Daily Times

American folk legend John Prine, widely considered one of his generation’s most influential songwriters, died following complications of coronavirus.

He was 73 years old.

Prine’s family revealed his diagnosis on March 29. In a message posted to social media, his family let fans know that he had been in the hospital for several days and that his situation was “critical.” His wife, Fiona, gave an update April 2, stating that he was still “very ill,” yet she remained “hopeful.”

Once dubbed the “Mark Twain of American songwriting,” over his five decades in the music business Prine carved an image as an off-the-cuff wordsmith who forged melancholy tales with a dose of surrealist wit.

Bob Dylan has named Prine among his favorite songwriters, citing the literary yarn Lake Marie as a favorite from his fellow folk bard’s vast catalogue.

The Illinois-born Prine was the songwriters’ songwriter, getting his start in the Chicago folk scene in the 1970s, where his early champions included Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan and “Cowboy” Jack Clement, the latter of whom convinced Prine to move to Nashville in March 1980. Kristofferson is often credited with discovering Prine and invited him onstage at his own show at New York’s Bitter End in 1971. The following day, Prine would get a record deal offer from Atlantic Records.

Well-known for his story songs with vivid imagery and indelible characters, whose humanity shone through their troubles, Prine had countless artists cover his tunes, including Johnny Cash (“Sam Stone”), Bette Midler (“Hello in There”) and Bonnie Raitt (“Angel From Montgomery”), as well as Zac Brown Band (“All the Best”), Miranda Lambert (“That’s the Way the World Goes Round”) and George Strait (“I Just Want to Dance with You”). He is also an uncredited co-writer on “You Never Even Call Me by My Name,” made famous by David Allan Coe and recorded by countless others.