John Prine
John Prine (born October 10, 1946) is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a composer, recording artist, and live performer since the early 1970s.
Born and raised in Maywood, Illinois, Prine learned to play the guitar at the age of 14. Subsequently serving in West Germany with the U.S. armed forces, by the late 1960s he had moved to Chicago, where he worked as a mailman, writing and singing songs as a hobby. Becoming a part of the city's folk revival, he was discovered by Kris Kristofferson, resulting in the production of Prine's self-titled debut album through Atlantic Records in 1971. After receiving critical acclaim, Prine focused on his musical career, recording three more albums for Atlantic. He then signed to Asylum Records, where he recorded an additional three albums.
In 1984 he co-founded Oh Boy Records, an independent record label with whom he would release most of his subsequent albums. After his battle with squamous cell cancer in 1998, Prine's vocals deepened into a gravel-voice, resulting in the award-winning album Fair & Square (2005).
John Prine (album)
John Prine is the first album by American country/folk singer-songwriter John Prine, issued by Atlantic Records in 1971. In 2003, the album was ranked number 452 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Recording
Prine was offered a recording contract by Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records after the record executive saw the singer perform several of his own songs at a Kris Kristofferson show at the Bitter End. The song "Paradise" was recorded at A&R Studios in New York (with Prine's brother Dave and good friend Steve Goodman as sidemen) but the remaining cuts were recorded at American Recording Studios in Memphis. Produced by Arif Mardin, who had previously collaborated with the likes of Aretha Franklin and King Curtis, Prine found his new studio surroundings intimidating. In the Great Days: The John Prine Anthology liner notes he admits, "I was terrified. I went straight from playing by myself, still learning how to sing, to playing with Elvis Presley's rhythm section."
Podcasts:
John Prine
ALBUMS
- The Singing Mailman Delivers released: 2011
- In Person & On Stage released: 2010
- Standard Songs for Average People released: 2007
- Fair & Square released: 2005
- Souvenirs released: 2000
- In Spite of Ourselves released: 1999
- Live on Tour released: 1997
- Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings released: 1995
- A John Prine Christmas released: 1993
- The John Prine Anthology: Great Days released: 1993
- Common Sense released: 1991
- The Missing Years released: 1991
- Prime Prine: The Best of John Prine released: 1990
- Sweet Revenge released: 1990
- John Prine Live released: 1988
- German Afternoons released: 1986
- Aimless Love released: 1984
- Storm Windows released: 1980
- Pink Cadillac released: 1979
- Bruised Orange released: 1978
- Diamonds in the Rough released: 1972
- John Prine released: 1972
- 2003-11-18: Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB, Canada released:
Standard Songs for Average People
Released 2007- Blue Eyed Elaine
- Don't Be Ashamed of Your Age
- I Forgot to Remember to Forget
- I Love You Because
- Pistol Packin' Mama
- Saginaw, Michigan
- Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine
- Old Cape Cod
- Death of Floyd Collins
- The Blue Side of Lonesome
- In the Garden
- Just the Other Side of Nowhere
- Old Rugged Cross
- Where the Blue of the Night
In Spite of Ourselves
Released 1999- (We're Not) The Jet Set
- So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)
- Wedding Bells/Let's Turn Back the Years
- When Two Worlds Collide
- Milwaukee Here I Come
- I Know One
- It's a Cheating Situation
- Back Street Affair
- Loose Talk
- Let's Invite Them Over
- 'Til a Tear Becomes a Rose
- In a Town This Size
- We Could
- We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds
- In Spite of Ourselves
- Dear John (I Sent Your Saddle Home)
The John Prine Anthology: Great Days
Released 1993- Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone
- Automobile
- Killing the Blues
- Down by the Side of the Road
- Living in the Future
- It's Happening to You
- Storm Windows
- One Red Rose
- Souvenirs
- Aimless Love
- The Oldest Baby in the World
- People Puttin' People Down
- Unwed Fathers
- Angel From Montgomery (live)
- Linda Goes to Mars
- Bad Boy
- Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
- It's a Big Old Goofy World
- The Sins of Memphisto
- All the Best
John Prine Live
Released 1988- Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard
- Six O'Clock News
- The Oldest Baby in the World
- Angel From Montgomery
- Grandpa Was a Carpenter
- Blue Umbrella
- Fish and Whistle
- Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone
- Living in the Future
- Illegal Smile
- Mexican Home
- Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
- The Accident (Things Could Be Worse)
- Sam Stone
- Souvenirs
- Aw Heck
- Donald and Lydia
- That's the Way the World Goes Round
- Hello in There
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Late John Garfield Blues
by: John PrineBlack faces pressed against the glass
Where rain has pressed it's weight
Wind blown scarves in top down cars
All share one western trait
Sadness leaks through tear-stained cheeks
From winos to dime-store Jews
Probably don't know they give me
These late John Garfield blues
Midnight fell on Franklin Street
And the lamppost bulbs were broke
For the life of me, I could not see
But I heard a brand new joke
Two men were standing upon a bridge
One jumped and screamed you lose
And just left the odd man holding
Those late John Garfield blues
An old man sleeps with his conscience at night
Young kids sleep with their dreams
While the mentally ill sit perfectly still
And live through life's in-betweens
I'm going away to the last resort
In week or two real soon
Where the fish don't bite but once a night
By the cold light of the moon
The horses scream- the nightmares dream
And the dead men all wear shoes
'Cause everybody's dancin'
Those late John Garfield blues