AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A Home

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Kudzu Guillotine
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AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A Home

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

From Late Night with Conan O'Brien when Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings was new. If memory serves, this year was also the first time I saw Prine in concert (MerleFest) even though I'd been an avid fan since the 70's. Better late than never.

Last edited by Kudzu Guillotine on Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:59 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Go To the Country, Build You A Home: The John Prine Thre

Post by jr29 »

Prine was probably the first lesser known artist who really got to me. The Stones, Johnny Cash, CCR, etc sunk their teeth in when I was very small. Then when I was around ten or so some family members began listening to "The Missing Years" all the time and I was mesmerized. I just recently listened to that entire album again and it sounds as good to me at 31 as it did all those years ago.

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Re: Go To the Country, Build You A Home: The John Prine Thre

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

jr29 wrote:Prine was probably the first lesser known artist who really got to me. The Stones, Johnny Cash, CCR, etc sunk their teeth in when I was very small. Then when I was around ten or so some family members began listening to "The Missing Years" all the time and I was mesmerized. I just recently listened to that entire album again and it sounds as good to me at 31 as it did all those years ago.


As with a lot of music I was exposed to as a kid, I have an older brother to thank for turning me onto Prine. In this case, in addition to Prine, he also turned me onto Buffett, Jerry Jeff, Steve Goodman, etc. with Buffett being the gateway. Looking back on it now, it's hard to believe this is also the same brother that used to listen to Alice Cooper, Johnny Winter, etc. way back when, especially the Coop.
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Re: Go To the Country, Build You A Home: The John Prine Thre

Post by Rocky »

I saw the Love For Levon concert over the weekend and I was taken aback by how old he looked.
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Re: Go To the Country, Build You A Home: The John Prine Thre

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

I know Clams will probably ask but can we make this an Artist of the Week?
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Re: Go To the Country, Build You A Home: The John Prine Thre

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

Rocky wrote:I saw the Love For Levon concert over the weekend and I was taken aback by how old he looked.


Dude's 67 so he's definitely no spring chicken. I don't know the details about all he's been through health-wise but he seemed to age a lot following his cancer surgery in the late 90's. Speaking of which, the way he's bounced back after his most recent cancer surgery is nothing short of miraculous. I'm not sure what his overall touring schedule is like but it seems like he's always on the road. In so many ways, this man is a national treasure (if not an international one). I'd love to make it to the exhibit they have for him at the Country Music Hall of Fame (John Prine: It Took Me Years to Get These Souvenirs) but chances are, I'm not going to make it there before it closes next month.
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Re: Go To the Country, Build You A Home: The John Prine Thre

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

Tequila Cowboy wrote:I know Clams will probably ask but can we make this an Artist of the Week?


Done.

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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by 211poundsofpork »

Niiice. Just started getting into this guy the past several years. Recently picked up The Singing Mailman Delivers, Bruised Orange, and Sweet Revenge. Love this guy's songwriting. "Angel From Montgomery" is one of my favorite songs and love the covers of this as well ie. Max Verna, Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, etc.
It was tough to see him on that Love for Levon tribute, though.

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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by bovine knievel »

It was John Prine Live on Tour that started a fire in me. As somebody else said, he was lesser know to me but he led me into the rabbit hole of music and opened my eyes to a whole new world.
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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

Not the first album I heard (I'm pretty sure that was Sweet Revenge) but this is the first album I owned. Even though I'd be more apt to recommend the Great Days anthology for folks just getting into Prine these days, it's still not a bad place to start. I'm pretty sure the first song I ever heard by him was "Dear Abby".



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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by 3milelake »

John Prine is a poet, I have so much time for him. One of my brothers is an even bigger fan & turned me on to this song.


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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by LBRod »

Don't hurt people, and don't take their stuff.

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Re: Go To the Country, Build You A Home: The John Prine Thre

Post by Clams »

Tequila Cowboy wrote:I know Clams will probably ask but can we make this an Artist of the Week?

Right on
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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Flea »

Now it's dark.

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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by dee dee »

I first heard John Prine on a cool but short lived FM radio station out of Des Moines that played Take a Look At My Heart a lot while working a convenience store job during my college years at Simpson College. Then I went out and bought The Missing Years. I'd listened to Bob Dylan and knew I loved the R.E.M. song Rockville, but I guess that was one of the formative songs for my love of folk/singer song writers/alt-country type stuff.


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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by bovine knievel »

Behind the Songs of John Prine

“I guess I always loved to write, but I never had anything to really encourage it. I never thought I could be a journalist or novelist or anything, I just had a wild imagination and songwriting gave me enough rope to run with it.”

From that imagination has sprung some of the most beloved characters, familiar scenarios, and quotable lyrics of any writer, placing John Prine in a league of his own. From his spine-chilling imagery of the Vietnam Vet “Sam Stone,” to the bittersweet recognizable characters of “Donald and Lydia,” to the sing-along “blow up your TV” chorus in “Spanish Pipedream,” Prine is a songwriter loved by his peers and idolized by his fans.


More here
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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

As many times as John Prine has come up here in the past, I'm not sure if the John Prine Shrine has ever been mentioned. It's as fine a fan site as I've ever seen and covers just about anything you can imagine having to do with Prine, right down to folks that have covered his tunes or dropped his name in song. Another section of the site that's well worth delving into is the Movies section. A couple movies of interest are where he made an appearance as an actor. The first is the John Mellencamp vehicle, Falling From Grace (1992) where his role is little more than a cameo but still worth a looksee. The second is Daddy and Them (2004) with an impressive cast that includes Billy Bob Thornton, Laura Dern, Jim Varney, Walton Goggins and Andy Griffith as you've probably never seen him before. Prine gets much more screen time in this one. It's still not much compared to the stars of the film but every moment he's in front of the camera is priceless. Billy Bob had a whole lot of trouble getting this one made as well as released, which you can read more about here.

This is an outtake from the movie where Billy Bob breaks into his Karl character from Slingblade in between takes. Prine stays in character throughout.


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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

In 2010, a tribute record featuring the likes of Bon Iver, Conor Oberst, the Avett Brothers, Justin Townes Earle, the Drive-By Truckers and others called Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine was released on Prine's Oh Boy label. To learn more about this release, click here.



Image
1) Justin Vernon of Bon Iver – “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)"
2) Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band – “Wedding Day In Funeralville"
3) My Morning Jacket – “All The Best"
4) Josh Ritter – “Mexican Home"
5) Lambchop – “Six O'Clock News"
6) Justin Townes Earle – “Far From Me"
7) The Avett Brothers – “Spanish Pipedream"
8) Old Crow Medicine Show – “Angel From Montgomery"
9) Sara Watkins – “The Late John Garfield Blues"
10) Drive-By Truckers – “Daddy's Little Pumpkin"
11) Deer Tick featuring Liz Isenberg – “Unwed Fathers"
12) Those Darlins – “Let's Talk Dirty In Hawaiian"

That same year, Prine embarked on a tour with Old Crow Medicine Show who covered "Angel From Montgomery" on the record. During the tour, they would come out to back him on that tune and others such as "Lake Marie", "Saddle In the Rain" and "Paradise". Not my video but I was in attendance at this performance at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, NC on May 7, 2010.



Later on that month, Prine appeared with Yim Yames on the Late Show with David Letterman to perform "All the Best" from the tribute record.


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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

A couple from John Prine and his dear friend, the late Steve Goodman and a couple from them alone doing a song made famous by David Allan Coe which originally appeared on Goodman's self-titled debut album in 1972.




You Never Even Call Me By My Name notes

"I'd heard of Steve Goodman... I heard him play City Of New Orleans on the radio. I got a mental picture of this guy about six foot two and real collegiate looking and everything. I thought I had Steve pictured. He'd have a little-bitty beard like a little goatee. And in walks this little guy that was about five foot two... This Hotel Room The way it came about, we was in New York City in the spring of 1971. We wasn't in town 18 hours before we both had record contracts and we still had a couple of days left in the city before we had to return home to Chicago. We were stayin' in the Hotel Roosevelt in a room that was a little bit larger than your turntable and a we were sharing the room and uh... It was the first time I was ever in New York City. I felt like Stevie Wonder. So this was a big deal. This was the "Big Apple". my neck hurt the first day, looking at all the buildings and I'm from Chicago but New York really laid me out. So here we are in the hotel in this little bitty room and I had a bunch of beer in the bathroom on ice and Steve was complainin' 'cause he wanted to take a shower. And I explained to him that it was easy to take a shower but it wasn't always easy to have a cold beer when you want one. I went down to the village for a bit. I wanted to see someone and Steve stayed in the room and when I come back he was sittin' hunched over the desk with his guitar and I looked over his shoulder and he was writin' this terribly mournful song. It started out "it was all that I could do from keep from cryin', sometimes it seems so useless to remain..." And I had a couple of beers by then... I started making fun and teasin' and jumpin' on the started playing the violin and said that's so sad... and Steve got mad and he popped open a beer and we turned the song around you know and said "you don't have to call me darlin' darlin', but you never even call me by my name." And we went on from there and made a total shambles of the song and then we both went down to the village and got drunk. and I'd be damned, we did what we did and I thought the song would get no further than the hotel room... David Allan Coe picked it up about six months later and Steve put that phenomenal last verse on it about mothers, trucks, trains. and prisons, and it become a number one country song, You never even call me by my name."
~ John Prine from an early radio interview

Steve Goodman and John Prine wrote the song. John thought it was goofy, just a novelty song, and didn't want his name on it. When it started getting royalty checks, Steve bought John a juke box as a "consolation prize".





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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

More Country Music Hall of Fame coverage, including an interview with Mr. Prine.




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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Slipkid42 »

Great stuff, KG. John Prine was one of the 1st country sounding dudes my rock & roll ears could tolerate. The lyrics were so perfect & his delivery was so natural. I saw him in the early 80's w/the Seldom Scene @ Wolf Trap in Virginia & it was a truly outstanding show. He has written many great songs that always seem to get right to the heart of the matter. I really love those videos with Steve Goodman. I never knew that JP had co-written You Never Even Called Me By My Name. Here's a few of my favorites by him.



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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Swamp »

Kudzu Guillotine wrote:From Late Night with Conan O'Brien when Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings was new. If memory serves, this year was also the first time I saw Prine in concert (MerleFest) even though I'd been an avid fan since the 70's. Better late than never.


Cannot believe this guy was off my radar until that tour. The local stations were playing "ain't hurtin' nobody" and his voice sounded
familiar but we went to the show for the opening act, Victoria Williams. He totally blew me away. I bought Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings
and his Christmas cd's that night. And the rest as WE say..............
and the rest as they say is uh er uh, well somebodies history somewhere?

BiloxiParish

Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by BiloxiParish »

My top 5 Prine songs..

1. Illegal Smile
2. Thats The Way The World Goes Round (half an inch of water happy enchalada song)
3. Angel from Montgomery
4. All The Best
5. Livin' in the future


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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

"...the abandoned old prison down by Airdrie Hill." See how you can help save this bit of Prine history at www.airdriepark.org

Historic Wonder Just Minutes from TVA Paradise Plant

Image

MUHLENBERG COUNTY, Ky. (11/11/14) — Who would ever guess that just a few minutes walk from the TVA Paradise Plant sits one of the true wonders of the 19th Century.

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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by jr29 »

Kudzu Guillotine wrote:"...the abandoned old prison down by Airdrie Hill." See how you can help save this bit of Prine history at http://www.airdriepark.org

Historic Wonder Just Minutes from TVA Paradise Plant

Image

MUHLENBERG COUNTY, Ky. (11/11/14) — Who would ever guess that just a few minutes walk from the TVA Paradise Plant sits one of the true wonders of the 19th Century.


Very cool. There is a Prine interview online where he says his dad raised he and his brothers to believe that "his ship was gonna come in" and that they were gonna move back down to Kentucky.
Chris knight and the great character actor Warren Oates are also from that little section of western Kentucky. I work up there quite a bit and I can tell you it is a gorgeous place with some very cool people.

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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

Due on March 15, 2015 John Prine: In Spite of Himself by Eddie Huffman is the latest entry in the University of Texas Press American Music Series.

With a range that spans the lyrical, heartfelt songs "Angel from Montgomery," "Sam Stone," and "Paradise" to the classic country music parody "You Never Even Called Me by My Name," John Prine is a songwriter's songwriter. Across five decades, Prine has created critically acclaimed albums—John Prine (one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time), Bruised Orange, and The Missing Years—and earned many honors, including two Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting from the Americana Music Association, and induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. His songs have been covered by scores of artists, from Johnny Cash and Miranda Lambert to Bette Midler and 10,000 Maniacs, and have influenced everyone from Roger McGuinn to Kacey Musgraves. Hailed in his early years as the "new Dylan," Prine still counts Bob Dylan among his most enthusiastic fans.

In John Prine, Eddie Huffman traces the long arc of Prine's musical career, beginning with his early, seemingly effortless successes, which led paradoxically not to stardom but to a rich and varied career writing songs that other people have made famous. He recounts the stories, many of them humorous, behind Prine's best-known songs and discusses all of Prine's albums as he explores the brilliant records and the ill-advised side trips, the underappreciated gems and the hard-earned comebacks that led Prine to found his own successful record label, Oh Boy Records. This thorough, entertaining treatment gives John Prine his due as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation.

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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

Hank Williams, John Prine, Neil Young Recordings Earn Spot in Grammy Hall of Fame
Bonnie Raitt, Bobby Fuller Four and Bob Wills also among the 27 new inductees

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John Prine performs during the 1970s
Tony Russell/Redferns

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Re: AOTW 4.1.14 John Prine: Go To the Country, Build You A H

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

A couple clips filmed on this year's Cayamo cruise.



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