John Prine

John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humorous lyrics about love, life, and current events, often with elements of social commentary and satire, as well as sweet songs and melancholy ballads. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death.

Born and raised in Maywood, Illinois, Prine learned to play the guitar at age 14. He attended classes at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. After serving in West Germany with the U.S. Army, he returned to Chicago in the late 1960s, where he worked as a mailman, writing and singing songs first as a hobby. Continuing studies at the Old Town School, he performed at a student hang-out, the nearby Fifth Peg. A praising review by Roger Ebert put Prine on the map. Singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson heard Prine at Steve Goodman's insistence, and Kristofferson invited Prine to be his opening act. Prine released his eponymous debut album in 1971. Featuring such songs as "Paradise", "Sam Stone", and "Angel from Montgomery", it has been hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time.

The acclaim Prine earned from his debut led to three more albums for Atlantic Records. Common Sense (1975) was his first to chart on the Billboard U.S. Top 100. He then recorded three albums with Asylum Records. In 1981, he co-founded Oh Boy Records, an independent label which released all of his music up until his death. His final album, 2018's The Tree of Forgiveness, debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, his highest ranking on the charts.

Prine struggled with health issues throughout his life, surviving cancer twice. He died in 2020 from complications caused by . Earlier the same year, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Early life Prine was the son of William Mason Prine, a tool-and-die maker, and Verna Valentine (Hamm), a homemaker, both originally from Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. He was born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Maywood. In summers, they would go back to visit family near Paradise, Kentucky. Prine started playing guitar at age 14, taught by his brother, David. He attended classes at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music,

Career Chicago folk scene In the late 1960s, while Prine was delivering mail, he began to sing his songs (often first written in his head on the mail route) at open mic nights at the Fifth Peg on Armitage Avenue in Chicago. The bar was a gathering spot for nearby Old Town School of Folk Music teachers and students. Prine was initially a spectator, reluctant to perform, but eventually did so in response to a "You think you can do better?" comment made to him by another performer. After his first open mic, he was offered paying gigs. In 1970, Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert heard Prine by chance at the Fifth Peg and wrote his first printed review, "Singing Mailman Who Delivers A Powerful Message In A Few Words": After the review was published, Prine's popularity grew. He became a central figure in the Chicago folk revival, which also included such singer-songwriters as Steve Goodman, Michael Peter Smith, Bonnie Koloc, Jim Post, Tom Dundee, Anne Hills, and Fred Holstein. Joined by such established musicians as Jethro Burns and Bob Gibson, Prine performed frequently at a variety of Chicago clubs. He was offered a one-album deal of covers and with a few of his original songs, by Bob Koester from Delmark Records, but decided the project was not right for him. Kristofferson later recalled, "By the end of the first line we knew we were hearing something else. Twenty-four years old and writes like he's two-hundred and twenty. It must've been like stumbling onto Dylan when he first busted onto the Village scene."

1970s Prine's eponymous debut album was released in 1971. Kristofferson invited Prine and Goodman to open for him at The Bitter End in New York City. In the audience was Jerry Wexler, who signed Prine to Atlantic Records the next day. "Paradise" is about the effects of surface mining on his parents' hometown of Paradise, Kentucky. The album also featured "Hello in There", a song about aging that was later covered by numerous artists, and "Far From Me", a lonely waltz about lost love for a waitress, which Prine later said was his favorite of all his songs. The album received many positive reviews, and some hailed Prine as "the next Dylan". Bob Dylan himself appeared unannounced at one of Prine's first New York City club appearances, anonymously backing him on harmonica.

Prine's second album, Diamonds in the Rough (1972), was a surprise for many after the critical success of his first LP; it was an uncommercial, stripped-down affair that reflected Prine's fondness for bluegrass music and features songs reminiscent of Hank Williams. Highlights of the compilation include the allegorical "The Great Compromise", which includes a recitation and addresses the Vietnam War, and the ballad "Souvenirs", which Prine later recorded with Goodman.

His subsequent albums from the 1970s include Sweet Revenge (1973), containing such fan favorites as "Dear Abby", "Grandpa Was a Carpenter", and "Christmas in Prison", and Common Sense (1975), with "Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard". The latter album was Prine's first to chart on the U.S. Top 100 by Billboard and reflected his growing commercial success. It was produced by Steve Cropper. Bruised Orange (1978) is a Steve Goodman–produced album that gave listeners songs such as "That's The Way That The World Goes 'Round", "Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone", "Fish and Whistle", and the title track.

In 1974, singer David Allan Coe achieved considerable success on the country charts with "You Never Even Called Me by My Name", co-written by Prine and Goodman. The song good-naturedly spoofs stereotypical country music lyrics to create what it calls "the perfect country and western song". Prine refused to take a songwriter's credit (stating he was too drunk when the song was written to remember what he had contributed) and Goodman received sole credit. Goodman bought Prine a jukebox as a gift from his publishing royalties.

In 1975, Prine toured the U.S. and Canada with a full band featuring guitarist Arlen Roth.

Pink Cadillac (1979) features two songs produced by Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, who by this time rarely did any studio work. The song "Saigon" is about a Vietnam veteran traumatized by the war ("The static in my attic's gettin' ready to blow"). During the recording, one of the guitar amplifiers blew up (which is evident on the album). The other song Phillips produced is "How Lucky", about Prine's hometown.

1980s In 1981, rejecting the established model of the recording industry, which Prine felt exploited singers and songwriters, he co-founded the independent record label Oh Boy Records in Nashville, Tennessee. His fans, supporting the project, sent him enough money to cover the costs, in advance, of his next album.

1990s In 1991, Prine released the Grammy-winning The Missing Years, his first collaboration with producer and Heartbreakers bassist Howie Epstein. The title song records Prine's humorous take on what Jesus did in the unrecorded years between his childhood and ministry.

In 1992, Prine performed a duet with Margo Timmins on "If You Were the Woman and I Was the Man" from the album Black Eyed Man by Cowboy Junkies. The two acts embarked on a co-headlining tour through 1992, touring on their respective album releases and performing duets between Prine and Timmins in each set.

In 1995, Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings was released, another collaboration with Epstein. On this album is the long track "Lake Marie", a partly spoken word song interweaving tales over decades centered on themes of "goodbye". Bob Dylan later cited it as perhaps his favorite Prine song.

2000s Prine appeared in a supporting role in the Billy Bob Thornton movie Daddy & Them (2001). "In Spite of Ourselves" is played during the end credits.

Prine recorded a version of Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home" in 2004 for the compilation album Beautiful Dreamer, which won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album.

In 2005, Prine released his first all-new offering since Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings, the album Fair & Square, which tended toward a more laid-back, acoustic approach. The album contains songs such as "Safety Joe", about a man who has never taken any risks in his life, and also "Some Humans Ain't Human", Prine's protest piece on the album, which talks about the ugly side of human nature and includes a quick shot at President George W. Bush. Fair & Square won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. The album contains original songs plus two covers: A.P. Carter's "Bear Creek Blues" and Blaze Foley's "Clay Pigeons".

2010s On June 22, 2010, Oh Boy Records released a tribute album titled Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine. The album features members of the modern folk revival, including My Morning Jacket, The Avett Brothers, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Old Crow Medicine Show, Lambchop, Josh Ritter, Drive-By Truckers, Nickel Creek's Sara Watkins, Deer Tick featuring Liz Isenberg, Justin Townes Earle, Those Darlins, and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon.

In 2016, Prine was named winner of the PEN/Song Lyrics Award, given to two songwriters every other year by the PEN New England chapter. The 2016 award was shared with Tom Waits and his songwriting collaborator wife Kathleen Brennan. Judges for the award included Peter Wolf, Rosanne Cash, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, and Bono, as well as literary judges Salman Rushdie, Natasha Tretheway, and Paul Muldoon. In 2016, Prine released For Better, or Worse, a follow-up to In Spite of Ourselves. The album features country music covers spotlighting some of the most prominent female voices in the genre, including; Alison Krauss, Kacey Musgraves, and Lee Ann Womack, as well as Iris DeMent, the only guest artist to appear on both compilation albums.

On March 15, 2017, the American Currents exhibit opened at the Country Music Hall of Fame. The exhibit featured a pair of cowboy boots and jacket that Prine often wore on stage, his personal guitar, and the original handwritten lyric to his hit, "Angel From Montgomery". The American Currents Class of 2016 showcased artists who made a significant impact on country music in 2016, including, Prine. Prine won his second Artist of the Year award at the 2017 Americana Music Honors & Awards after previously winning in 2005.

On February 8, 2018, Prine announced his first new album of original material in 13 years, titled The Tree of Forgiveness, would be released on April 13. Produced by Dave Cobb, the album was released on Prine's own Oh Boy Records and features guest artists Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires, Dan Auerbach, and Brandi Carlile. Alongside the announcement, Prine released the track "Summer's End". The album became Prine's highest-charting album on the Billboard 200.

Prine's final recording session was in 2019, where he recorded "Please Let Me Go 'Round Again" with longtime friend Swamp Dogg.

Posthumous releases The last song Prine recorded before he died was "I Remember Everything", released on June 12, 2020, alongside a music video. It was released following the two-hour special tribute show, A Tribute Celebrating John Prine aired on June 11, 2020, which featured Sturgill Simpson, Vince Gill, Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves, Bonnie Raitt, Rita Wilson, Eric Church, Brandi Carlile and many other country artists and friends. On the first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Prine singing "I Remember Everything" was the soundtrack to the COVID-19 memorial video.

Personal life Marriages Prine was married three times. His first marriage was to high school sweetheart Ann Carole on December 26, 1966. The marriage lasted until the late 1970s, and they legally divorced in 1982.

Prine was married to bassist Rachel Peer from 1984 to 1988.

Prine met Fiona Whelan, who later became his manager, in 1988. She moved from Ireland to Nashville in 1993, and married him in 1996.

Prine had a home in Kinvara, Galway, Ireland, and spent part of the year there.

Health problems In early 1998, Prine was diagnosed with squamous-cell cancer on the right side of his neck. He had major surgery to remove a substantial amount of diseased tissue, followed by six weeks of radiation therapy. The surgery removed a piece of his neck and severed a few nerves in his tongue, while the radiation damaged some salivary glands. A year of recuperation and speech therapy were necessary before he could perform again. The operation altered his vocals and added a gravelly tone to his voice.

In 2013, Prine underwent surgery to remove cancer in his left lung. After the surgery, a physical therapist put him through an unusual workout to build stamina: Prine was required to run up and down his house stairs, grab his guitar while still out of breath, and sing two songs. Six months later, he was touring again. He was hospitalized on March 26 after experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. On March 30, Fiona tweeted that she had recovered and that John was in stable condition but not improving. Prine died on April 7, 2020, of complications caused by COVID-19 at the age of 73.

In accordance with Prine's lyrical wishes, expressed in his song "Paradise", some of his ashes were spread in Kentucky's Green River. Additional ashes were buried next to his parents in Chicago.

Influence Prine is widely regarded as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation. He has been referred to as "the Mark Twain of songwriting".

Bob Dylan named Prine one of his favorite songwriters in 2009. He remarked, "Prine's stuff is pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mindtrips to the nth degree. And he writes beautiful songs. All that stuff about 'Sam Stone', the soldier junkie daddy, and 'Donald and Lydia', where people make love from ten miles away. Nobody but Prine could write like that."

Johnny Cash, in his autobiography Cash, wrote, "I don't listen to music much at the farm, unless I'm going into songwriting mode and looking for inspiration. Then I'll put on something by the writers I've admired and used for years—Rodney Crowell, John Prine, Guy Clark, and the late Steve Goodman are my Big Four ..."

Roger Waters, when asked by Word Magazine in 2008 if he heard Pink Floyd's influence in newer British bands such as Radiohead, replied, "I don't really listen to Radiohead. I listened to the albums and they just didn't move me in the way, say, John Prine does. His is just extraordinarily eloquent music—and he lives on that plane with Neil [Young] and [John] Lennon." He later named Prine as among the five most important songwriters.

Prine's influence is seen in the work of younger artists, whom he often mentored, including Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires, Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson, Kacey Musgraves, Margo Price, Tyler Childers, and Robin Pecknold.

The night that Steve Goodman introduced John Prine to Kris Kristofferson and Paul Anka has been commemorated in a musical show entitled Chicago 1971 that was developed by John Ballantyne and Gus Noble.

Awards and honors Grammy Awards Prine won four Grammy Awards out of 13 nominations, as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

+Grammy Awards and nominations for John Prine Year Nominated work Category Result 1972 John Prine Best New Artist 1986 German Afternoons Best Contemporary Folk Recording 1988 John Prine Live 1991 The Missing Years Best Contemporary Folk Album 1995 Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings 1997 Live on Tour 1999 In Spite of Ourselves 2005 Fair & Square 2018 The Tree of Forgiveness Best Americana Album 2018 "Summer's End" Best American Roots Song 2018 "Knockin' on Your Screen Door" 2020 John Prine Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 "I Remember Everything" Best American Roots Performance 2021 Best American Roots Song

Other accolades In 2005, at the request of U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, John Prine became the first singer-songwriter to read and perform at the Library of Congress. In 2016, Prine received the PEN New England Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award. Over his career, Prine received six awards from the Americana Music Honors & Awards: the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting (2003), Artist of the Year (2005, 2017, 2018), Song of the Year for "Summer's End" (2019), and Album of the Year for The Tree of Forgiveness (2019). On June 30, 2020, Illinois's Governor J. B. Pritzker posthumously named Prine the honorary Poet Laureate of Illinois. The John Prine Songwriter Fellowship was created in Prine's honor. In 2022, Leith Ross became the first recipient.

Discography The week after his death, Prine hit number one on Billboards Rock Songwriters Chart because his singles ("In Spite Of Ourselves", "Angel from Montgomery", "Hello In There", "When I Get To Heaven", and "That's the Way the World Goes Round") all charted in the top 25 of the Hot Rock Song Chart. On the Billboard 200, his 1971 debut album re-entered the chart at 55, and his last album, 2018's Tree of Forgiveness, re-entered at 109.

Studio albums +John Prine studio albums Year Album Peak chart positions Label US US Country US Indie US Rock US Folk CAN 1971 John Prine Released: October 1971 Label: Atlantic Format: 55 — — — — — Atlantic 1972 Diamonds in the Rough Released: 1972 Label: Atlantic Format: 148 — — — — — 1973 Sweet Revenge Released: October 1973 Label: Atlantic Format: 135 — — — — — 1975 Common Sense Released: 1975 Label: Atlantic Format: 66 — — — — — 1978 Bruised Orange Released: 1978 Label: Asylum Format: 116 — — — — — Asylum 1979 Pink Cadillac Released: 1979 Label: Asylum Format: 152 — — — — — 1980 Storm Windows Released: 1980 Label: Asylum Format: 144 — — — — — 1984 Aimless Love Released: 1984 Label: Oh Boy Format: Cassette, CD — — — — — — Oh Boy 1986 German Afternoons Released: 1986 Label: Oh Boy Format: — — — — — — 1991 The Missing Years Released: September, 1991 Label: Oh Boy Format: — — — — — — 1993 A John Prine Christmas Released: 1993 Label: Oh Boy Format: CD, Cassette — — — — — — 1995 Lost Dogs + Mixed Blessings Released: April 4, 1995 Label: Oh Boy Format: CD, Cassette 159 — — — — — 1999 In Spite of Ourselves Released: September 14, 1999 Label: Oh Boy Format: CD, Cassette 197 21 — — — — 2000 Souvenirs Released: October 31, 2000 Label: Oh Boy Format: CD — — — — — — 2005 Fair & Square Released: April 26, 2005 Label: Oh Boy Format: CD, LP 55 — 2 — — — 2007Standard Songs for Average People(with Mac Wiseman) Released: April 24, 2007 Label: Oh Boy Format: CD — — 37 — — — 2016 For Better, or Worse Released: September 30, 2016 Label: Oh Boy Format: CD, LP 30 2 7 — 5 —2018The Tree of Forgiveness Released: April 13, 2018 Label: Oh Boy Format: CD, LP 5 2 2 2 1 26 "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Live albums +John Prine live albums Year Album Peak chart positions US Released: June 12, 2026 Label: Oh Boy Format: Digital download — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Compilation albums +John Prine compilation albums Year Album Peak chart positions Label US Jim Shea "Sweet Suzanne" (Buzzin' Cousins) Marty Callner 1993 "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" Rocky Schenck 1995 "Ain't Hurtin' Nobody" Jim Shea 2016 "Fish and Whistle (Lyric Video)" Northman Creative 2016 "I'm Telling You" Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard 2016 "Color of the Blues" featuring Susan Tedeschi Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard 2017 "Sweet Revenge" Oh Boy Records 2017 "In Spite of Ourselves" Oh Boy Records 2018 "The Road to 'The Tree of Forgiveness" Oh Boy Records 2018 "Knockin' On Your Screen Door" David McClister 2018 "Knockin' On Your Screen Door (Lyric Video)" David McClister 2018 "God Only Knows (Lyric Video)" Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard 2018 "Summer's End" Kerrin Sheldon and Elaine McMillion Sheldon 2018 "Summer's End (Lyric Video)" Oh Boy Records 2018 "When I Get to Heaven (Lyric Video)" Oh Boy Records 2018 "Egg & Daughter Nite, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1967 (Crazy Bone)" Oh Boy Records 2019 "My Old Kentucky Home, Goodnight" Oh Boy Records 2020 "I Remember Everything" Oh Boy Records