This morning we woke to the news that John Prine had died due to complications arising from Covid-19. Prine is so revered for his song-writing and story-telling that many feel devastated by his passing and there has been a huge response from the music community, led by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Jason Isbell, Margo Price and Sturgill Simpson. At this time of deepest sadness, our thoughts are with his family and close friends. Prine leaves a wonderful legacy: both a body of work that will live on and huge numbers of artists influenced by his songs. Continue reading “AUK Mini-Gig Tribute: Luke Sital-Singh Sings John Prine”
Tag: John Prine
Ten cool songs about Jesus
Church attendance figures in the United States can seem quite staggering to us, largely secular, limeys. Around 45% attend on a regular basis compared to just 7% in the UK. In addition, many other Americans strongly identify with Christianity, even if they are not regular church-goers. Furthermore, the South, from where much of the music we champion comes from, accounts for 11 of the top 12 states for highest level of active worship (the exception is Utah), each being higher than the national average. Continue reading “Ten cool songs about Jesus”
Country legend John Prine dead at 73
Waking up to the news this morning that John Prine, the Grammy award-winning US folk and country singer who could count among his fans Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson has died aged 73 due to complications from Covid-19. Prine was hospitalised last month following the onset of Covid-19 symptoms, being placed in intensive care for 13 days. Prine’s wife and manager Fiona announced on March 17th that she had tested positive for the virus after they had returned from a European tour. Continue reading “Country legend John Prine dead at 73”
John Prine “critically ill” with Covid-19
Very worrying news today that country musician John Prine has been taken into hospital “in a critical condition” after experiencing symptoms of coronavirus which was announced yesterday by his family via Twitter. Their statement read: “This is hard news for us to share. But so many of you have loved and supported John over the years, we wanted to let you know, and give you the chance to send on more of that love and support now. And know that we love you, and John loves you.” His wife Fiona Whelan Prine, said earlier in the month that she had the coronavirus but that the couple were separately quarantining. Continue reading “John Prine “critically ill” with Covid-19″
John Prine gets Lifetime Achievement Award at 2020 Grammys
A nice bit of news to end the year with this morning from Rolling Stone Country who are reporting that John Prine has been named one of the recipients of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Awards at next year’s GRAMMYs. The singer-songwriter, whose 1971 debut album was entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015, had three Grammy nominations last year for his album ‘The Tree of Forgiveness.’ Continue reading “John Prine gets Lifetime Achievement Award at 2020 Grammys”
Watch John Prine play “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” at CMHOF
So it’s the end of another week. Don’t forget Ken Burns’ fabulous documentary on country music tonight at 9.30pm on BBC4. We leave you with a lovely clip of John Prine playing Cowboy Jack Clement’s 1958 Johnny Cash hit ‘Ballad of a Teenage Queen’ on Clement’s guitar. Earlier this week during an afternoon ceremony at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Clement’s legacy was honoured with the donation of his Gibson J-200 guitar to the museum’s permanent collection. The guitar was played over the years by the likes of Bobby Bare, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Elvis Presley, and John Prine does that list justice with this performance. Have a good one.
John Prine duets with Kelsey Waldon – Watch
We leave you this week dear reader with a lovely clip of John Prine who has released a new video of his 1971 classic song ‘Paradise’ which he plays with Kentucky-born country singer Kelsey Waldon. The song will be released as a 7” vinyl single, with the B-side featuring a cover of the Merle Travis song ‘Kentucky Means Paradise.’ Waldon has toured with Prine in recent years but this is the first time they’ve recorded something in a studio together. Let’s hope it’s not the last. Have a good one.
Americana Honors and Awards 2019 – Here are all the winners
AmericanaFest 2019 is taking place in Nashville at the moment – our intrepid reporter Mark Underwood is there if you’ve been following our social media – and last night their annual Honors and Awards ceremony took place where there were wins for Brandi Carlile (AGAIN), the War and Treaty and John Prine. In fact Prine’s heartbreaking ‘Summer End’ is about the only song that came out last year that could legitimately beat Ruston Kelly’s ‘Mockingbird’ – hey they’re both below if you want to compare and contrast. Here’s the list of winners (winners in bold): Continue reading “Americana Honors and Awards 2019 – Here are all the winners”
AMA announces its line-up for 2019 awards ceremony
The 18th annual Americana Honors & Awards is happening next month over in Nashville and they have announced the performing lineup for their big ceremony which takes place on the 11th. The list includes (deep breath…) Continue reading “AMA announces its line-up for 2019 awards ceremony”
What Is This Americana Thing Anyway…
Here’s another voyage into the psyche of our writers and contributors in which we interrogate the (often) unfathomable reasons why we are all such junkies for this Americana stuff. This week self-confessed needle dropper Andrew Frolish documents his journey from the unfashionable to the deeply unfashionable (or fashionable to the uber fashionable depending on who you talk to). As a needle dropper we’re not sure if he’s a junkie, a vinyl junkie or just a rubbish seamstress (but we could probably find out). Continue reading “What Is This Americana Thing Anyway…”