Kris Kristofferson passed away late last month, and fans are still mourning the loss of the beloved musician and actor. [..] Several of Kristofferson’s titles, including albums and songs, find their way to various Billboard charts this week. The singer-songwriter appears on at least three different tallies, and he rises higher than ever on one of them. Kristofferson’s single “Why Me” returns to the Christian Digital Song Sales chart this frame. The tune blasts in at No. 1, reaching the summit for the first time.

American country musician Kris Kristofferson was a military veteran and anti-war activist. He continued his advocacy against the Gulf Wars and benefit concerts for Palestinian children despite the negative impacts that both had on his career. Kristofferson died on September 28 at his home in Hawaii, aged 88.

Kris Kristofferson, the singer and songwriter whose literary yet plain-spoken compositions infused country music with rarely heard candor and depth, and who later had a successful second career in movies, died on Saturday at his home on Maui, Hawaii. He was 88. [...] Steeped in a neo-Romantic sensibility that owed as much to John Keats as to the Beat Generation and Bob Dylan, Mr. Kristofferson’s work explored themes of freedom and commitment, alienation and desire, darkness and light. [...] Over four decades Mr. Kristofferson acted in more than 50 movies, including the 1980 box-office failure “Heaven’s Gate” and John Sayles’s Oscar-nominated 1996 neo-western “Lone Star.” Singer-songwriters may not be the likeliest of movie stars, but Mr. Kristofferson consistently revealed an onscreen magnetism and command that made him an exception to the rule.

They’re killing babies in the name of freedom opens Kris Kristofferson on his 1990 song “Don’t Let the Bastards (Get You Down).” Released months before the U.S. was about to invade Iraq, no specific conflict is referenced in the song by Kristofferson, who served as a captain in the U.S. Army. At the time, Kristofferson’s political views were crystal clear, and he opposed the recent military policies enforced by the then George W. Bush Jr. administration and remained outspoken about his more left-wing stances. [...] Soon after the release of Don’t Let the Bastards (Get You Down),” the title became Kristofferson’s catchphrase. He even said the words to Sinéad O’Connor, after she was booed at a Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden, shortly after her controversial appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1992 where she tore a photograph of then-Pope John Paul II to shed light on the unspoken sexual abuses by priests in the Catholic church.