The music world lost a great treasure a couple of weeks ago when John Prine succumbed to the effects of the new corona virus. Our bluegrass community is feeling the effects perhaps as much as anybody even though Prine was anything but a bluegrass musician. He was hardly strictly bluegrass but bluegrass fans loved him when he played at the festival by the same name in San Francisco or anywhere else. Why is that?
Very often I hear John Prine’s song “Paradise” called at bluegrass festival jams. It’s included in Bert Casey’s jam book of 100 bluegrass songs. What’s not to like about a great song like that? The Seldom Scene realized that and introduced “Paradise” into their repertoire. Soon they were followed by Jim & Jesse McReynolds. Many would consider it a bluegrass standard now. Prine’s second album included mandolin in its instrumentation (including his brother Dave) which was a bit unusual outside of bluegrass at the time. The title cut of that album is an a cappella version of a gospel song made famous by the Carter family. Prime was a fan of bluegrass just as bluegrass fans have always been a fan of him. He even covered one of my favorite Hazel Dickens songs “Mama’s Hand” but it has yet to be released.
I have loved Prine’s music since I first heard it but I am no expert on his career. I encourage you to explore web sites like Rolling Stone, Bluegrass Today and Youtube for analysis of Prine’s importance in our musical heritage. You can find links to a lot of great song videos on those sites.
I’ve been streaming those links like mad in the last couple of weeks and the first thing I realized was that I should have bought a lot more of that guy’s albums! And I should have known better because I bought his very first album. It was an LP and I must have bought it quite a few years after its actual release. I no longer have the LP but if I did it would probably be unplayable because the grooves would be so worn down so much from overplaying. “Hello in There”, “Angel From Montgomery”, “Sam Stone”, “Paradise”, “Illegal Smile” and “Donald and Lydia” are just half of the songs on that recording.
Fortunately my digital CD of John Prine Live has not yet worn out. He does several of the classics from that first album (including a duet with Bonnie Raitt on “Angel From Montgomery”) as well as other greats like “Grandpa was a Carpenter”, “Fish and Whistle” and “Souvenirs”. One of the great things about John Prine Live is that it is a live recording. You hear a lot of the humor and charm that characterized all of Prine’s performances. I called “My Mexican Home” from that CD at a recent Zoom jam with friends as well as “Spanish Pipe Dream” at another one.
From the suburbs of Chicago to army draft service during the sixties to a potential career as a postal service employee, John Prine had a gift for music that could not be hidden. Despite his shy nature he did a few open mics in the Chicago area and was noticed by some influential people including the movie critic Roger Ebert (two thumbs up) and a fellow musical poet, Kris Kristofferson.
There will never be another John Prine. Bob Dylan won a Nobel Prize in literature four years ago but in my opinion John Prine was a better song writer. Like Dylan, he wrote songs that had a political edge, made you think or made you laugh or cry. But Prine had a gift that was unmatched by anyone. I ask you. Who else could have written a song about Sabu the Elephant Boy getting stuck in the snows of Minnesota? Only John Prine.
Thanks you for the music John Prine. Now you can finally have a
…cocktail. Vodka and ginger ale
and you can
smoke a cigarette nine miles long
Rest in peace.
