John Prine

One of the most respected, influential singer/songwriters to emerge in the '70s, John Prine combined simple, folk/country melodies with lyrics that masterfully mix the quotidian with the poetic. Prine was born in Maywood, Illinois on October 10, 1946, and had stints as both a soldier and a mailman before pursuing a career in music. After Prine came to the attention of Kris Kristofferson, the latter helped him get a record deal with Atlantic, who released his self-titled debut album in 1971. With arresting, evergreen songs like "Sam Stone," "Hello in There," and "Angel From Montgomery," the record became an instant classic, and the last-named tune was covered by countless singers, most famously by Bonnie Raitt. Prine cut three more albums for Atlantic before switching over to David Geffen's Asylum Records for 1978's Bruised Orange. Prine's second Asylum LP, Pink Cadillac was produced by rock 'n' roll legend Sam Phillips and Phillips's sons Knox and Jerry, and included a couple of covers of classic rockabilly tunes. Prine's final Asylum album, 1980's Storm Windows, was cut in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and found him edging toward a more country-oriented sound he would subsequently pursue further. Prine then started his own label, Oh Boy Records, still an unusual move at the time, especially for a high-profile artist. Starting with 1984's Aimless Love, all of Prine's records were released through Oh Boy, which eventually included many other artists on its roster. 1991's The Missing Years, produced by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers bassist Howie Epstein, earned a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album and brought about something of a "comeback" for Prine. After 1995's Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings, Prine concentrated more on covers albums. His next batch of new material was 2005's Fair & Square, and the next, Tree of Forgiveness, didn't arrive until 2018. Prine had two bouts with cancer, in 1998 and 2013, but he successfully emerged from each one and continued to record and perform. John Prine died April 7, 2020 at the age of 73 of compilcations from the COVID-19 virus.