Country legend John Prine died the evening of April 7 at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee according to multiple sources.. He was 73 years old.
The Prine family confirmed with Rolling Stone that Prine died due to complications from the coronavirus.
He tested positive of the virus last March 29, and he has been in the hospital for days. On April 2, his wife Fiona said in her tweet that Pine is in "stable" condition though he is still in the intensive care unit then.
Prine leaves behind his wife and their three children -Jack, Tommy, and Jody Prine.
About Prine
Prine was born on October 10, 1946, in Maywood, Illinois. He was the son of William Prine, a tool and die maker and president of the local steelworkers union, and Verna Hamm, who hailed from Paradise, KY. Billboard said Prine began writing songs in his teens, and he started playing guitars when he was 14 years old. He was drafted in the Army in 1966 and stationed in Germany, where he also worked as a mechanical engineer.
He started his career in Chicago at an open-mic night at the Fifth Peg Club, where Chicago-Sun Times film critic Roger Ebert discovered him. He was also helped by Kris Kristofferson, who was the key for Prine securing a deal with Atlantic Records. He released his debut album, John Prine, in 1971 that gained critical recognition. His title has some of his hit singles like Sam Stone and Angel from Montgomery.
Prine's songs, according to Yahoo Music, were being covered by some of the best musicians like Johnny Cash, Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Miranda Lambert, Joan Baez, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, and Carly Simon.
Prine received a Lifetime Achievement honor during the 62nd Annual Grammys this year.
Prine's Health
Prine was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2014. He underwent surgery, wherein part of his left lung was removed. He went back to touring six months after. In 1998, he was diagnosed with a squamous cell cancer on the right side of his neck that affected his voice permanently after an operation. This year, he canceled his performance at Bluesfest performance in Australia due to an injury on his hip.
Reactions
Many country singers mourned the death of John Prine.
Bruce Springsteen said on his tweet that he and his crew were "crushed" by Prine's death. He said that Prine was a "national treasure." He sent condolences to the Prines.
Miranda Lambert posted a picture of her with Prine on her Instagram account. She gave thanks to the late composer.
Other artists like Mandy Moore, Jason Isbell, Seth Myers, Ron Sexsmith were also shocked about Prine's death and shared their condolences and gratitude.
Other deaths from coronavirus
Some of the musicians who died of the coronavirus are Adam Schlesinger, Ellis Marsalis Jr., Joe Diffie, Alan Merrill, Terrence McNally, and Manu Dibango. Saturday Night Live music Producer Hal Wilner also died today at age 64.
COVID-19 Update
As of this writing, according to Worldometers.info and the Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 1,430,000 cases with more than 82,000 deaths and more than 302,000 recoveries. In the United States, there are more than 398,000 cases with 14,045 deaths and more than 21,000 recoveries.
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
