johnny Cash's estate was.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
Now, David Thayer had just a little bit more. He
did add to the act, bringing a few caveats, and
he added, and I quote, that is the story Chris
actually told me. We had been drinking. He did he
add any yeast to the story. I have no idea
when he told me the story, I thought it was
(34:30):
too much to believe. Then for the last twenty years,
the story's resurfaced and is fairly close to what he
told me. So there were all sorts of versions that
Johnny Cash told over the years, Elizabeth, but this one,
the DVA one from Facebook, from David Thayer's version. Now,
when he first introduced the song for the first time
(34:51):
he played at the Grand Old Opry. The very first
time he played it in nineteen seventy, Johnny Cash said,
and I quote, here's a song written by my friend,
Chris Christ.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
He's your friend.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
And I got it in a very strange way. I
got it right out of the sky. Chris was working
in Nashville, working as a janitor at Columbia Record, and
he was flying a helicopter and one afternoon, June said,
some fools landed in our yard and a helicopter. That's
mostly the same. Right. Then it ends it by adding,
and I quote, here was Chris, and he said, I
(35:23):
thought this might be the best way to get a
song to you is to bring it to you right
out of the sky. And I said, you got it.
Let's listen to it. And here it is. He plays
Sunday Morning, coming down, And finally, thanks to Johnny Cash
and a stolen helicopter, Chris christoffers and finds his way
to break into Nashville. He becomes a country musical edged
(35:44):
right alongside Johnny Cash Elizabeth. But it almost didn't happen.
Hold that thought, We'll take a little break and the
cold rushing edge way back and I will sort a
little more tactic from a little more fiction, and we're back, Elizabeth,
(36:13):
How cool and refreshing were those ads?
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Oh it's so good.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
I wiped him on my face, freezing, I know, right?
Do you see that the due point fell?
Speaker 3 (36:20):
It's like one of those but a bud light ice.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Commercials with a train. I'm gonna believe you. I think
those are coarse light commercials.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Whatever.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
Do you think that's the coldest tasting beer? Okay, yeah, anyway,
the silver bullet the coldest taste anyway, Elizabeth. Oh, that's right,
michelob the silver bullet. But anyway, Nashville nickelob Light nineteen
seventy now Nashville. Johnny Cash first sang that song Sunday Morning,
(36:53):
Coming Down. It was on his TV show. He had
a TV show. He had a bunch of TV shows,
but this.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
Was on Sunday Mornings.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
No, it would be that CBS already had the title.
So the same version that he sang on his TV
show was the one that made it onto the album.
It was that good. Yeah, So his live version, they're like,
let's just again, we already already played it, Johnny. That
was good first performance. Yes, so yeah, but also keep
in mind he had to get that performance, you know,
(37:20):
like he had to get it right with the band,
but he also had to get past producers for the
TV show because they were a little nervous. I'm not
sure if he remembered there's some problematic lines in that song. Yeah,
there was a controversial line for a country music audience,
especially in nineteen seventy about getting stoned.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
So they we're like, this is not gonna fly. Johnny
Dodge like, oh'm Johnny Cash, I think it will. Now
the producers didn't want Johnny Cash to stick to step
out on the stage. Is it the Rhyman Auditorium. This
is a grand old operative. It's like the home of
country music. He's not just playing like a country fair
outside of Branson. Right, So they're fairly certain this is
gonna be bad. Like he could get canceled. The show
could get canceled. I'm not him, but the show could
get canceled, right, That's how there. The producers are worried
(37:57):
about their own jobs anyway, so they started but these
are having all these meetings about Chris Christofferson's lyrics. But
sin since I said, it's Johnny Cash singing it to him.
They are like, well, we're really it's up to the
man in black. So that Sunday night, Johnny Cash is
backstage listening to his Panic producers begging him to pick
a different lyric. Right as Chris Dristofferson tells.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
It, they were having an argument about whether he could
say stoned. I remember all these people sitting around coming
up with alternatives.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
You could say wishing Lord that I was home.
Speaker 4 (38:28):
I didn't really say anything because I didn't want to
put John on the spot, but he could tell Johnny
Cash says he'll think about it, and you know, like,
let me think about this a little bit.
Speaker 2 (38:36):
Yeah, But first he says, I'm gonna talk to Chris,
and back to Chris Christopherson for his version.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
He said, no, what do you think? I said, I
don't think it means the same thing, wishing you were
home or wishing you were stoned.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
I didn't know which he was gonna do. Now I
do know, Elizabeth, and I could tell you what happened,
but I'd rather take you there. Yes, Elizabeth, I'd like
you to close your eyes.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
My eyes are closed, and I'd like.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
You to picture it. It's February twenty fifth, nineteen seventy
and you, Elizabeth, are backstage at the Ryman Auditorium. Well, technically,
you're standing on the side of the stage, waiting in
the wings. PA's and stage text buzz about you. You
are there because you are an ABC executive. You've been
called in to consult about the song Johnny Cash wants
(39:22):
to sing. The censors contacted you when it came up
the Johnny Cash bland to sing about getting stoned. At
the moment, out on stage is Johnny Cash and he's
performing for the Grand Old Opry's crowd. The audience has
come out tonight to see Johnny Cash record live his
variety series on your ABC network called The Johnny Cash Show,
and they are excited faces they ache with wide smiles.
(39:44):
At the moment, Johnny Cash is sharing the stage with
Bob Hope. The two were doing a duet version of
a boy named Sue. Standing next to you on the
side of the stage is the songwriter Shel Silverstein. The
hippie wolfe shaved head smells like pot smoke and freshly
drying so and he looks nervous as he's watches Bob
Hope perform his song about a Western anti hero with
(40:05):
a girl's name who fights his dad for giving him
such a silly appellation. You've already watched Kenny Rogers and
his band The First Edition perform It's some early psychedelic
country rock, and he did nothing for you. You turn
from the stage and go to check on what the
censors and TV show producers have decided about which alternative
lyrics Johnny Cash will sing, and you bump into Mama
(40:26):
cass Elliott. She's also slated to perform later. She asks
you if you've seen Shell Silverstein this is a fever dream.
You quietly indicate yes, But when you turn to show
her where Shelle Silverstein is, he's gone. Maybe he stepped
outside to bern a doobie. You think probably he's hating
watching Bob Hope sing his song. You find the nervous
ABC sensor still talking with the TV show producers, and
(40:49):
you learn no one has decided which alternative lyric Johnny
Cash is going to sing. You hear the crowd erupt
in a tremendous applause. Oh no, the song must be over.
It's almost time for Johnny Cash to sing the next number.
He'll introduce it. After the show takes a commercial break.
You confer with the TV show producers what will it be?
What will it be? The consensus opinion is that Johnny
should sing wishing Lord that I was home. You give
(41:12):
it official ABC approval. You hear the crowd applaud again.
Sounds like they're back from the curcial break. But wait,
Johnny Cash never came off stage. You rush back to
where you can see the stage from the wings, and
there you watch as Johnny Cash introduces the next number.
He mentions his friend Chris Christofferson and how he brought
him the song from out of the Sky, and then
he starts to play and sing, well, I woke up
(41:32):
Sunday morning with no way to hold my head that
didn't hurt, and the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad,
so I had one more for dessert. Up in the
balcony of the rhyme and auditorium, Chris Christofferson is watching
for the same thing. You are, both of you waiting
for Johnny to get to that one line, what will
he sing? And then it happens. Johnny Cash reaches the
(41:54):
Troublesome furse and he sings on a Sunday morning sidewalksh
Lord that I was stone and you feel your jaw
hinge opened and drop.
Speaker 4 (42:05):
He did it.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
He just went ahead and did it. Then when you
look at the crowd, they love it. Wait a minute,
you're not gonna lose your job. Way to go, Elizabeth,
Thank you so much. So that was it. That was
how Johnny Cash helped decide, and he also helped make
Chris Christophers in the country music stars.
Speaker 5 (42:22):
I love they're okay with breakfast beer, but like, exactly,
don't say stoned.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
Well, it was illegal, so yeah, yeah, well he'd be like.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
So was shooting a man just to watch him die?
Speaker 2 (42:34):
No, that's a called tradition. It's a little different, Elizabeth.
So as Chris Chrisofferson once said of that magic moment
when Johnny Cash changed.
Speaker 4 (42:41):
His life, I was up at the balcony watching it
when he filmed it, and he got to that line
and he looked right up at me and said, wishing
Lord that I was stoned. And he saved that song
because it never would have been as strong without that,
And I always felt that he was sort of the
stepfather of the song.
Speaker 5 (42:59):
There.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
So after Johnny Cash performs Sunday Morning Coming Down. As written,
it's a huge hit, Like huge song, hits number one
on the charts. Everyone's like, oh, we all want to
get stoned on a Sunday morning. Yeah, sure, but not really.
But anyway, when award season comes around, Johnny Cash wins
Song of the Year nineteen seventy Chris Christofferson wins Songwriter
of the Year. This is huge, Elizabeth, because researching this one,
(43:20):
I found so many fun wrinkles. One fact I couldn't
wait to tell you. In the episode swan song from
the nineteen seventy four season of Colombo, Oh Boy, Sunday
Morning Coming Down is performed by Johnny Cash at a
very charming garden party at a garden, a garden party
on Colombo. He performs on Sunday Morning Coming Down. I
(43:41):
just wow, that's how big of a hit it was.
It showed up in Colombo garden party that sentence. By
the way, oh totally we should throw one of those. So,
by the way, have you purchased your Colombo trench coat yet?
You were telling me you were out on assignment and
how you saw a trench coach with a new hot
look in Europe and everywhere else around the world. Is
(44:01):
that really true? Were you just messing with me? Did
that like really happen when you were.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
Over there, I saw a lot of folks and ladies
and trench coats. Yeah, it's just like.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
So that's the move came out of the pandemic that like,
I'm ready to solve mysteries, asked people questions on my
way out of the door. So we've covered a few
versions of the stolen Chopper story. Yeah, but we've yet
to hear it from Chris Christofferson himself. He was there, true,
he could tell about this. Well, we heard the legend,
(44:31):
what's the real story? Performing it with Johnny Cash late
in their lives. Chris Christopherson once told his version of
the story and what went down. He said, and I
quote I, I want to tell you all the story.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
About Johnny Cash, and it goes back to when I
was making my living at Columbia Studios here in Nashville,
where John was Coorey Cording. I was writing songs due
I wasn't supposed to pitch him to the stars, but
of course I did anyway, and I wasn't having a
whole hell lot of a look. So I had this
song I wanted John to saying real bad. I decided
I would take it out to his house in this
(45:03):
old National Guard helicopter that I happened to be flying,
and I landed it on his lawn and at the
time I was sort of like landing on the roof
of his house. Well, John, I think was pretty amazed
by it. He was easily spooked back in those days,
and whether out of fear or curiosity, he not only
agreed to listen to the song, he recorded it and
(45:25):
it was a hit and I was able to lay
down the room and I also made a friend for life.
Speaker 2 (45:31):
Thanks again, John. So that's how he tells the story. Yeah,
but even though Chris Christopherson's version, that's still not the
real version of what happened to Elizabeth. This is like Rochamon,
So wait, what really happens there? In great question? Elizabeth?
I so glad you asked.
Speaker 3 (45:44):
Thank you so much, Saren.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Well, First, I appreciate your curiosity. He sticking with me
on this all right. First, I hate to tell you,
but there was no beer. That's the first fact I
have to pull. I cannot answer that yet. Now. According
to Chris christopher and he said he'd never fly with
an open beer.
Speaker 3 (46:02):
But he would steal a helicopter.
Speaker 2 (46:04):
Wait, these are very different questions, Elizabeth, because he said,
and I quote, I think he told the story that
I got out of the helicopter with a beer in
one hand and tape in the other.
Speaker 4 (46:14):
I never would have been drinking while flying a helicopter.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
That's very responsible.
Speaker 2 (46:17):
He's not just being proper. He's not worried about like
FA gonna come down them. It's simpler than that. You
just physically can't. As he put it, it.
Speaker 4 (46:24):
Simply would be impossible for me to fly a helicopter
with a beer. He gotta use bow hands and both feet.
I never would have done that.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
So there's also there's no one to stick your beer like.
They don't put drink holders in helicopters. So and Christmar
Sumpson added.
Speaker 4 (46:40):
I don't remember exactly the same way he does, but
whose today he was right. Neither one of us was
in great shape at the time.
Speaker 5 (46:46):
He could have had one of those baseball caps with
the beers on either side.
Speaker 4 (46:54):
Well.
Speaker 2 (46:55):
More importantly than the details about the beer in his
hand or in his hat, there was also when he
got out of the chopper, right there's a whole other
important detail to correct, Cordon, Chris Christofferson, and I quote,
neither John nor June were there.
Speaker 4 (47:09):
The guy took care of the gate and the property there,
came out and I gave him the thing and took
off and got out of there. I was already feeling
that the repercussions coming of it, and I'm sure I
would have been ground it had the National Guard known
I was flying their helicopter.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
So almost none of what Johnny Cash said was true.
Speaker 3 (47:25):
But that's a much better story, exactly.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
So, after both June and John passed away, Chris Christofferson
started to correct the record and reveal the truth, and
he confessed that he'd also explained why he'd never corrected
the record before.
Speaker 4 (47:38):
He said, when John said that, I'd never contradict him
because I kind of liked his creative memory.
Speaker 3 (47:42):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (47:43):
So that's country music right there.
Speaker 3 (47:45):
You don't contradict the man in black.
Speaker 2 (47:47):
No, he definitely don't contradict Johnny Cash, June Carter, and
in country musics it pretty much as true everywhere the
story is always better than.
Speaker 3 (47:54):
The fact, exactly.
Speaker 5 (47:55):
So.
Speaker 2 (47:56):
Also is one other correction I need to make. Courdon
Chris Christofferson. Johnny Cash misremembered the wrong demo too. Oh no,
the tate wasn't.
Speaker 4 (48:03):
Sunday Morning coming Down. It was a thing called no
Longer Matters, which nobody ever.
Speaker 3 (48:08):
Cut because it's no longer matter.
Speaker 2 (48:11):
Why let the truth get in the way of a
good story. Yeah, just you gotta get certain details right.
The stolen helicopter, a demo, Johnny Cash's house, and then
the June Carter line. That's all, you know, That's what
makes it true. So the rest is accounting. You know
who cares about that? So and also who wants to
hear an account and tell a story about country music exactly?
So point is Elizabeth. That's how Chris Christofferson broke into
(48:34):
the entertainment industry, specifically the music business, with the help
of Johnny Cash and the stolen helicopter. And like his heroes,
he'd go on to change country music. As Bob Dylan
Bad Bobby Dylan once said, you can look at Nashville
pre Chris and post Chris because he changed everything.
Speaker 3 (48:50):
That's very true.
Speaker 2 (48:51):
So there you go. As far as truth versus a
more creative relationships to facts in fiction, I'll leave you
with this from a documentary on the Highwayman Chris Christofferson
said about him self and his fellow country music legends,
It's quite remarkable when you think of it.
Speaker 4 (49:05):
Every one of us is a sort of figment of
our own imaginations. I remember I used to think of
Muhammad Ali and I think of Willy's line, be careful
of what you dream. Soon your dreams will be dreaming you.
Mohamad dreamed himself up from his skinny, little Louisville kid
to get this great, big heavyweight championship of the world
(49:26):
and then the biggest man in the world, most recognizable.
He was a figment of his own imagination, and so
is Willie. Look at his old pictures in mine and John's.
I imagine if you got any old ones wailing, it'd
be the same thing. Figments of our imagination.
Speaker 3 (49:42):
It's really beautiful.
Speaker 2 (49:43):
So there you go. What's our ridiculous takeaway?
Speaker 5 (49:45):
Yeah, my ridiculous takeaway is that if you are going to,
you know, play in Nashville, bring the ritz crackers.
Speaker 2 (49:58):
My ridiculous takeaway. Thanks for Elizabeth is the Facebook fan
page for the Pensacola Aerospace Museum.
Speaker 3 (50:05):
Another news has broke.
Speaker 2 (50:06):
It is now part of the archive of country music's history,
so officially, and I'll look to see what other news.
Speaker 3 (50:12):
Maybe there's something else legislation has passed.
Speaker 2 (50:15):
Yeah, no, there may be something about like a John
Daily golf fight.
Speaker 3 (50:18):
It could be that's where you need to hell your
breaking news.
Speaker 2 (50:22):
Yeah, exactly. So you in the mood for talkback after that?
Speaker 3 (50:25):
I am always in a mood for talkback.
Speaker 2 (50:28):
Could you favor us with one? Oh my god, I
love get.
Speaker 6 (50:42):
Hi Elizabeth Zarin and producer Dave. My name is Tiffany
and I'm from Waterloo, Iowa. I absolutely love your show.
And when I was listening to your most recent episode
about the Glock, I heard Elizabeth smash up about the
Lord and I was so excited because I've actually had
malory and it is ridiculously terrible. Taking a shot of
(51:04):
lighter fluid.
Speaker 2 (51:06):
Thanks for your show and keep making them.
Speaker 3 (51:09):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (51:10):
Right up. So you said lighter fluid, I thought gross.
Then I'm like, wait a minute, I would try that.
You would take a light It's very clean tasting.
Speaker 3 (51:17):
You sound like you know.
Speaker 2 (51:20):
Beside that? Do you know I have family in Waterloo, Iowa.
I'm not going to embarrass them here, but I do. Yeah,
So shout out to Waterloo, Iowa. Yeah, thank you. Yeah,
I appreciate that. And I'm gonna go get some alort. Anyway,
you can find us always online Ridiculous Crime on social
media is. We have our website, Ridiculous Crime dot com.
Go over to it, check it out. It's beautiful, it's
(51:42):
it's it's a work of art. And also we love
your talkbacks, as you can tell, so please go to
the iHeart app downloaded and record one, send it to
us and maybe you'll hear your voice here always. Also
you can email us if you'd like a Ridiculous Crime
at gmail dot com. We really enjoy your emails and
we need to get back to like maybe reading some
of them online whose or here maybe, but whatever, it's
(52:02):
all fresh, you know, let's keep it that way. Anyway,
we'll catch you next crime. Thanks for listening. Ridiculous Crime
is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and Zaren Brennette, produced and
edited by Johnny Cash's favorite sound guy, Dave Houston, and
starring annals Rutger as Judith. Research is by our resident
(52:24):
shel Silverstein, experts Andrea Songshalkintier and Marissa Brown. Our theme
song is by Stolen Helicopter dads Thomas Lee and Travis Dutton.
The host's wardrobe provided by Botany five hundred, Hotel accommodations
by the Omni Guest hair and makeup by Sparkleshot and
mister Andre. Executive producers are Ben of Flyhile, Starship Across
(52:45):
the Universe, divd Boland and nol I wanted that lyric,
no fair Brown.
Speaker 3 (52:58):
Why say it one? We're ridiquitous crime.
Speaker 1 (53:03):
Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio. Four more podcasts
from iHeartRadio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
It's Elizabeth doddon Sarah Burnett. Do we admit that we've
been gone for a while or just skip all past that?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Do we did what?
Speaker 4 (00:12):
Now?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Okay? Like I said, do you know what's ridiculous? I
do what? What's ridiculous?
Speaker 5 (00:17):
This happened about ten years ago? And I'm just bringing
this up because I like to bring up things that
happened ten years.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You really are did that whole Desenniel thing?
Speaker 5 (00:24):
But also you know we're getting close to Halloween and
a spooky season as some people call it. Did you
know that a man was once fined for pretending to
be a ghost in a cemetery? It was inouth fined
for It was in Portsmouth in England. And this guy,
(00:46):
Anthony Stollard, he was you know, he'd been out drinking
with friends, naturally, and they wanted to play a little footy,
not foot sea, but footy little soccer.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
So they went to the local cemetery.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
There's a lot of grass, a lot of grass.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
There are some obstacles.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, totally face it right, you got natural goals?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Yes? Is there kicking it about?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Huh? In that?
Speaker 5 (01:08):
And the what nots and the so forth. And but
then he starts throwing his arms in the air and
saying woo. And apparently that was too much for the
people who called the cops.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
The cops showed up.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Uh, the soccer was fine.
Speaker 5 (01:26):
Yeah, And so he got fined thirty five pounds. He
had to pay a twenty pound victim surcharge and twenty
pounds in costs.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Damn the victim. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
They just is it like their version of card costs?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
And then he also had three months added to a
conditional charge for a previous harassment that he was in
breach of.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
So he was it also a cemetery related harassment?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I think?
Speaker 5 (01:49):
So?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I think this is he bring was it his idea
to go to the cemetery? Is he just trying to
get his friends to the cemetery?
Speaker 5 (01:54):
I think this twenty four year old boy gets a
little loose and his you know, pretended to be a
good may be pretended to be someone very loud. I
don't know, but you know what, bottom line ridiculous, arn ridiculous, I.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Know, so ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Thank you know what's as ridiculous? Tell me we'll sit
back down.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah, Oh, I was gonna.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Leave the entertainment industry. Yeah, yeah, I know. There's this
evergreen question. It's one you may get asked, Elizabeth. The
question is this, how do you break into the entertainment industry? Right?
It's really a ridiculous question, is it is? Back in
my Hollywood day? Is this one seasoned producer told me.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Kid, there's no way to break in, no course to follow,
no path to take.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
That's just the way you break in. Whatever that is. Like, No,
that's amazing, Thank you, Thelma. That was really excellent advice.
I'll take that to heart anyway. My whole point is, Elizabeth,
that that advice was certainly true for country music legend
Chris Christofferson. Oh are I pe is right? Rip to
the king, the other king of country King. I know
(02:59):
you love them. So that's why I want to tell
you this one, Elizabeth, buckle up, because you ever heard
the story of how he broke in?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
No, I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Get this. It's a ridiculous crime. What this is? Ridiculous
(03:30):
crime A podcast about absurd and outrageous capers, heist and cons.
It's always ninety nine percent murder free and one percent ridiculous. Yes, Elizabeth,
so I already asked you have you ever heard how
Chris Christofferson broke into country music? And you said, I
don't think so. All right, so were you Were you
(03:53):
being honest about there? Just trying to be friendly with me?
Speaker 3 (03:56):
I'm always honest.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
You really don't know, Okay, I don't have to play
due this here's story. It involves Johnny Cash, a Louisiana
oil rig, and a stolen helicopter. I'm in yeah right, Wait,
let me back up, Elizabeth, What all do you know
about Chris Christophers? And I know he's the king for
both of us, but like, what do you know about him?
Like personal life?
Speaker 3 (04:17):
I got your Rhodes scholar, veteran.
Speaker 5 (04:21):
Actor, yeah right, songwriter, singer, glorious tap dancers.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
He actually was well we'll get into that, but he
he was a gandy dancer. Yeah yeah, right, So but
you know, he just obviously passed away. So all right,
pee friend of the show. I know, as we like
to say, rest easy, cowboy poet, rest easy. Yeah, so
I want to pick him up because he's a cowboy
poet and I'm heavy on the poet. But he was like, you,
(04:48):
I don't know, actually, I don't know if you are.
I think you are because we've mentioned him a lot
to each other. Huge fan of William Blake. Yeah, you
like William Blake, right, I mean not a huge fan
like he was. No, exactly, you don't have the mug
with like infinity in the palm of the hand.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Right.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
But he quoted him all the time as a country singer,
as you pointed out, Rhodes scholar, super literate. Right, he
was actually classically educated military brat. So back to William Blake,
my man, Chris Christopherson, as I said, he loved him
some bad billy Blake. He beheld that infinity in the
palm of his hand. Now on his personal website, Chris
(05:22):
Christopherson dot com, there's a biography page. I read it,
you know, Oh, good for research, and it's careful to
include his love of William Blake, like I'm telling you,
he wants you to know this man's his man. So
and I quote he believed that songwriting is a spiritual
communion of mind, body, and soul. And he believed that
William Blake was correct in asserting that anyone divinely ordered
(05:44):
for spiritual communion, but burries his talent will be pursued
by sorrow and desperation through life and by shame and
confusion for eternity. Basically, you will go to hell if
you don't follow your heart.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Now, as Chris himself clarified into Ken Burns multi part
PBS documentary Country Music, which I recommend, Yeah, he points
out and I quote this is Chris Christofferson quote. Blake
is telling.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
You that you'll be miserable if you don't do what
you're supposed to do.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So there you go. Yeah, spoiler alert, Elizabeth, you don't
want to be miserable. It sucks. I do not listen
to William Blake exactly. No, that was kind of like
the motto of the outlaw country music legends. Chris Christopherson
and Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, they all agreed with that
basic cowboy notion them. Yeah, totally. I'm only leaving Johnny
Cash out because he's more in Elvis's group of age.
He's not really an outlaw countryman. You know, he'd found
(06:35):
Jesus by then. But they all did it, even the highwaymen.
I think you can throw Johnny Cash in this regard.
They all agree with that cowboy notion. If it feels good,
I'll do it. Yeah, right now. You know they're free spirits, yes,
much like your co host. Yes.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
So this is why these guys, as I tell you,
are my favorite philosophers. And Willie is now unfortunately the
only one I can say is my favorite living philosopher.
But Christofferson he's my favorite poet of the bunch. And
as I said, he could quote William Blake from memory,
but not only that, he had all kinds of poems
that he had up there stored in his head. I
always want to be able to do.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
That, just recite poems from memory.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yeah, Like, have a bunch of poems that I love
memorized so I can share them whenever the moment or
need arises, like do you have that? Do you have
poems memorized? And I'm not talking like Robert Frost to
walk in the snow he would, I'm not what I
used to.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
There were a few that I used to know, and
you know, my memory is shot, so that's kind of
fallen away from me.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
But what I do like to do.
Speaker 5 (07:34):
Is say that it's a poem by some famous poet
and just make it up on the spot like that,
you know, it's it's easy.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
You know, everyone has Google in their pocket now right.
People don't care, they don't take the time.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
No one google. People are told things.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
No one looks anything up, Curiodit is actually you could
just riff and make up a pone be like you know,
and that was where it's worth life at seven No way.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
I'm like, yeah, it's so good. I memorized it. You
should do that. And they're like, okay.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
It speaks to beauty and how you find it in
fleeting moments. I mean, there you go. So it's anyway.
The song The Pilgrim Chris Christopherson, he riffed on John
Bunyan's work Pilgrim's Progress, because he's all literate like that.
He had that amazing couple it. He's a walking contradiction,
partly truth and partly fiction, taking every wrong direction on
(08:28):
his lonely way back home. It's very much like kind
of like his own motto, like he always came back
to those. It speaks to the general vibe of Chris Christofferson.
So what else do we need to know or want
to know about the man other than his general vibe
in my love of memorizing poetry and his shared love
of actually having poems memorized. Tell me well for one.
Elizabeth Chris Christopherson was born in a border town in Texas. Yeah, Bordertown,
(08:52):
like Mexican Borderah, like the Louisiana border, the Oklahoma border
now border Brownsville, Texas. Yeah, there you go. I knew
that would get you. So in the middle of the depression. Oh, Brownsville, Texas,
in the middle of the depression. Yeah, June twenty second,
nineteen thirty six. Feel bad for his mom pregnant in
the middle of the depression in Brownsville, Texas, Like nine
(09:13):
months pregnant in June. Oh.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
He's a scrabble that is classified as hard.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Yeah, definitely the hardest. Only diamond can cut that scrabble.
His life is mostly buffeted in early days, but from
the worst of the depression by the fact that he
was raised in a military home, so there was reliable
you know, food and pay and so forth. His father
was an officer, so you know, he wasn't hurting. His
father later would go on to be a modern major general. Yeah. No,
(09:38):
like legit, that's what he was. His rank was major
general in the Air Force.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, I added the modern park, but anyway that helps
to keep food on the table. Yeah, and so this
military brat, he's moving around a lot, makes for a
lonesome childhood, also highly self reliant childhood, so he probably
didn't even notice how lonesome he was until later on.
You know, it's one of those.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Things about being definitely like that is common, right, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
You know that one. So Christ Chris Jfferson, he seems
to excel at everything he does. You pointed out earlier.
He becomes a Rhodes scholar, but he's also moving around
this entire time. So this is somebody who's like also
good at making friends, so he's good socially, he's good
at school. His family moves out to eventually to California.
He graduates not too far from here. Sam Matteo played
football at school, went to Pomona College down south, right.
(10:21):
He played football in college too. He also boxed. And
when I say he boxed, member, I say he's good
at everything. He won the gold gloves.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Really did not know that.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Oh yeah, best of whatever he sets his mind too.
At college, his writing gets noticed, right, so his professor's like,
you know what you should apply for the Rhodes scholarship
to Oxford, and he was like, oh you think so?
So he does. Of course he gets that, becomes a
Rhodes scholar. Start there. That's where he studies classical literature
focuses on William Blake keeps writing his own works. Now,
I don't want to sound like things come too easy
(10:50):
for him, like he does have to work hard, like
the former Oakland now Las Vegas Raiders. His commitment to
excellence was a habit right now, back to when he
worked construction crews in the summer, Chris Christofferson remembered how,
and I quote this is Christofferson, I took.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Pride in being the best labor or the guy that
could dig the ditches the fastest. Some inside we wanted
to do the tough stuff. Part of it was I
wanted to be a writer. I figured that I had
to get out and live. That's why I ran in
front of the bulls in Pamplona. Whoa, yoh, yeah he's
been too. He's that Hemingway Motcho.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yes, sensitive artist guy over in Europe, bouncing around like, oh,
I'm an American expat, I'm gonna go run in front
of some bulls. Before it was cliche to do. You know,
now this is like pre the city Slickers. You know,
this is like exactly like a real legit Hollywood hasn't
even made like middle aged men do this to prove
their masculinity yet, right, so this is like pre anyway,
(11:46):
you get the point. So at this point, straight and narrow,
military raised, macho yet sensitive artist. And he's a college
graduate with a master's from Oxford. So what does he
do for his next path in life? Elizabeth tell me
gets married to his high school sweetheart. Century is just
incredible this story. Right, Then he gets steady work, he
goes into the family business. He joins the military. So
(12:09):
so now he's a college graduate, he's qualified to be
an officer. He joins the army, and of course he
works his behind off. He becomes an army ranger, the
top of the line. Not only that, he becomes an
Army ranger helicopter pilot. He's like, only fly the boys
around us. Army sends him overseas. Now he gets lucky.
His timing is right because he goes to West Germany,
not Vietnam. It's early enough that he's like, oh nice,
(12:29):
so always in West Germany, becomes a captain. Now he's
an Army ranger, helicopter pilot, Oxford educated, former Gold Gloves boxer,
college football player, the dude, capitol badassa guy. So you
see in the army, he starts writing country songs. He's
inspired by Hank Williams, like O G. Hank will Yeah, exactly,
not all my rowdy friends. So he's this also this
(12:50):
new kid on the folk scene, Bob Dylan really.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Him?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yea, that Bobby Dylan. I'm telling you you remember that name.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
I'm selling him not long ago. In concert, how was it?
It was interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
That is not a glowing review.
Speaker 5 (13:05):
It was just like for an outdoor show and an amphitheater.
He picked really quiet blues and jazz.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Stuff in downtown.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
I was wearing like pajama pants and dress shoes and
a hoodie and a.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Chain wallet to the pajamas.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And sitting in ye sitting at PAMO. It was pretty incredible.
But yeah, anyway, sorry.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Hey, I've always got moment for Bob Dolan and his
fashion updates. So this u back to the country music
his first night visiting the home of country music, right
because Chris Kosoffersons goes, oh, I'm gonna run away to
Nashville and see what's up with his country music. So
his very first night in Nashville being Chris Christophers and
what happens He meets the legend cowboy Jack Clement. Oh right, yeah.
(13:48):
A few days later he gets finessed backstage to the
Grand Old Opry. So now he's his backstage. The guy
is just incredible.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
He can't there are no half measures with him. Everything
that he sets his sights to is plus some.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah, and he's like cool for his gump. He's just
everywhere doing everything. So Elizabeth, can you guess who he
met backstage at the Ryman Auditorium there at the Grand
Old Opry.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Taylor, Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
First he's like a couple of days in town, he
meets Johnny Cash backstage at the Grand Old Operay. Hot dang, yeah,
that was it for Chris Christofferson. He's like, my future
is a calling me. I can hear it, just like
a train of coming. Now he decides he wants to
resign from the army and tell his wife's plans. He's
gonna go and become a country music.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Star that goes overwell at home.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Oh, completely, everything you can hear this is all lined
up for honey, I'm gonna throw all this away become
a country music star.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
That's wants to hear.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah. So that was like screeching on the on the
highway of their life, right. So there he is living life.
Nineteen sixty five, Chris Christofferson makes the bold choice, resigns
his army commission, steps off this traditional path of success.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
Well, I mean, his track record is pretty good, so
totally you would think, but his you'll see, Yeah, there's
some complications.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
So the Army they come to him with the next
steps for his life path. And Chris we was assigned
to West Point to teach Cadet's literature. He was going
to become a literature professor at West Point and Chris
Christopherson it's like, okay, yeah, but might have to turn
in a lesson plan. They're like, oh, of course, he'll
turn in a lesson plan so we can tour. You're superior,
so they can approve it. He's like, sounds like hell
to me. That was a literal quote. Sounded like.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
It's like the administrative part of it takes all the
joy out of teaching.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
I think that's everything I hear that sounds like like
I don't understand, like why we can't fix that. I
always hear the same problem, like can we tell the
administrators of this, like can we threaten them? Is there anything?
Can we replace them anyway? Elizabeth as I told, my
man loves William Blake, right, And he said, I'm not
going to be miserable. Right. So he moves in Nashville
to see what's up with country music. And when he
(15:45):
gets back to Nashville, he meets songwriter Tom T. Hall
in a bar and Chris introduces himself and Hall tells him,
good to see you. It's a harry legged town.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
It's a harry legged town.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Yeah. Now when his family hears what he's doing throughing
away his life like this, yeah, they get pissed. I'm
sure his mother flies out to Nashville to see what
her son is doing.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Those military families are known to be so open.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
And oh yeah, free spirits. They love him and they're
always like, oh, shirk the rules and and your responsibilities
as a father and provider for your family.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Follow your heart, stand in your truth. Chris.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
I want you writing poem songs like the country star
you are son.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
The way the founding father's intended Yes.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
When she gets to Nashville, she sniffs the air decides
it's no good for the young family. She takes the
wife and kids back to California with her and tells
her son to sort out whatever it is he's doing
here in Nashville. Oh boy, Now Chris is no dummy.
He's got one hell of a head on his shoulders. Right,
So he has a plan, decides he's going to use
his Army ranger training to assess how to break into Nashville.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Like literally breaking exactly.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
So let's take a little break, Elizabeth. Now we got
the plants that before we get back, I'll tell you
how Chris breaks into Nashville.
Speaker 7 (16:52):
Yeah, Elizabeth, Aaron, Hey, we're back.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
We are. My eyes are up here. Oh okay, I
was telling you about Chris Christopherson, right, I was going
to break into nash belt. Those are my pants, they're
pajama pants. That's my chain wallet at my chain walllet.
I got inspired. I changed during the break. I wanted
to see how it felt. It's a really good fit.
(17:35):
But my eyes are up here. Stop looking at my
chain wall at Elizabeth. So anyway, Christmosopher, he's got his plan.
He's gonna have to break into Nashville. So he sides, okay,
he'll need one step one a cover story, of course,
Oh yeah, step one of those. So he gets himself
a job as a janitor at Columbia Records. Okay, in
(17:56):
step two, I'm gonna need a helicopter. No steal helicopter. Wait,
I can't afford a helicopter. I'm gonna need to steal it.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
He's literally breaking in as you need, like the thermal lance.
What's happening?
Speaker 2 (18:07):
That's that's the plan. So oh yeah, So here's how
it goes, right. It's dateline nineteen sixty five. Location Nashville
aka Music City. Sure, okay, my man Chris Christopson is
about to make his move to bust into the entertainment industry.
Kick down them doors. He just needs a helicopter and
a cover.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Story and some hot chicken.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
So, as I told you, he's got a couple of assets.
He's a hard worker, sure, and he's a trained helicopter pilot.
There's that. So boom, he leverages asset one and he
gets a job pushing a broom as a janitor for
Columbia Records. They're like oh you're a hard worker. Boom done.
Mind you. The label is home to country music legend
Johnny Cash and his white Jean Carter right, and also
Bob Dylan, but not on the country list.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
The record company know they had like an officer, a
military officer cleaning there.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
No, he did not put that on his resume. He
did not show up with his CV man. Here you go,
Rhodes scholar.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Languages.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
So while he's working his janitor job, letting his hair
grow long because it's the mid sixties, he's friendly, gets
friendly with June Carter, right, and also with Johnny Cash
as guitarist and Chris Christofferson. He talked about this in
an interview years later over in the UK. It was
like nineteen eighty seven, right, if you were interested in
that kind of thing. Chris Christofferson is on this show
and he says, I used to pitch every song I
ever wrote June Carter and Loutherer Perkins, Johnny's guitar player.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
I found out years later John would throw them in
the lake. I knew he wasn't recording them.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
So he's like, you know, not hurt by it, but
he's been giving them tape after tape all of his demos.
He's like, get this to Johnny, Get this to Johnny?
Can you get this to Johnny? And they get to Johnny.
Good to their word, they're good, you know, you know
Christian country musicians are good to their word. But Johnny's like,
got it fou just outside his house. He's got like
a fisher yea. He was like, keeps it stocked with
(19:54):
like trout and the demos.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
I wonder what would happen if you ever drained it
the stuff that he threw in there.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
That's a really good like I never thought considered Garfield mug.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
He's like, why did you give.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Me this to just like Johnny cash Is Midden, we
could do like an anthropological study and like a museum.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
Three hundred years from now when like the you know,
our ancestors.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
They're looking back at come back.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
From Mars and they're like, let's dig this out Garfield mug.
And is that Chris christ sounds like.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
I wouldn't have recorded this, so as I said, he's
pitching everything he's got right add to Johnny, nothing is
sticking right. So and Johnny even admits this, sitting right
next to Chris Christophers and on the British Show, Johnny said,
I think I was guilty of throwing some of the
Christmas songs in the lake.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
So yeah, see he must have thrown so much in
the lake.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
We gotta get we get hold of some scuba gear
getting this lake do it?
Speaker 3 (20:55):
The disrespect for the environment.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Well, this doesn't stop Chris Christopherson, thank god. It only
gives him something to overcome. I remember hard work or competitive,
macho guy with an artist sensitive heart. So he keeps
giving his demo tapes to Chewing Carter and she keeps
adding them to the large pilot tapes that Johnny Cash
flings when he gets home. And it this is boy
Chris Christofferson. He's in his thirties, right, so he's getting
up there and he's janitor. He's separated from his wife.
(21:19):
He's still knocking on the door of the music industry, right,
and he's riding around town on an old Honda motorcycle, right,
just like a little banger. And he's like he'd attend
guitar pickings with other singers and songwriters, so they're passing
the battle around and maybe some crackers and a guitar,
so yeah, like maybe some cheese, so I don't know rits.
Actually he gets getting all like that's that's the challenge.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Yeah, it's like like, will hand me that hooch and I'll.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Rinse it down exactly. Now what have you been there? Now?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
I'm just full of whiskey and ritz crackers.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
This song was written on whiskey and ritz crackers exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
See, this is how country music comes to be.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
The digestive issues.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
And also they have a bunch of hippy cut so
there's a little bit of pot going around to them,
all sorts of cotton mouth issues in this group. So
to be able to send some money back to his family,
because he's not entirely avoiding his responsibilities. I was portraying
him as like kind of a dead but he was not.
He was like still managing, you know, to get his family,
you know, the money they needed to be you know,
fed clouds.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
To be insulted.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Exactly. So he gets a job for He's get a
job buying helicopters commercially professionally, right, Okay, now the time
is well, no, no, there's big demand for helicopter pilots
for the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico and
that's not so far from Nashville. It's like one state away. Essentially,
he's got to go down to Louisiana. It's the other
(22:41):
end of Tennessee. But you know, anyway, so the time,
the big demand for helicopter pilots is there, so he's
got the Petroleum Helicopters International. Sweet job for him at
a Lafayette, Louisiana, as he tells it, and I quote.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
That was about the last three years before I started performing,
before people started cutting my songs.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
I would work a.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Week down here in South Louisiana for PHI, sitting on
an oil platform and flying helicopters. Then I go back
to Nashville at the end of the week and spend
a week up there trying to pitch the songs, then
come back down and write songs for another week. I remember,
help me make it through the night I wrote it
sitting on top of an oil platform. I wrote, Bobby
(23:20):
McGhee down here, Wow, he's down there sitting on oil
rigs writing Bobby McGee Like.
Speaker 5 (23:25):
If you're his coworker and you're hearing all his stories,
Like I'm a Rhodes scholar and I was in the
military as an officer and then he's like, I just.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Hanging out with Johnny Cash who just like.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Putting the herd on a bunch of Ritz crackers time.
And then he's like, I'm gonna be break into Nashville.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
This copter pilot is he flapping the cartels to eat
anything other than Ritz maybe a couple of kippered herings.
So this last song that I mentioned Bobby McGee that
becomes a hit for him when Janis Jope records it. Now, Elizabeth,
do you know that Janis Joplin and Chris Christofferson had
a thing.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
I just don't know, a romance.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
They got shipped by fate. Yeah, no, they were like
a romantically involved, like legit for the last three months
of her life, Nolah, and she secretly recorded his song,
never told him she did it, and then she passed
away in nineteen seventy.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
Wait, so he didn't know.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
No, he didn't know she'd recorded her song. And then
the next day she passes away, right heroin overdose. Very tragic.
The next day Chris Christofferson walks into a studio and
someone says, like, you got to hear this and plays
him the record and it's Janis Joplin singing Bobby McGee,
and he's like, he said it really.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
It really blew me away because I could just see
her going in and cutting it and saying wait till
that or here's this.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Now at this point, most folks think of that as
her song, right yeah, yeah, right, pretty much it is,
you know, and he even says that, and so that's
the song most folks think of her when they think
of Janis, right, and it's him. So it's there, it's
out of their creative moment, right. So, but that's not
enough for him to break into the entertainment industry. It's
not enough for him to get into Nashville writing a
song for Janis Joplin. It's so he's still those doors
(25:09):
of the Nashville remain closed, all right. Music City record
company founder comes to him with the Janis Joplin thing, right,
and so ites, hey, I want to get you to
sign a deal and record an album from my company.
The dude was not in charge of like Columbia, he
was in charge of Atlantic, none of those.
Speaker 7 (25:24):
Now.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
The dude was in charge of Monument Records. His name
was Fred Foster and it was his secretary mind you
that was the inspiration for Bobby McGee. Yeah, it was
really her name was Bobby McKee with a.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
K, and he misheard it.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
What was her name again? God, she means so much
to me.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Song Bobby McGan, No, it's Bobby McKee.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Yeah, Bobby McGee. Well it's already been published two lates.
So Fred Foster came to him and suggested that you
need to write a song about my secretary. I swear
to God, Elizabeth. He came to him and he said,
do me a favorite, right, it's talking about my secretary,
and then he does. He's like, okay, but I spelled
their name wrong, and he's like, it's fine to sing it.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
What freedom just another word for nothing left to lose exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Jul Bobby. It's Irish, right, Scottish? Something I don't know.
So yeah, this William Blake love and Chris Christofferson comes
back with me and Bob McGee a song about you know,
being low.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Time, Me and the secretary.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
He turns into, like, you know, a traveling woman anyway,
becomes becomes Chance Joblin's huge hit. Right after that, Fred
Foster's like, let's make an album and Chris Christoffers is like, cool,
But have you heard me sing? As he put in,
I quote, I sing like a frog? Oh right, However,
old Fred Foster argued, yes, but like a frog that
(26:43):
can communicate. So boom. Now he has a record yell right,
But he's not a real country music star, not yet, Elizabeth.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
All your songs have to be about my secretary.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Or my driver, my Taylor. No everything, I got a
dry clings good guy.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
I want you to tell me you're having an affair
with your secretary.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Without exactly and trying to downy. She really likes she.
If you wrote her a song, it would really help
me out. So at this point he's like, Okay, how
do I break in. I'm real close, right, I got
a record deal. I've got Bobby McKee, Bobby McGee. So
he's like, you know what, I think. The last thing
(27:19):
that pushed me over the top is I just got
to get a song to Johnny Cash. If I can
get his help, then I do it. I'm gonna need
to steal a helicopter.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
Well, if you really quickly, if you have a bunch
of ritz crackers in your road and you say McKee,
it might sound like McGee.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
That's where it came from. Actually, yeah, you can hear it,
just the glottal stop between the G and the cas
Ritz Cracker. Welcome America, fun factor, Elizabeth. Did you know
that Johnny Cash was also in the Armed forces?
Speaker 3 (27:47):
One more thing about Yeah, I did know that.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Did Jimmy Cash also know that he was the first
American to know that Joseph Stalin was dead.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
I don't think I knew that.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
He didn't kill it.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
He did.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
He was like standing over there. Take that you read faster. No,
So true story is this. Johnny Cash was in the
Air Force. He was trained as a signal intelligence specialist. Okay,
he was also sent over to West Germany because that's
where you sent people back then. Yeah. So he's over
there doing a three year tour. And this is the
nineteen fifties, because remember predates, he's more helps his timeline.
(28:22):
So this is the height of the Cold War. What
that means for Johnny Cash is he was, you know,
spending his days freezing off his ballocks and listening to
coded Soviet messages and reporting on the news he heard fine, right, Yeah,
So one night, March fifth, nineteen fifty three, Staff Sergeant
Johnny Cash is doing his eavesdropping business. He hears his
incoming coded communicate from the Soviets. Right, The message is
(28:44):
Stalin is very sick.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
So is he translating this?
Speaker 5 (28:47):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (28:49):
I'll put its way. He's not speaking Russian, right, So
he's taking their code. We're writing down what he hears
in the dots and dashes or whatever the equivalent would
be in this coded message, and then it gets translated
it to the transmit as far as I know. Or
maybe they're just you know, being lazy and just communicating
in English to make it easier to be eavesdropped.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Maybe Johnny spiel Qushian.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
That too, that too. Never put anything past Johnny.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Cash, Johnny McKee.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
He the Johnny Cash notes that Stalin is very sick,
does his report. Few hours later, he gets word that
another coded message, Joseph Stalin is dead. Yep, kicked the
old communist bucket. Johnny Cash, first American to hear that joke.
Stalin took a dirt nap.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Yeah. So he gives his report to his superior officers,
who then cableman news to the White House and President
Eisenhower learns like threefold after Johnny Cash. Anyway back to
Columbia Records. Years later, Johnny Cash is now a big
star in Nashville, and it's the summer of nineteen sixty nine.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
Just I mean Brian Adams style exactly.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
I was waiting for you. I was trying to give
you the air.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
That's when you had your first real sixties? Did you
buy it at the five? And then?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Because I that's it's the only place you can get
one of them. So Chris Christophers is working there at
Columbia Records as a janitor, still trying to get this
foot firmly in the door, still pushing that broom, and
still flying choppers out to oil rigs. We send money
to his family, right, so he mostly be like, you know,
bringing supplies and ferrying oil Derek workers. You get the idea.
So that's when he gets his big idea, how to
really break into show business and stay there. Now, Elizabeth,
(30:14):
the story has been told by lots of people, so
we're gonna have to hear from a few of them
and split the difference to find the truth. First up,
there's the version that Johnny Cash tells. He starts out
the same each time he says that, and I quote,
I was taking a note and June said, some fools
landed a helicopter in our yard. Now, when Johnny Cash
quotes from his darling wife and fellow country music legend,
(30:34):
June Carter, saying, how she said, and I quote, sweet Jesus,
they come to us from the lake, from the road.
Now they're coming to us out of the sky. So
Johnny Cash always into the story the same and I
quote once again, here comes Chris stumbling out of a
National Guard Harmony helicopter with a beer in one hand
and a tape in the other. Right, But like I said,
(30:58):
tough pocket. So it depends on how you ask who
tells the story. But the best version may be the
one that was posted on the Pensacola Aerospace Museum's Facebook page. Okay,
Pensacola is a big home to a Navy air station,
and that's where the pilots go down and learn. The
Blue Angels are down there, a bunch of flyboys, right,
So they have a Pensacola Aerospace there. Yeah, that's right,
(31:19):
So Pensacola Aerospace Museum. I've been to Florida that has
are you've been so far up in my.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
Estimation, we had special assignments.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
So Facebook page. Yeah, check it out. Next time you're
in Florida. You go and look up the time.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
I'm in Florida, I'll go to their Facebook.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Yeah, visit it, and that's how you'll find David Thayer
shared a story of how he heard from Chris Christofferson
himself in nineteen seventy seven. The story told to his
face Elizabeth, no rich crackers involved. Now you see, he
wanted to correct the record. He felt that the Pensacola
Aerospace Museum's Facebook fan page was the place to do it.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Well, I mean that's just like anywhere you want to
break new Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Mean, if you're gonna make this, this is where you're gonna
put in multiple paragraphs to count the record of country music.
So over to David there, he wrote, and I quote
Chris Christofferson's story is basically correct, although it is not
exactly the same as the story he personally told me
over a few beers back in nineteen seventy seven, Chris
said he'd been fired from his drilling rig helicopter job
(32:22):
for flying drunk. So, wanting to be a songwriter, he
got a job as a janner to Columbia Records in Nashville,
one day in the studio, he handed Johnny Cash a tape,
which Johnny promptly throw in the trash. He didn't give up.
He did, in fact take a US Army helicopter and
land in Johnny's yard. June Carter came out and yelled,
(32:45):
sweet Jesus, they come to us up the road and
now they're coming out of the sky. Cash, not amused,
ordered Chris to fly away, and Chris refused to go
until Cash here one song. Finally gave in and agreed
to listen to one song. Chris played him Sunday Morning
(33:06):
coming Down.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Oh Nice.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Cash melted and wanted to cut it immediately, and it
later became song of the Year. So wins. This tale
from the Pensacola A Museum's Facebook page.
Speaker 5 (33:19):
Love your Facebook comment voice that version, Elizabeth.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
There's no mention that Chris Christofferson getting out of a
stolen helicopter with a half drunk beer, But there is
the exact same line from June Carter.
Speaker 3 (33:31):
Yeah, right, exactly.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Now.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
He also says that Chris Chosofferson was fired from his
job flying for the drilling rigs and the golf. That's
the only detail that we don't hear only in this version.
Speaker 4 (33:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
The other thing is where did he steal this helicopter?
Speaker 3 (33:43):
Yeah, well said national Guard helicopter.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
In some versions, Chris Christofferson steals a National Guard helicopter,
which would be in this case a bell uh one
aka the Huey, the helicopter from all the Vietnam movies.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Yeah, c the Supremes exactly.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
So he steals one of those from Phi, the oil
Rigger Chopper Accompany. He flew it to that to Henderson, Tennessee,
which is where Johnny Cash's estate was.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
Now, David Thayer had just a little bit more. He
did add to the act, bringing a few caveats, and
he added, and I quote, that is the story Chris
actually told me. We had been drinking. He did he
add any yeast to the story. I have no idea
when he told me the story, I thought it was
(34:30):
too much to believe. Then for the last twenty years,
the story's resurfaced and is fairly close to what he
told me. So there were all sorts of versions that
Johnny Cash told over the years, Elizabeth, but this one,
the DVA one from Facebook, from David Thayer's version. Now,
when he first introduced the song for the first time
(34:51):
he played at the Grand Old Opry. The very first
time he played it in nineteen seventy, Johnny Cash said,
and I quote, here's a song written by my friend,
Chris Christ.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
He's your friend.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
And I got it in a very strange way. I
got it right out of the sky. Chris was working
in Nashville, working as a janitor at Columbia Record, and
he was flying a helicopter and one afternoon, June said,
some fools landed in our yard and a helicopter. That's
mostly the same. Right. Then it ends it by adding,
and I quote, here was Chris, and he said, I
(35:23):
thought this might be the best way to get a
song to you is to bring it to you right
out of the sky. And I said, you got it.
Let's listen to it. And here it is. He plays
Sunday Morning, coming down, And finally, thanks to Johnny Cash
and a stolen helicopter, Chris christoffers and finds his way
to break into Nashville. He becomes a country musical edged
(35:44):
right alongside Johnny Cash Elizabeth. But it almost didn't happen.
Hold that thought, We'll take a little break and the
cold rushing edge way back and I will sort a
little more tactic from a little more fiction, and we're back, Elizabeth,
(36:13):
How cool and refreshing were those ads?
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Oh it's so good.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
I wiped him on my face, freezing, I know, right?
Do you see that the due point fell?
Speaker 3 (36:20):
It's like one of those but a bud light ice.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Commercials with a train. I'm gonna believe you. I think
those are coarse light commercials.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Whatever.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
Do you think that's the coldest tasting beer? Okay, yeah, anyway,
the silver bullet the coldest taste anyway, Elizabeth. Oh, that's right,
michelob the silver bullet. But anyway, Nashville nickelob Light nineteen
seventy now Nashville. Johnny Cash first sang that song Sunday Morning,
(36:53):
Coming Down. It was on his TV show. He had
a TV show. He had a bunch of TV shows,
but this.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
Was on Sunday Mornings.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
No, it would be that CBS already had the title.
So the same version that he sang on his TV
show was the one that made it onto the album.
It was that good. Yeah, So his live version, they're like,
let's just again, we already already played it, Johnny. That
was good first performance. Yes, so yeah, but also keep
in mind he had to get that performance, you know,
(37:20):
like he had to get it right with the band,
but he also had to get past producers for the
TV show because they were a little nervous. I'm not
sure if he remembered there's some problematic lines in that song. Yeah,
there was a controversial line for a country music audience,
especially in nineteen seventy about getting stoned.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
So they we're like, this is not gonna fly. Johnny
Dodge like, oh'm Johnny Cash, I think it will. Now
the producers didn't want Johnny Cash to stick to step
out on the stage. Is it the Rhyman Auditorium. This
is a grand old operative. It's like the home of
country music. He's not just playing like a country fair
outside of Branson. Right, So they're fairly certain this is
gonna be bad. Like he could get canceled. The show
could get canceled. I'm not him, but the show could
get canceled, right, That's how there. The producers are worried
(37:57):
about their own jobs anyway, so they started but these
are having all these meetings about Chris Christofferson's lyrics. But
sin since I said, it's Johnny Cash singing it to him.
They are like, well, we're really it's up to the
man in black. So that Sunday night, Johnny Cash is
backstage listening to his Panic producers begging him to pick
a different lyric. Right as Chris Dristofferson tells.
Speaker 4 (38:16):
It, they were having an argument about whether he could
say stoned. I remember all these people sitting around coming
up with alternatives.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
You could say wishing Lord that I was home.
Speaker 4 (38:28):
I didn't really say anything because I didn't want to
put John on the spot, but he could tell Johnny
Cash says he'll think about it, and you know, like,
let me think about this a little bit.
Speaker 2 (38:36):
Yeah, But first he says, I'm gonna talk to Chris,
and back to Chris Christopherson for his version.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
He said, no, what do you think? I said, I
don't think it means the same thing, wishing you were
home or wishing you were stoned.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
I didn't know which he was gonna do. Now I
do know, Elizabeth, and I could tell you what happened,
but I'd rather take you there. Yes, Elizabeth, I'd like
you to close your eyes.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
My eyes are closed, and I'd like.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
You to picture it. It's February twenty fifth, nineteen seventy
and you, Elizabeth, are backstage at the Ryman Auditorium. Well, technically,
you're standing on the side of the stage, waiting in
the wings. PA's and stage text buzz about you. You
are there because you are an ABC executive. You've been
called in to consult about the song Johnny Cash wants
(39:22):
to sing. The censors contacted you when it came up
the Johnny Cash bland to sing about getting stoned. At
the moment, out on stage is Johnny Cash and he's
performing for the Grand Old Opry's crowd. The audience has
come out tonight to see Johnny Cash record live his
variety series on your ABC network called The Johnny Cash Show,
and they are excited faces they ache with wide smiles.
(39:44):
At the moment, Johnny Cash is sharing the stage with
Bob Hope. The two were doing a duet version of
a boy named Sue. Standing next to you on the
side of the stage is the songwriter Shel Silverstein. The
hippie wolfe shaved head smells like pot smoke and freshly
drying so and he looks nervous as he's watches Bob
Hope perform his song about a Western anti hero with
(40:05):
a girl's name who fights his dad for giving him
such a silly appellation. You've already watched Kenny Rogers and
his band The First Edition perform It's some early psychedelic
country rock, and he did nothing for you. You turn
from the stage and go to check on what the
censors and TV show producers have decided about which alternative
lyrics Johnny Cash will sing, and you bump into Mama
(40:26):
cass Elliott. She's also slated to perform later. She asks
you if you've seen Shell Silverstein this is a fever dream.
You quietly indicate yes, But when you turn to show
her where Shelle Silverstein is, he's gone. Maybe he stepped
outside to bern a doobie. You think probably he's hating
watching Bob Hope sing his song. You find the nervous
ABC sensor still talking with the TV show producers, and
(40:49):
you learn no one has decided which alternative lyric Johnny
Cash is going to sing. You hear the crowd erupt
in a tremendous applause. Oh no, the song must be over.
It's almost time for Johnny Cash to sing the next number.
He'll introduce it. After the show takes a commercial break.
You confer with the TV show producers what will it be?
What will it be? The consensus opinion is that Johnny
should sing wishing Lord that I was home. You give
(41:12):
it official ABC approval. You hear the crowd applaud again.
Sounds like they're back from the curcial break. But wait,
Johnny Cash never came off stage. You rush back to
where you can see the stage from the wings, and
there you watch as Johnny Cash introduces the next number.
He mentions his friend Chris Christofferson and how he brought
him the song from out of the Sky, and then
he starts to play and sing, well, I woke up
(41:32):
Sunday morning with no way to hold my head that
didn't hurt, and the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad,
so I had one more for dessert. Up in the
balcony of the rhyme and auditorium, Chris Christofferson is watching
for the same thing. You are, both of you waiting
for Johnny to get to that one line, what will
he sing? And then it happens. Johnny Cash reaches the
(41:54):
Troublesome furse and he sings on a Sunday morning sidewalksh
Lord that I was stone and you feel your jaw
hinge opened and drop.
Speaker 4 (42:05):
He did it.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
He just went ahead and did it. Then when you
look at the crowd, they love it. Wait a minute,
you're not gonna lose your job. Way to go, Elizabeth,
Thank you so much. So that was it. That was
how Johnny Cash helped decide, and he also helped make
Chris Christophers in the country music stars.
Speaker 5 (42:22):
I love they're okay with breakfast beer, but like, exactly,
don't say stoned.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
Well, it was illegal, so yeah, yeah, well he'd be like.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
So was shooting a man just to watch him die?
Speaker 2 (42:34):
No, that's a called tradition. It's a little different, Elizabeth.
So as Chris Chrisofferson once said of that magic moment
when Johnny Cash changed.
Speaker 4 (42:41):
His life, I was up at the balcony watching it
when he filmed it, and he got to that line
and he looked right up at me and said, wishing
Lord that I was stoned. And he saved that song
because it never would have been as strong without that,
And I always felt that he was sort of the
stepfather of the song.
Speaker 5 (42:59):
There.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
So after Johnny Cash performs Sunday Morning Coming Down. As written,
it's a huge hit, Like huge song, hits number one
on the charts. Everyone's like, oh, we all want to
get stoned on a Sunday morning. Yeah, sure, but not really.
But anyway, when award season comes around, Johnny Cash wins
Song of the Year nineteen seventy Chris Christofferson wins Songwriter
of the Year. This is huge, Elizabeth, because researching this one,
(43:20):
I found so many fun wrinkles. One fact I couldn't
wait to tell you. In the episode swan song from
the nineteen seventy four season of Colombo, Oh Boy, Sunday
Morning Coming Down is performed by Johnny Cash at a
very charming garden party at a garden, a garden party
on Colombo. He performs on Sunday Morning Coming Down. I
(43:41):
just wow, that's how big of a hit it was.
It showed up in Colombo garden party that sentence. By
the way, oh totally we should throw one of those. So,
by the way, have you purchased your Colombo trench coat yet?
You were telling me you were out on assignment and
how you saw a trench coach with a new hot
look in Europe and everywhere else around the world. Is
(44:01):
that really true? Were you just messing with me? Did
that like really happen when you were.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
Over there, I saw a lot of folks and ladies
and trench coats. Yeah, it's just like.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
So that's the move came out of the pandemic that like,
I'm ready to solve mysteries, asked people questions on my
way out of the door. So we've covered a few
versions of the stolen Chopper story. Yeah, but we've yet
to hear it from Chris Christofferson himself. He was there, true,
he could tell about this. Well, we heard the legend,
(44:31):
what's the real story? Performing it with Johnny Cash late
in their lives. Chris Christopherson once told his version of
the story and what went down. He said, and I
quote I, I want to tell you all the story.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
About Johnny Cash, and it goes back to when I
was making my living at Columbia Studios here in Nashville,
where John was Coorey Cording. I was writing songs due
I wasn't supposed to pitch him to the stars, but
of course I did anyway, and I wasn't having a
whole hell lot of a look. So I had this
song I wanted John to saying real bad. I decided
I would take it out to his house in this
(45:03):
old National Guard helicopter that I happened to be flying,
and I landed it on his lawn and at the
time I was sort of like landing on the roof
of his house. Well, John, I think was pretty amazed
by it. He was easily spooked back in those days,
and whether out of fear or curiosity, he not only
agreed to listen to the song, he recorded it and
(45:25):
it was a hit and I was able to lay
down the room and I also made a friend for life.
Speaker 2 (45:31):
Thanks again, John. So that's how he tells the story. Yeah,
but even though Chris Christopherson's version, that's still not the
real version of what happened to Elizabeth. This is like Rochamon,
So wait, what really happens there? In great question? Elizabeth?
I so glad you asked.
Speaker 3 (45:44):
Thank you so much, Saren.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Well, First, I appreciate your curiosity. He sticking with me
on this all right. First, I hate to tell you,
but there was no beer. That's the first fact I
have to pull. I cannot answer that yet. Now. According
to Chris christopher and he said he'd never fly with
an open beer.
Speaker 3 (46:02):
But he would steal a helicopter.
Speaker 2 (46:04):
Wait, these are very different questions, Elizabeth, because he said,
and I quote, I think he told the story that
I got out of the helicopter with a beer in
one hand and tape in the other.
Speaker 4 (46:14):
I never would have been drinking while flying a helicopter.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
That's very responsible.
Speaker 2 (46:17):
He's not just being proper. He's not worried about like
FA gonna come down them. It's simpler than that. You
just physically can't. As he put it, it.
Speaker 4 (46:24):
Simply would be impossible for me to fly a helicopter
with a beer. He gotta use bow hands and both feet.
I never would have done that.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
So there's also there's no one to stick your beer like.
They don't put drink holders in helicopters. So and Christmar
Sumpson added.
Speaker 4 (46:40):
I don't remember exactly the same way he does, but
whose today he was right. Neither one of us was
in great shape at the time.
Speaker 5 (46:46):
He could have had one of those baseball caps with
the beers on either side.
Speaker 4 (46:54):
Well.
Speaker 2 (46:55):
More importantly than the details about the beer in his
hand or in his hat, there was also when he
got out of the chopper, right there's a whole other
important detail to correct, Cordon, Chris Christofferson, and I quote,
neither John nor June were there.
Speaker 4 (47:09):
The guy took care of the gate and the property there,
came out and I gave him the thing and took
off and got out of there. I was already feeling
that the repercussions coming of it, and I'm sure I
would have been ground it had the National Guard known
I was flying their helicopter.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
So almost none of what Johnny Cash said was true.
Speaker 3 (47:25):
But that's a much better story, exactly.
Speaker 2 (47:28):
So, after both June and John passed away, Chris Christofferson
started to correct the record and reveal the truth, and
he confessed that he'd also explained why he'd never corrected
the record before.
Speaker 4 (47:38):
He said, when John said that, I'd never contradict him
because I kind of liked his creative memory.
Speaker 3 (47:42):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (47:43):
So that's country music right there.
Speaker 3 (47:45):
You don't contradict the man in black.
Speaker 2 (47:47):
No, he definitely don't contradict Johnny Cash, June Carter, and
in country musics it pretty much as true everywhere the
story is always better than.
Speaker 3 (47:54):
The fact, exactly.
Speaker 5 (47:55):
So.
Speaker 2 (47:56):
Also is one other correction I need to make. Courdon
Chris Christofferson. Johnny Cash misremembered the wrong demo too. Oh no,
the tate wasn't.
Speaker 4 (48:03):
Sunday Morning coming Down. It was a thing called no
Longer Matters, which nobody ever.
Speaker 3 (48:08):
Cut because it's no longer matter.
Speaker 2 (48:11):
Why let the truth get in the way of a
good story. Yeah, just you gotta get certain details right.
The stolen helicopter, a demo, Johnny Cash's house, and then
the June Carter line. That's all, you know, That's what
makes it true. So the rest is accounting. You know
who cares about that? So and also who wants to
hear an account and tell a story about country music exactly?
So point is Elizabeth. That's how Chris Christofferson broke into
(48:34):
the entertainment industry, specifically the music business, with the help
of Johnny Cash and the stolen helicopter. And like his heroes,
he'd go on to change country music. As Bob Dylan
Bad Bobby Dylan once said, you can look at Nashville
pre Chris and post Chris because he changed everything.
Speaker 3 (48:50):
That's very true.
Speaker 2 (48:51):
So there you go. As far as truth versus a
more creative relationships to facts in fiction, I'll leave you
with this from a documentary on the Highwayman Chris Christofferson
said about him self and his fellow country music legends,
It's quite remarkable when you think of it.
Speaker 4 (49:05):
Every one of us is a sort of figment of
our own imaginations. I remember I used to think of
Muhammad Ali and I think of Willy's line, be careful
of what you dream. Soon your dreams will be dreaming you.
Mohamad dreamed himself up from his skinny, little Louisville kid
to get this great, big heavyweight championship of the world
(49:26):
and then the biggest man in the world, most recognizable.
He was a figment of his own imagination, and so
is Willie. Look at his old pictures in mine and John's.
I imagine if you got any old ones wailing, it'd
be the same thing. Figments of our imagination.
Speaker 3 (49:42):
It's really beautiful.
Speaker 2 (49:43):
So there you go. What's our ridiculous takeaway?
Speaker 5 (49:45):
Yeah, my ridiculous takeaway is that if you are going to,
you know, play in Nashville, bring the ritz crackers.
Speaker 2 (49:58):
My ridiculous takeaway. Thanks for Elizabeth is the Facebook fan
page for the Pensacola Aerospace Museum.
Speaker 3 (50:05):
Another news has broke.
Speaker 2 (50:06):
It is now part of the archive of country music's history,
so officially, and I'll look to see what other news.
Speaker 3 (50:12):
Maybe there's something else legislation has passed.
Speaker 2 (50:15):
Yeah, no, there may be something about like a John
Daily golf fight.
Speaker 3 (50:18):
It could be that's where you need to hell your
breaking news.
Speaker 2 (50:22):
Yeah, exactly. So you in the mood for talkback after that?
Speaker 3 (50:25):
I am always in a mood for talkback.
Speaker 2 (50:28):
Could you favor us with one? Oh my god, I
love get.
Speaker 6 (50:42):
Hi Elizabeth Zarin and producer Dave. My name is Tiffany
and I'm from Waterloo, Iowa. I absolutely love your show.
And when I was listening to your most recent episode
about the Glock, I heard Elizabeth smash up about the
Lord and I was so excited because I've actually had
malory and it is ridiculously terrible. Taking a shot of
(51:04):
lighter fluid.
Speaker 2 (51:06):
Thanks for your show and keep making them.
Speaker 3 (51:09):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (51:10):
Right up. So you said lighter fluid, I thought gross.
Then I'm like, wait a minute, I would try that.
You would take a light It's very clean tasting.
Speaker 3 (51:17):
You sound like you know.
Speaker 2 (51:20):
Beside that? Do you know I have family in Waterloo, Iowa.
I'm not going to embarrass them here, but I do. Yeah,
So shout out to Waterloo, Iowa. Yeah, thank you. Yeah,
I appreciate that. And I'm gonna go get some alort. Anyway,
you can find us always online Ridiculous Crime on social
media is. We have our website, Ridiculous Crime dot com.
Go over to it, check it out. It's beautiful, it's
(51:42):
it's it's a work of art. And also we love
your talkbacks, as you can tell, so please go to
the iHeart app downloaded and record one, send it to
us and maybe you'll hear your voice here always. Also
you can email us if you'd like a Ridiculous Crime
at gmail dot com. We really enjoy your emails and
we need to get back to like maybe reading some
of them online whose or here maybe, but whatever, it's
(52:02):
all fresh, you know, let's keep it that way. Anyway,
we'll catch you next crime. Thanks for listening. Ridiculous Crime
is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and Zaren Brennette, produced and
edited by Johnny Cash's favorite sound guy, Dave Houston, and
starring annals Rutger as Judith. Research is by our resident
(52:24):
shel Silverstein, experts Andrea Songshalkintier and Marissa Brown. Our theme
song is by Stolen Helicopter dads Thomas Lee and Travis Dutton.
The host's wardrobe provided by Botany five hundred, Hotel accommodations
by the Omni Guest hair and makeup by Sparkleshot and
mister Andre. Executive producers are Ben of Flyhile, Starship Across
(52:45):
the Universe, divd Boland and nol I wanted that lyric,
no fair Brown.
Speaker 3 (52:58):
Why say it one? We're ridiquitous crime.
Speaker 1 (53:03):
Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio. Four more podcasts
from iHeartRadio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Hosts And Creators
Zaron Burnett
Elizabeth Dutton
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