John Prine

John Prine is an acclaimed singer/songwriter whose literate work flirts with everything from acoustic folk to rock to straight-ahead country. He became a fixture on the Chicago folk scene in the late ‘60s and thru the years has attained a lofty position as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation. Prine’s compositions caught the ear of Kris Kristofferson, who was instrumental in helping him win a recording contract. In 1971, he went to Memphis to record his self-titled debut album. Though not a commercial success, songs like Illegal Smile, Hello in There, Donald and Lydia, Angel from Montgomery, and Sam Stone, the harsh tale of a drugaddled Vietnam veteran, won critical approval. Prine’s work won great renown among his fellow performers; the Everly Brothers covered his song Paradise, while both Bette Midler and Joan Baez offered renditions of Hello in There. In 2003, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for songwriting by the UK’s BBC Radio 2 and also was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Prine received the Artist of the Year award at the Americana Music Awards on September 9, 2005