Melodious Monk

Jim Morrison / Val Kilmer

Here are my Top 20 Artists:

Willie Nelson holds the distinction of being the very first artist that Dolly Parton duetted with after leaving The Porter Wagoner Show and rising to stardom as a solo artist in her own right. The country crooners’ duet of “Everything’s Beautiful (In Its Own Way)” was released as the lead single off The Winning Hand—their 1982 collaborative compilation with Kris Kristofferson and Brenda Lee—and became Parton’s 26th career top ten hit on the Hot Country Songs chart following the likes of “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “9 to 5” and “Here You Come Again.”

Just that Kris attended the funeral for June Carter Cash, and saw Johnny sitting by himself... and he made the simple gesture of sitting next to Johnny during his time of grief.

“I’ll tell you a story,” Kris says. “After June passed, they were having a service where you view the corpse, all the people, friends and guests were there. John was sitting over in a chair right by the coffin, so I went over and sat next to him, and people were coming by, shaking his hand and paying their respects to June. This one guy came over and when he saw me, he said, ‘Oh, Kris Kristofferson! You are one of the best singers I’ve ever heard!’ He went on and on and shook my hand and left. As he walked away, John says, and you got to realize where John is at this moment in time, John leans over and whispers, ‘Well, that’s one.’ Kris laughs at the memory. “In the depths of his despair, he could still take the piss outta me!”