Me and Bobby McGee

"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posthumously released version by Janis Joplin topped the U.S. singles chart in 1971, making the song the second posthumously released No. 1 single in U.S. chart history after "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding. Gordon Lightfoot released a version that reached number 1 on the Canadian country charts in 1970. Jerry Lee Lewis released a version that was number 1 on the country charts in December 1971/January 1972 as the "B" side of "Would You Take Another Chance on Me". Billboard ranked Joplin's version as the No. 11 song for 1971.

In 2002, the 1971 version of the song by Janis Joplin on Columbia Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

History
The suggestion for the title was a cordial challenge from producer and Monument Records founder Fred Foster to Kris Kristofferson. The titular character was named for a studio secretary, Barbara "Bobbie" McKee, but Kristofferson had misheard her surname. He explained that he was trying to convey the despair of the last scene of Federico Fellini’s La Strada in which a broken, war-torn, inebriated man (played by Anthony Quinn) stares up from the beach at the night's stars, and breaks down sobbing.

Narrative
The song is the story of two drifters, the narrator and Bobby McGee. The pair hitch a ride from a truck driver and sing as they drive through the American South before making their way westward. They visit California and then part ways, with the song's narrator expressing sadness afterwards. Due to the singer's name never being mentioned and the name "Bobby" being gender-neutral (especially in America), the song has been recorded by both male and female singers with only minor differences in the lyrical content.

Recordings and notable performances
Roger Miller was the first artist to record the song (in May 1969), and it appeared at No. 12 on the U.S. country chart in 1969. Kenny Rogers and The First Edition recorded the song in May/June 1969, and released it on their album Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town in 1969. On the Canadian charts, Gordon Lightfoot's version (recorded in November 1969) hit No. 13 on the pop music chart and No. 1 on the country music chart in 1970. The song was included on the 1970 Statler Brothers album Bed of Rose's, but was not released as a single.

Kristofferson recorded his own version of the song on his debut album Kristofferson in 1970. Later that year, his version of the song appeared in Monte Hellman's psychedelic road movie Two-Lane Blacktop. Kristofferson also appears briefly singing the song in the 1971 Dennis Hopper film The Last Movie.

Janis Joplin recorded the song for inclusion on her Pearl album only a few days before her death in October 1970. Kristofferson had sung the song for her, and singer Bob Neuwirth taught it to her. Kristofferson did not know she had recorded the song until after her death. The first time he heard her recording of it was the day after she died. Record World called it a "perfect matching of performer and material." Joplin's version topped the charts to become her only number one single; her version was later ranked No. 148 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Selected list of recorded versions

 * 1969 Roger Miller - album Roger Miller
 * 1969 Roy Clark - album The Everlovin' Soul of Roy Clark
 * 1969 The Stonemans - album Dawn of the Stonemans' Age
 * 1969 Kenny Rogers & The First Edition - album Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town
 * 1970 Charley Pride - album Just Plain Charley
 * 1970 Ramblin' Jack Elliott - album Bull Durham Sacks & Railroad Tracks
 * 1970 The Statler Brothers - album Bed of Rose's
 * 1970 Gordon Lightfoot - album Sit Down Young Stranger
 * 1970 Kris Kristofferson - album Kristofferson, this version also appears in the film Two-Lane Blacktop
 * 1970 Bill Haley & His Comets - album Rock Around the Country
 * 1970 Sam The Sham - single "Me And Bobby McGee/Key To The Highway" (Atlantic #2757)
 * 1970 Henson Cargill - album The Uncomplicated Henson Cargill
 * 1971 Olivia Newton-John - album If Not for You
 * 1971 Dave Dudley - album Will the Real Dave Dudley Please Sing
 * 1971 John Mogensen as "Carsten Levin" Danish - single, featured on the album John (1973)
 * 1971 Janis Joplin U.S. number-one single, from the album Pearl
 * 1971 & 1972 Jerry Lee Lewis - B-side of "Would You Take Another Chance on Me" / album The Killer Rocks On
 * 1971 Dottie West - album Have You Heard...
 * 1971 Grateful Dead - album Skull & Roses
 * 1971 Loretta Lynn - album I Wanna Be Free
 * 1971 Lalla Hansson as "Anna & mej" Swedish - album Upp till Ragvaldsträsk scoring a Tio i Topp hit.
 * 1972 Johnny Cash - album På Österåker
 * 1972 Charlie McCoy - album Charlie McCoy
 * 1972 Jeannie C. Riley - album Give Myself a Party
 * 1973 Waylon Jennings - album Lonesome, On'ry and Mean
 * 1973 Chet Atkins - album Alone
 * 1973 Thelma Houston - album Thelma Houston
 * 1974 Lonnie Donegan - album Lonnie Donegan Meets Leinemann
 * 1974 Cornelis Vreeswijk as "Jag och Bosse Lidén" Swedish - album Getinghonung
 * 1975 Pavel Bobek - Chvíle, kdy jsem byl s ní, album Veď mě dál, cesto má, Supraphon, Czech text Vladimír Poštulka
 * 1979 Gianna Nannini as "Io e Bobby McGee" Italian - album California
 * 1979 Willie Nelson - album Willie Nelson sings Kristofferson
 * 1984 Joan Baez - album Live Europe '83 album
 * 1990 The Highwaymen - Live: American Outlaws
 * 1994 Melissa Etheridge - album Acoustic
 * 1997 Loquillo - album Compañeros de viaje
 * 1999 LeAnn Rimes - album LeAnn Rimes
 * 1999 Barb Jungr - album Bare
 * 2002 Anne Murray - album Country Croonin'
 * 2002 Jennifer Love Hewitt - album Bare Naked
 * 2002 Waterloo & Robinson as "Ich und BobbyMcGee" German - album Marianne
 * 2003 Jerry Jeff Walker - album Too Old To Change
 * 2004 Pink - album Live in Europe
 * 2005 Dolly Parton - album Those Were The Days
 * 2005 Arlo Guthrie - album Live In Sydney
 * 2006 Dale Ann Bradley - album Catch Tomorrow
 * 2007 Angela Kalule - The Last King of Scotland soundtrack
 * 2007 Caroline af Ugglas - album Joplin på Svenska
 * 2008 Amanda Strydom - album kerse teen die donker
 * 2010 Crystal Bowersox on American Idol iTunes release of studio version from Top 11 week, and Final 2 week, of season 9
 * 2016 Matt Doyle - album Uncontrolled