Chris Stapleton holds a litany of moments people could only dream of on their bucket list. The perks of being the voice behind Tennessee Whiskey exist in abundance. However, one moment sticks out in particular in his mind when he thinks of times he's been truly starstruck: standing next to Kris Kristofferson.
Recently, Chris Stapleton appears as a guest on Lance Armstrong's The Forward Podcast. There, he talks about the times in his life he's been completely starstruck. He's liable to freeze in his tracks still today and he's definitely done it before with Willie Nelson or Dolly Parton. However, he recounts the time when seeing the late Kris Kristofferson, he didn't have any words. "First time I ever stood next to Kristofferson, there was this thing at the Country Music Hall of Fame. I show up and it's a who's who of Bluegrass - a bunch of killer players," Chris recalls. "There's probably 20 people sitting in a semi-circle in the Country Music Hall of Fame just taking turns picking a song and everyone's kind of playing along and jamming."
Chris Stapleton Freezes When He Stands Next to Kris Kristofferson
Eventually, all the stargazing passes for Stapleton and it zeroes in on one surprise attendee. There's an empty chair sitting there. When they get around to the empty chair, they say, 'Well we've got a special guest tonight. It's Kris Kristofferson,'" Chris says. "Kristofferson comes out and says, 'Johnny Cash told me this was his favorite song,' and he played the song."
Unfortunately, Chris hardly processes the song that Kristofferson performs but that's just the heat of the moment. Then, Kris takes his seat shortly after and Stapleton can't utter a single word. He's just staring hard, caught in the moment. "It's just me standing on the stage and all of the sudden, out pops Kristofferson. I'm standing next to Kristofferson and I'm just kind of looking at him... speechless," Chris Stapleton recalls. "First time I'd ever really been star struck in that way. A lady came down and said, 'Mr. Kristofferson, you forgot your goody bag.' And he goes, 'Goody bag? That sounds like something illegal.'"
