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Date: March 11, 2023 11:11AM
Austin City Limits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=suoJ6mLVBlU RIP John Prine
https://www.johnprine.com/Spring 2020 - OH BOY [Records] - 10 songs from 1971-2018
https://www.npr.org/2020/04/06/828225080/john-prines-life-in-10-songshttps://performingsongwriter.com/john-prine-songs/I guess I always loved to write, but I never had anything to really encourage it. I never thought I could be a journalist or novelist or anything, I just had a wild imagination and songwriting gave me enough rope to run with it.”
From that imagination has sprung some of the most beloved characters, familiar scenarios, and quotable lyrics of any writer, placing John Prine in a league of his own. From his spine-chilling imagery of the Vietnam Vet “Sam Stone,” to the bittersweet recognizable characters of “Donald and Lydia,” to the sing-along “blow up your TV” chorus in “Spanish Pipedream,” Prine is a songwriter loved by his peers and idolized by his fans.
John Prine was born the third of four children on October 10, 1946, and grew up in a Chicago suburb. His parents were natives of Western Kentucky, and his father emigrated to Chicago to escape the drudgery of the coal mines. But John spent many summers of his childhood with relatives in the Appalachian coal-mining town of Paradise, where the culture, music, values, and blue-collar struggles all played a part in developing Prine’s imagination and insightful view of the world. And it was here that the groundwork was laid for his lyrical gems to come.
Prine wrote his first songs when he was fourteen after his brother taught him a few chords on the guitar. He played mostly for himself, his family, and “to impress girls,” but never really took it seriously. After graduating from high school in 1964, he worked for two years with the postal service and was drafted by the Army and sent to Germany. There he spent ‘66 and ‘67 as head of the motor pool, and drug his guitar around with him to entertain the guys in the barracks. After his Army days were over, however, Prine went back to delivering mail – all the while writing songs as he walked his beat.
Prine’s life and profession changed in 1970 when, after a few beers, some friends talked him into getting up at an open-mike night at a Chicago club called The Fifth Peg. After that, events began to happen to lead John down the path of becoming a professional singer-songwriter. He met and become close friends with Steve Goodman, who at the time had a hit out for Arlo Guthrie with “City of New Orleans,” and it was Goodman who played one of Prine’s songs for Kris Kristofferson, bowled him over, got the attention of Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records, and thus began the Cinderella story of John Prine.
John passed away on April 7, 2020. To remember him we take a look at the stories behind a few of his most loved songs. We will miss you, John. Thanks for all the music and smiles you’ve given us.
Note: there are some great song stories on this link.
American Songwriter: As the Mark Twain of American songwriting, John Prine was a beloved man, musician, and one of the best songwriters ever. He was this funny grandfather figure; a good old cowboy that was one with the heart of America—unassuming but legendary.