Kris Kristofferson is to get US cable network Country Music Television's Johnny Cash Visionary Award, previous recipients of which include Hank Williams Jr, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn and Dixie Chicks. The country star will receive the award from Johnny Cash's daughter Rosanne.
Kristofferson said in an interview: "John was my hero before he was my friend, and anything with his name on it is really an honour in my eyes. I was thinking back to when I first met him, and if I ever thought that I'd be getting an award with his name on it, it would have carried me through a lot of hard times".
Rosanne Cash comments: "I love Kris fiercely, not just because he and my father are cut from the same spiritual cloth, and because he is the living artistic link to my dad, but because he is my ideal as a songwriter and a human being. He and my dad were closer than brothers. They loved each other dearly, and it is so fitting that he receive this award named after dad".