Ashley McBryde Opens Up About Her Kris Kristofferson Tribute at CMA Awards: ‘One of My Favorite Songwriters’

At Wednesday’s (Nov. 20) CMA Awards, Ashley McBryde turned in one of the evening’s top moments with her tribute to the late Country Music Hall of Famer Kris Kristofferson, with a performance of one of the star’s most well-known songs, “Help Me Make It Through the Night.”

During rehearsals ahead of the CMA Awards, McBryde told Billboard of Kristofferson, “He’s one of my favorite songwriters. So Kris Kristofferson, Guy Clark, John Prine, this is how the list goes, and it’s my father’s favorite musician-songwriter. It’s his favorite voice to listen to.”

Kristofferson died at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Sept. 28, and was known for writing classics including “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “For the Good Times” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” Kristofferson was a singer/performer himself, though many of his songs were best known as performed by other artists. He was also a well-known actor who starred in films including A Star is Born, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and Blade.

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

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

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

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

“The more we talked about it, the more we noticed that it had a lot to do with the cowboys we looked up to when we were little, and the songs surrounding the lives they led,” she added. “It was they way they lived their lives, the way they presented. They do what they say they’re going to do, and they are where they say they’re going to be, and they stick up for people when they’re having weak moments. For us, [it was about] trying to stay tethered to that touchstone.”

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

“I love that moment where he sings, ‘But if you touch my hat/ You gotta fight us all,’” she said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s the life I want to lead.’ It’s having each other’s back and it’s knowing that the people standing around you have your back, and that’s largely what country music has been built on. So I think it’s time to get back to some cowboy songs.”