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Tragic death of John Prine from CoVid19 complications

Farawayhills

Farawayhills

Well-known member
Country Music has lost one of its legends, at the age of 73, in intensive care for lung complications, after contracting the virus in the current pandemic.

This loss is something that I feel particularly strongly, as John Prine is one of the singers who, I feel, has shaped my musical tastes and appreciation over much of my adult life.

These are a few of my favourite songs, from a man whom I considered one of our greatest songwriters

"Sam Stone" - the first song of his that I heard. It is a masterful study of drug addiction, and the problems faced by some military veterans returning from combat (advisory - the chorus is based on a child, repeating a desperate family member's blasphemy. This is integral to the song, but some might find it offensive)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLVWEYUqGew

"Paradise" - another early song, about what many see as the despoiling of Appalachia by open cast mining
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-SKCWXoryU

"The Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" - a song from his middle years, usually interpreted as a lament for the misunderstandings in a failing marriage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFvenjll1Bk

"Angel From Montgomery". As this is probably his best known, and most widely covered song, I've chosen a cover version, by Susan Tedeschi (with flute solo by Kofi Burbridge)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrSK-0-MQ8s

Miranda Lambert, who regarded him as an influence, summed up how I feel too, in just a few words in this tweet:
https://twitter.com/mirandalambert/status/1247711499084345344

I'll finish with the song she mentioned, "Hello In There" - a song built around compassion for the loneliness of old age. Rest in Peace, John
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVhA01J0Zsg

 
Farawayhills

Farawayhills

Well-known member
"Hello in There" is heartbreaking, and, sadly, often true. Brandi Carlile is singing that song as a tribute to John Prine on CBS' Late Show.


I can't think of a direct link between Carrie and John Prine, but I'm sure she would know his work. One thing that did strike me is that she might know of him through Gail Davies (who is from Eastern Oklahoma). Gail sung the best known version of "Unwed Fathers" - a song about teenage pregnancy, She had had several top 10 hits on radio, but that song (even with slightly changed lyrics) was considered too cotroversial for many radio stations, and she says it virtually ended her radio career. However, Gail had also been dissatisfied with her record label's production values, and had already decided to produce her own albums. She is believed to be the first female artist to do this in Country Music (1980), first on Warner Brothers and later on Capitol. She later started her own label, and was named International Ambassador for Country Music by the CMA. I wonder if that side of her career may have helped to inspire Carrie to get involved in producing her own albums.

This is John Prine singing "Unwed Fathers", with his wife Rachael
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVXCVKqpw1s
 
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