TEMPE, Ariz. — In 1976, a helicopter landed just outside Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. There was a crowd of people standing nearby, actor Gary Busey ran up to the helicopter and opened the door.
Superstar Barbra Streisand hopped out with Kris Kristofferson and ran to a waiting ambulance. Kristofferson was famous but not quite a household name at the time.
Waiting inside the stadium were more than 60,000 people, already watching a concert that would become legendary, and help launch Kristofferson's career even higher.
In March of 1976, Warner Bros. was filming the second remake of A Star Is Born, and they needed a concert. The story, which was remade again in 2018 with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, is a love story about the rise of one singer (Streisand), and the fall of another (Kristofferson).
Kristofferson was already a successful singer and songwriter, writing songs for other artists. He wrote "Me and Bobby McGee", one of Janis Joplin's most famous hits. As an actor, he'd been in a few movies but hadn't yet broken out.
To film Kristofferson performing in front of a huge crowd, Warner Bros. put on an actual concert and invited...pretty much everyone.
The lineup had multiple Rock and Roll icons: Peter Frampton, Santana, Montrose, Graham Central Station. A poster advertising the show promised appearances by Streisand and Kristofferson and the chance to appear in the new movie. They would film the movie scenes in between performances by the other bands.
The cost? $3.50 a ticket.
The stadium was packed starting at 5 a.m. People climbed the buttes around Sun Devil Stadium to watch.
And assigned to drive Kris Kristofferson around while they filmed, was a 21-year-old small-time, but driven music promoter named Danny Zelisko. Zelisko was working in a waterbed store when he got the call.
"I had a Firebird, so I drove him here and there," Zelisko said. "And then, of course, I had to take him out at night...which was terrible because, after all, he was Kris Kristofferson in the mid-70s.”
If Zelisko's name sounds familiar, it's because he's probably responsible for at least one, but probably more, of the concerts you've been to in Phoenix. "Danny Zelisko Presents" can be found on posters for everyone from classic rockers to comedy festivals.
The concert lasted all day, with Streisand and Kristofferson shooting their scenes, and then it all wrapped up. The movie came out and was a smash.
Kristofferson would go on to win a Golden Globe for his performance, cementing him as an actor for decades to come.
Danny Zelisko would become Danny Zelisko over the decades that followed.
But about 30 years after A Star Is Born came out, Zelisko bought a house in Hawaii and discovered it was right near Kristofferson's home.
“And it turned into a very, very special friendship," Zelisko said.
"He was very content. He felt fortunate. He said it all the time...you know, who's got it better than us?"
Kristofferson died last week at the age of 88, a successful singer, songwriter, actor...and friend.
“A hell of an 88 years," Zelisko said. "What a good man...and everybody loved him.
"And you know, he was one of those super nice guys, which you can tell because everybody's got a picture with him," he said.
If not for a phone call to a Phoenix waterbed store, Danny Zelisko might never have helped with the concert, may never have made those connections, and may never have met Kristofferson.
A star was born in 1976. And it grew into a lasting friendship.
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