Fred Foster was a record producer and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, and he played a role in the careers of some of country’s biggest stars like Dolly Parton and Roy Orbison. A friend of Foster’s by the name of Boudleaux Bryant — known for having been one half of the husband and wife songwriting duo Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, according to the Songwriters Hall of Fame — had a 29-year-old secretary named Barbara McKee who went by the nickname, Bobbie.
According to Far Out, It dawned on Foster that “Me and Bobbie McKee” would be a good name for a song, and suggested the title to another songwriter whose career he had a significant role in, Kris Kristofferson. However, when the song was completed months later, Kristofferson had misheard the initial request and turned in a song called “Me And Bobby McGee,” which according to Star Tribune, he performed for the song’s namesake.
“Fred came in and said, ‘I want you to meet the real Bobby McKee and here’s Kris Kristofferson to sing your song for you,'” said Barbara Mckee, who now goes by Barbara Eden. “It was great! I loved it, of course. Kris said he couldn’t sing very good, but he’ll try. But I just thought it was the most fantastic song I had ever heard.”
