John Prine is the latest icon to lose the battle over COVID-19 complications. The serious illness is leaving a devastating mark as it sweeps through the nation, including losing our loved ones and heroes.
Prine is an American Country-Folk legend who is respected by a wide range of artists in the community. Hailing from Chicago, he was discovered by Kris Kristofferson and rose to become the accomplished songwriter we know and love today. He's since been admired by some of the greatest musicians of our time, including Bob Dylan, Roger Waters and the late Johnny Cash.
The revered musician released his 18th and final studio album, The Tree of Forgiveness, in 2018. It was his first album in 13 years, and he toured behind it restlessly for the past two years, playing it across the world. He took the tour around North America, the UK, Europe, and Australia. Despite having cancer twice in his life, that never stopped Prine from being a touring machine, making his legacy as a performer all the more remarkable.
His last show ever would be in Paris on February 13th at Cafe de la Danse. It was the third show he did that month in Europe - it started in Sweden and hit up Oslo before that final night. In 2020, he planned on making up for shows that he had to postpone in 2019.
The tour's most performed songs were "Egg & Daughter Nite, Lincoln Nebraska, 1967 (Crazy Bone)," followed by classics like "Paradise" and "Angel From Montgomery."
Playing, on average, a whooping 20-24 songs at each show, Prine always managed to fit in beloved deep cuts like "It's a Big Old Goody World," "Linda Goes to Mars," "People Puttin' People Down," and "Sweet Revenge," just to name a few.
He also had an array of guests perform with him throughout the tour including Tyler Childers, Brandi Carlile, Kelsey Waldon, Todd Snider, Sturgill Simpson, Margo Price, Kurt Vile, and Courtney Marie Andrews, among many others.
The Tree of Forgiveness had the most limelight on the setlists, but he also worked in plenty of licks off of his self-titled LP, Bruised Orange, Sweet Revenge, Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings, and a little something off of nearly all his releases.
Check out one of his last setlists ever, below:
Since the heartbreaking news of his passing yesterday evening (April 7th), there has been an outpour of digital tribute performances by a number of artists covering his songs, including: Andrew Bird, Brandi Carlile, Ani DiFranco, Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief, Kevin Morby, Jeff Tweedy, and many more.
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Prine's songwriting and voice will live on forever.
