R.I.P.: John Prine, Celebrated Singer-Songwriter

John Prine, a consummate storyteller who rose from the 1970s Chicago folk scene to become one of a generation’s most celebrated and prolific songwriters, died Tuesday at age 73.

Prine died from COVID-19 complications at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, nearly two weeks after being hospitalized for the virus, his family confirmed to The Tennessean.

The songwriter’s songwriter, Prine penned his five-decade legacy with gut-wrenching honesty and a simple, timeless wit that drew comparisons to Mark Twain and praise from Bob Dylan.

Prine’s songbook transcended era and genre, earning him a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and place in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His dedicated showmanship and candid humor drew audiences from Bonnaroo to the Library of Congress and back to the Grand Ole Opry House, where he often celebrated New Year’s Eve with a foot-stomping performance.

"If God's got a favorite songwriter," Kris Kristofferson shared in 2003, "I think it's John Prine."

John Edward Prine was born Oct. 10, 1946, in Maywood, Illinois, to working-class parents William Prine and Verna Hamm, who escaped coal mining in rural Kentucky for unionized factory labor in suburban Chicago.

Prine spent his formative years in the Chicago area, working as a mailman before getting drafted in 1966 by the U.S. Army. He served two years as a mechanical engineer in West Germany before returning to delivering letters in the heartland.

While on his mail routes, Prine began crafting songs — early versions of “Hello in There” and “Sam Stone,” compositions that would impact decades to follow.

Prine released his self-titled debut in 1971, a body of work gifting the world some of his most lauded efforts: "Paradise," "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore," "Angel From Montgomery" and "Sam Stone," a haunting composition that captured the darkness soldiers battled after serving time in Korea and Vietnam.

Prine continued throughout the 1970s and ‘80s to chisel songs with a dogged truth and provincial essence — “Souvenirs,” “Sweet Revenge” and “That’s the Way the World Goes ‘Round” among them.

He is survived by his wife, Fiona Whelan Prine, and three sons, Jack Prine, Tommy Prine and Jody Whelan.