I could listen to Lukas Nelson sing country classic all damn day.
And at a recent tour stop in Belfast, Northern Ireland at Ulster Hall, Lukas honored one of his musical heroes Kris Kristofferson with an absolutely stunning rendition of Kris’ country classic “Help Me Make It Through the Night.”
Lukas has actually noted several times over the years that Kris was the reason he really decide to pursue a career in music, after Kris heard a song Lukas, son of the great Willie Nelson, wrote when he was a young teenager and told him he was a songwriter and had no other choice but to write songs and follow in his dad’s footsteps.
You can definitely hear the influence from Kris’ songwriting style in a lot of Lukas’ music, and this cover is one of my favorite’s Lukas has done. It’s also one of my favorite songs, so it’s cool to hear such a talented musician really do it justice.
Lukas is gearing up to release his Sticks & Stones album next Friday, July 14th, but used part of his set to wish Kris a happy 87th birthday back on June 22nd, saying:
“Thank you. Thank you, Kris. Happy Birthday.”
A solo write by Kris, the track was included on his 1970 album Kristofferson, and has been covered by countless other artists since then like Willie Nelson, Gladys Knight & the Pips and Tyler Childers and Morgan Wade.
The track peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1971, and of course, remains one of the all-time great country songs to this day.
Funny enough, Kris first got the inspiration from the song after reading an old Esquire interview with the late Frank Sinatra, where he was asked what he believed in and replied:
“Booze, broads, or a bible… whatever helps me make it through the night.”
And one of the greatest country songs of that decade, and possibly of all-time, was born… quite a story.
Do yourself a favor and check out Lukas’ cover, you won’t be disappointed:
At the massive American Outlaws: Live at Nassau Coliseum show in 1990, Kris performed it live and had a couple decent backing musicians from the Highwaymen, including Lukas’ dad, the great Willie Nelson.
Willie also did a fantastic cover of the tune in 1980, which peaked at #4 on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart.
What I would give to go back in time and see this show live in person… the charm and charisma in this single four-minute video is unbelievable:
