Maps of Music

Border Lord (1972)

Where the lyrics of Border Lord take you, and where it was really made.

The album was written in months rather than years, and it did not match the success of Kristofferson's earlier records.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Border Lord: third album by Kris Kristofferson
Released 1972 on Monument Records, in February 1972 according to the reception section
Ten tracks, all original compositions
Produced by Fred Foster
Lone single: 'Josie', which only reached the lower reaches of the pop charts
Title track later covered by Sheryl Crow in 2019

Kristofferson succeeded as a songwriter in 1970 and 1971
Won Song of the Year awards from both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music
Second album The Silver Tongued Devil and I established him as a recording artist
Border Lord reached record stores seven months after that album
It was his third collection of songs in 20 months
Some songs were older: 'Burden of Freedom' carries a 1967 copyright, 'Somebody Nobody Knows' was published in 1968

He had only a matter of months to write songs for the album
Six songs deal with women who had become debased in some way
The image of the Devil returns in five of the songs
'Gettin' By, High and Strange' and the title track reflect his life on the road as a touring performer
Engineers: Tommy Strong, Mort Thomasson, Lou Bradley

American musician, songwriter and actor, born June 22, 1936 in Brownsville, Texas; died September 28, 2024 in Hana, Hawaii, aged 88.
A pioneer of the 1970s outlaw country movement, moving away from the polished Nashville sound toward a rawer, introspective style.
Signed to Monument Records in 1969 after one single for Epic Records; recorded ten albums for Monument.
Songs such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" and "Help Me Make It Through the Night" became hits for other artists.
"Why Me" and "Highwayman" reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1973 and 1985.
Member of the supergroup the Highwaymen (with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash) from 1985 to 1995.
Acting career in films including A Star Is Born (1976, Golden Globe for Best Actor), Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Heaven's Gate (1980) and the Blade trilogy.
Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004; received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014; three Grammy wins from 13 nominations.
Announced retirement from performing in January 2021; final performance at the Hollywood Bowl on April 29, 2023.

Released February 1972 but did not achieve the success of its predecessors
Rolling Stone's Ben Gerson described Kristofferson as a fast-living, hard-loving figure and called his celebrations of machismo the most patently stupid observations in his work
Record World called 'Josie' a typical 'Kristoffersong', well-written and well-put country-pop

AllMusic lamented the rushed making of the songs and suggested he should have waited until he had a collection to match his early hits
Writer Michael Streissguth praised the album for lyrical themes that stayed strongly individualistic and challenged Nashville's sensibilities
Biographer Stephen Miller said the poetry was affecting but the melodies were unremarkable, and some songs suffered from a dirgeful quality
In a 2016 Rolling Stone interview with Neil Strauss, Kristofferson said he was pleasantly surprised by Border Lord in the box set The Complete Monument & Columbia Album Collection

Sheryl Crow released her own version of the title track featuring Kristofferson on her album Threads in 2019
Two songs, 'Smokey Put the Sweat on Me' and 'When She's Wrong', were published by his first publisher, Buckhorn Music, which suggests they may have been written well before their 1972 copyright dates
Charlie McCoy played harmonica and organ on the album
Rita Coolidge sang vocals and background vocals on the album