Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you a playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.
This week, we’re taking a moment to pay tribute to a legend of the music world who coronavirus has sadly taken from us. John Prine, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 73, was a veteran country folk singer-songwriter whose work was known both for its humorous irreverence and its strong sociopolitical content — sometimes in the same song.
Prine was not only a performer but a songwriter, and his biggest hits often came when others recorded his music; George Strait had a #1 hit with Prine’s “I Just Want To Dance With You,” and Prine also co-wrote “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” which became the biggest hit of David Allan Coe’s career. Nonetheless, Prine’s 50-year recording career is deep and full of jewels; heavy hitters like Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash have credited him as one of their most admired songwriters. Prine’s biggest success came late in life — his last album, 2018’s The Tree Of Forgiveness, was his first album to hit the top ten, and reached #1 on the US folk charts. Just as many are discovering him, he’s been taken from us.
“John will be so missed, but he will continue to comfort us with his words and music and the gifts of kindness, humor and love he left for all of us to share,” said Fiona Whelan Prine, his beloved wife, of his sad departure. We here at RVA Mag will definitely miss John Prine, but we do still have his music, and if you aren’t yet familiar, we’re bringing you this in-depth playlist, so you can spend the weekend discovering the true magnitude of this loss — and the many wonderful songs John Prine has left us.
Hello in there, Virginia.
Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.
