Kris belonged to a small group of iconoclastic artists who fought for and won their creative freedom outside of the Nashville establishment that dictated the sound of most country music of the era.

There is a pain and loneliness in several of his songs that many of us can identify with in one way or another. He writes about it in a language we understand.

For the artist who’d soon be known as Fantastic Negrito, busking was not a first step. It was a way to restore a sense of purpose following a disastrous major label experience and a debilitating accident. “There’s a lot of power not caring. not wanting things, and that’s how busking was for me.”

Author Cary Baker shares exclusively a chapter from his new book, ‘Down On The Corner: Adventures in Busking and Street Music.’