John Prine in 2016
Nashville songwriter John Prine died Tuesday after testing positive for COVID-19. He was 73.
Prine’s songs drew the admiration of countless fans — among them Bob Dylan, who once said, “Nobody but Prine could write like that.” Some of the longtime songwriter’s hits were made famous by other performers, including “Angel From Montgomery,” which was covered by both Carly Simon and Bonnie Raitt.
The singer got his start in Chicago clubs, where film critic Roger Ebert claimed to have discovered the mailman-turned-musician. By the time Ebert heard him play at the Fifth Peg, Prine had already written “Angel From Montgomery,” as well as “Sam Stone” and other songs that would become classics. Fellow songwriter Kris Kristofferson also heard Prine play at the Fifth Peg, and famously brought him under his wing.
Prine survived a bout with throat cancer in the late ’90s that cost him part of his neck. But he continued putting out music, including 2018's acclaimed The Tree of Forgiveness.
He has been honored in recent years by the Americana Music Association and the Recording Academy, the latter of which which granted him a Lifetime Achievement Award last year.
In a Facebook post from Fiona Whelan Prine, John Prine's widow, his family asks that memorial donations be made to the Nashville Rescue Mission, Room In the Inn and Thistle Farms.
