John Prine

Singer, songwriter, four-time Grammy Award winner Age: 73

John Prine, a consummate storyteller who rose from the 1970s Chicago folk scene to become one of a generation’s most celebrated and prolific songwriters, died in 2020 of COVID-19 complications. He was 73.

The songwriter’s songwriter, Prine immortalized his five-decade legacy with a simple, timeless wit and gut-wrenching honesty that drew comparisons to Mark Twain and praise from Bob Dylan.

Prine’s songbook transcended era and genre, earning him a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a place in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

His dedicated showmanship and candid humor drew audiences from Bonnaroo to the Library of Congress and back to the Grand Ole Opry House in his chosen home, Nashville, where he often celebrated New Year’s Eve with a foot-stomping performance.

“If God’s got a favorite songwriter,” Kris Kristofferson said in 2003, “I think it’s John Prine.”