The Story Behind the Last Song Kris Kristofferson Wrote With Then-Wife Rita Coolidge — and a Jimmy Buffett Coral Reefer

By the late 1970s, the love story between Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge was already fraying — but their music hadn’t quite let go.

The couple first connected professionally when Coolidge recorded Kristofferson’s “The Lady’s Not for Sale” in 1972. Soon after, romance followed. They married in 1973 and released their first duet album, Full Moon, that same year. The record showcased not only their chemistry but their shared songwriting voice, including co-written tracks like “It’s All Over (All Over Again)” and “I’m Down (But I Keep Falling).”

But by the time their third collaborative album, Natural Act (1978), arrived, their relationship was strained. Kristofferson’s struggles with alcoholism and infidelity had taken a toll. Still, even as the marriage unraveled, one final song emerged from the wreckage.

In 1979, Kristofferson released his ninth studio album, Shake Hands with the Devil, and closing out the record was “Fallen Angel” — the last song he would write with Coolidge. The track was also co-written with Mike Utley of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band and musician-actor Stephen Bruton.

“Fallen Angel” feels less like a single and more like a confession.

Its lyrics speak openly of distance, fading magic, and the quiet grief of realizing something beautiful may not survive. Lines like “We don’t believe in the magic of the music anymore” cut especially deep, considering that music was the foundation of their bond. The metaphor of fallen angels learning to spread their wings suggests both heartbreak and reluctant independence — two people preparing to walk separate paths.

At the time, Coolidge’s career was soaring. She had crossed into pop, adult contemporary, and jazz charts with hits like “We’re All Alone” and “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.” In many ways, her success had eclipsed Kristofferson’s. Yet their shared history remained embedded in this final collaboration.

In 1979, just a year before their divorce, the pair performed “Fallen Angel” together at The Music for UNICEF Concert: A Gift of Song. It would become one of their last public performances as a couple — a haunting, almost poetic coda to their partnership.

“When Kris and I broke up, I think that was the biggest heartbreak for our fans,” Coolidge later reflected.

“Fallen Angel” stands as more than just the final co-write between husband and wife. It’s a farewell letter set to melody — a snapshot of love at its breaking point, written by two artists who once believed completely in the magic of the music.