I didn't know John Prine was so influential myself. I just remember his name from many years ago. There must be a particular song that really got me to remember his name all these years! I haven't found that song yet though. I am a bit baffled as I am not a fan of country music.
I'm a huge John Prine fan. I was devastated by his recent death, due to Covid.
The thing is, I probably wouldn't call his music country music, in the true sense of the genre, although it does have lots of country sounds, including some nice twangy steel guitar and classic solos. To me, its's closer to folk music, in my humble opinion.
The songs I recall that everyone knew, back in the day, were "Dear Abby, Sam Stone, Angel From Montgomery, and Illegal Smile". There's lots more, but those are a few of his early ones that people knew him by. Oh, and "Please Don't Bury Me" was another one I recall being popular way back when.
His songs most often tell a life story, sometimes funny and sometimes sad. I recall him saying one time, when asked how he writes songs, he said something like "just tell the truth and try not to rhyme too much". His songs made me happy, and I will definitely miss John Prine.
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