Editing Kris Kristofferson (section)

=== 1973–1985: commercial peak ===

In April 1973, Kristofferson received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Pomona College during Alumni Weekend, accompanied by Cash and Coolidge.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 7, 2014 |title=1973 |url=https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1970s/1973 |access-date=December 4, 2020 |website=Pomona College Timeline |language=en |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028055226/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1970s/1973 |url-status=live }}</ref> Four months later, Kristofferson married Coolidge. The duo released an album titled ''[[Full Moon (Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge album)|Full Moon]]'', another success buoyed by numerous hit singles and Grammy nominations.

His fifth album, ''[[Spooky Lady's Sideshow]]'', released in 1974, was a commercial failure, setting the trend for most of the rest of his musical career. Artists such as [[Ronnie Milsap]] and [[John Duncan (artist)|Johnny Duncan]] continued to record Kristofferson's material with success, but his distinctively rough voice and anti-pop sound kept his own audience to a minimum. Meanwhile, more artists took his songs to the top of the charts, including [[Willie Nelson]], whose 1979 LP release of ''[[Sings Kristofferson|(Willie Nelson) Sings Kristofferson]]'' reached number five on the U.S. Country Music chart and certified Platinum in the U.S.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

In 1979, Kristofferson traveled to [[Havana]], Cuba, to participate in the historic [[Havana Jam]] festival that took place on March 2–4, alongside Coolidge, [[Stephen Stills]], the CBS Jazz All-Stars, the [[Trio of Doom]], [[Fania All-Stars]], [[Billy Swan]], [[Bonnie Bramlett]], [[Mike Finnigan]], [[Weather Report]], and [[Billy Joel]], plus an array of Cuban artists such as [[Irakere]], [[Pacho Alonso]], [[Tata Güines]], and [[Orquesta Aragón]]. His performance is captured on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary ''Havana Jam '79''.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

On November 18, 1979, Kristofferson and Coolidge appeared on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', where Kristofferson sang "[[Help Me Make It Through the Night]]" with [[Miss Piggy]], Coolidge sang "[[We're All Alone]]" with forest animals, and the pair sang "[[Full Moon (Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge album)|Song I'd Like to Sing]]" with the Muppet monsters. They divorced in 1980.<ref>{{cite book | last=York | first=M. | title=The Highwaymen – Songs & Stories: The Mount Rushmore of Country Music | publisher=BookPatch LLC | year=2024 | isbn=979-8-88567-194-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_6MGEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 | access-date=September 30, 2024 | page=67 | archive-date=October 1, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001201857/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_6MGEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA67#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1982, Kristofferson joined [[Willie Nelson]], [[Dolly Parton]], and [[Brenda Lee]] on ''[[The Winning Hand]]'', a double album consisting of remastered and updated performances of recordings the four artists had made for the Monument label during the mid-1960s; the album reached the top ten on the U.S. country album charts. He married again, to Lisa Meyers, and concentrated on films for a time, appearing in the 1984 releases ''[[The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck]]'', ''[[Flashpoint (1984 film)|Flashpoint]]'',  and ''[[Songwriter (film)|Songwriter]]''. Nelson and Kristofferson both appeared in ''Songwriter'', and Kristofferson was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Original Score]]. The album ''[[Music from Songwriter]]'', featuring Nelson-Kristofferson duets, was a country success.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}