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The story behind Kristofferson’s iconic ‘Me and Bobby McGee’

In this Sept. 22, 2016 photo, songwriter Fred Foster poses with Barbara “Bobbie" Eden, right, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tenn. Eden's last name was McKee when she worked as a secretary in the same office building with Foster when he and Kris Kristofferson wrote “Me and Bobby McGee.” Her name was the inspiration for the song. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
In this Sept. 22, 2016 photo, songwriter Fred Foster poses with Barbara “Bobbie" Eden, right, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tenn. Eden's last name was McKee when she worked as a secretary in the same office building with Foster when he and Kris Kristofferson wrote “Me and Bobby McGee.” Her name was the inspiration for the song. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

By Associated Press 4 min read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – “Me and Bobby McGee” is one of Kris Kristofferson’s most famous and widely covered songs, with everyone from Janis Joplin to Pink putting their own spin on it since 1969.

It’s often misinterpreted as Kristofferson’s love song to Joplin, because her bluesy rendition has overshadowed all other versions. She recorded the song right before her death in 1970 and it topped the U.S. singles chart in 1971.

But the real inspiration for the song came from producer and co-writer Fred Foster, who will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday along with Charlie Daniels and Randy Travis, and a young secretary named Barbara McKee.

Foster helped launch the careers of artists like Kristofferson, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. In the 1960s, Foster moved his record label Monument Records from Washington, D.C., to Tennessee in a building owned by his friend and songwriter Boudleaux Bryant.

McKee, whose last name is now Eden, was a 29-year-old working as Bryant’s secretary and went by the nickname Bobbie.