How the Music Industry is Paying Tribute to John Prine

Of all the timeless troubadours to grace a stage or pen a lyric, there will never be another John Prine.

On Tuesday, April 7, the legendary American singer/songwriter died in Nashville from coronavirus complications. He was 73.

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With an innate ability to convey the human experience through song, Prine was revered as one of America’s greatest songwriters. With a career that began in the dive bars of Chicago, Prine’s lyrical observations of American life were poignant, comical and profound.

Not surprisingly, it was one of Prine’s primary influences, Bob Dylan, who put it best. “Prine’s stuff is pure Proustian existentialism,” Dylan said. “Midwestern mindtrips to the nth degree. And he writes beautiful songs.”

How John Prine Became One of America’s Greatest Songwriters

His 19th and final album, Tree of Forgiveness, was released in 2018 and received multiple awards, including a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album. Early this year, Prine was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, his third Grammy.

While Prine never saw major success in the charts, his outsized influence spanned both decades and generations. Since word of his passing, heartfelt tributes and cover songs have been pouring in from across the music industry. To see what musicians are saying, we rounded up some of the most powerful tribute posts we found on social media.