John Prine, revered American folk songwriter, dies of coronavirus complications

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, March 29, 2024


John Prine, revered American folk songwriter, dies of coronavirus complications
John Prine attends the 62nd annual GRAMMY Awards on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy/AFP.

by Maggy Donaldson



NEW YORK (AFP).- John Prine, an American folk legend widely considered one of his generation's most influential songwriters, died following complications of coronavirus Tuesday, his publicist said on behalf of his family. He was 73 years old.

On April 3 Prine's wife Fiona had posted on social media the beloved country and folk star was on his eighth day in the ICU on a ventilator, and had pneumonia in both lungs.

Once dubbed the "Mark Twain of American songwriting," over his five decades in the music business Prine carved an image as an off-the-cuff wordsmith who forged melancholy tales with a dose of surrealist wit.

Bob Dylan has named Prine among his favorite songwriters, citing the literary yarn "Lake Marie" as a favorite from his fellow folk bard's vast catalogue.

"Prine's stuff is pure Proustian existentialism," Dylan said in 2009.

"Midwestern mind-trips to the nth degree. And he writes beautiful songs."

Born October 10, 1946 in Maywood, Illinois, Prine took up singing and strumming his guitar as a hobby before emerging on the Chicago folk revivalist scene in the late 1960s, when he was discovered by country star Kris Kristofferson.

His 1971 self-titled debut album was a critical hit, a first collection of his unique social commentary and protest songs that would make the troubadour a staple of Americana for decades to come.

His anti-Vietnam War hit "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore" found a second coming in the early 2000s as the United States embarked on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, earning Prine both standing ovations and angry hate mail.

"When someone turns the country backwards," he told Florida's St. Petersburg Times in 2005, "they should at least expect to be called out on it."

'Homespun sense of humor'
The bluegrass-loving musician with a penchant for allegory enjoyed riffing on country music tropes with stereotypical spoofs, adding whimsical touches to heavier lyricism.

Prine spun tales of past loves as well as solitude, estrangement and regret, especially in his later work streaked with prominent threads of mortality.

"His is just extraordinarily eloquent music -- and he lives on that plane with Neil [Young] and [John] Lennon," said Pink Floyd's Roger Waters of Prine in 2008.

In 1981, tired of the recording establishment that he considered exploitative of artists, Prine founded his own record label Oh Boy Records in Nashville.

The Grammy winner with 19 studio albums to his name this year received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy.

In 2019 Prine was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, and in 2016 joined elite company including Chuck Berry and Leonard Cohen in earning a prestigious songwriting award from the PEN literary organization.

"The combination of being that tender and that wise and that astute mixed with his homespun sense of humor -- it was probably the closest thing for those of us that didn't get the blessing of seeing Mark Twain in person," said fellow musician Bonnie Raitt, who famously covered one of Prine's most cherished songs "Angel From Montgomery" in 1974.

'Gonna get a cocktail'
Prine continued to tour well into his golden years, releasing his last studio album in 2018.

His storied career included two battles with cancer. In 1998 he received a squamous cell cancer diagnosis and had surgery to remove diseased tissue in his neck, severing several nerves.

After a year of speech therapy he was able to perform again, albeit with a new gravelly timbre.

In 2013 he fought lung cancer and had part of his lung removed, a process he rehabilitated from by running up and down his stairs and singing two songs with his guitar while still breathless.

The artist's wife Fiona had said in March that she had tested positive for COVID-19, and his family on March 29 said Prine was intubated and in "critical" condition due to the virus that's left more than 80,000 people dead worldwide.

His death from coronavirus complications follows that of country hitmaker Joe Diffie, who also succumbed to the fast-spreading virus.

Ever a jokester in the face of tribulation, the heaven Prine envisioned on his last album would allow him to resume his youthful habits: "I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale / I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long."

"I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl," Prine sang. "'Cause this old man is goin' to town."


© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

April 8, 2020

With museums empty, security experts hope thieves stay home, too

Lessons from the plagues, painted for Passover

Beatles Shea Stadium poster sets world record to lead Heritage Auctions' Entertainment Auction beyond $1.6 million

John Prine, revered American folk songwriter, dies of coronavirus complications

David Nolan Gallery presents "The State of Play," an exhibition of new works by Jorinde Voigt

Sergio Rossi, Italian shoemaker and ready-to-wear ally, dies at 84

Christie's announces Jewels Online Sale, features a broad selection of iconic designs by renowned jewelers

Leïla Menchari, who turned store windows into art, dies at 93

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's International Center for the Arts of the Americas launches expanded, enhanced website

Dr. Claudia Perren appointed as the new director of FNHW Academy of Art and Design in Basel

Excuse my French: Franglais rappers raise hackles in Quebec

James Drury, taciturn star of 'The Virginian,' dies at 85

New Head of Collections invites you to help document COVID-19 in the Evergreen State

Casula Powerhouse goes digital with free online programming

Harvard University Graduate School of Design shortlists three architects for 2020 Wheelwright Prize

The Museum of Neon Art announces the appointment of Corrie Siegel as Executive Director

Cranbrook names new Photography and Painting Artists-in-Residence

Italian tenor Bocelli to sing on Easter from empty Milan Cathedral

Phillips appoints Elie Massaoutis as Head of Design, France

World's top animation festival moves online over virus

Sam Fox School announces 2020 Stone & DeGuire Contemporary Art Awards

The Baltimore Museum of Art expands digital resources for art experiences at home

Daylight Books publishes 'Diane Durant: Stories'

Which Type Of Paint Is Best?

Why Oil Painting Is A Wonderful Hobby

Why You Should Buy Art Directly From The Artist

Useful Tips for Buying the Readymade Curtains

How To Get More Views On YouTube

What Is A Nebuliser?




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

sa gaming free credit
Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful