Looking for Inspiration
Bryant would taunt Foster that the only reason he would even come to his office was to see Bobby. In response to all the teasing, Foster promised he would make a song about her. And that’s when he contacted Kristofferson, who had to then look for inspiration to produce the next big hit. Just the name Bobby McGee wasn’t enough to go off of.
Fred Foster and Barbara “Bobbie” McKee Eden. Photo by Mark Humphrey / Associated Press
Kristofferson was influenced by people and films, not just fellow musicians. “For some reason, I thought of ‘La Strada,’ this Fellini film, and a scene where Anthony Quinn is going around on this motorcycle, and Giulietta Masina is the feeble-minded girl with him, playing the trombone. He got to the point where he couldn’t put up with her anymore and left her by the side of the road while she was sleeping,” he explained.