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Tributes pour in for beloved singer-songwriter John Prine

He passed away at 73 due to complications from coronavirus.
April 8, 2020 10:28 a.m. EST
April 10, 2020 12:00 a.m. EST
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 11: (L-R) Bonnie Raitt and John Prine seen backstage during the 2019 Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 11, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music Association) NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 11: (L-R) Bonnie Raitt and John Prine seen backstage during the 2019 Americana Honors & Awards at Ryman Auditorium on September 11, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music Association)
Revered American singer-songwriter John Prine has died. The 73-year-old musician passed away on April 7 at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was being treated after testing positive for COVID-19. Prine leaves behind his wife Fiona Whelan Prine, three children and almost two dozen albums spanning five decades.On March 17, Fiona announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19 and was isolating from her husband, who had undergone surgery and treatment for cancer in 1996 and again in 2013. Prine was hospitalized on March 26 after contracting the virus and was intubated on March 28 when he was moved to the ICU. Prine’s family confirmed the singer’s death to Rolling Stone on April 7.Born in 1946 in Illinois, Prine was working as a mailman when he moved to Chicago in the 1960s. While performing at an open mic in a local bar in October 1970, Prine’s performance was caught by then up-and-coming critic Roger Ebert, who was one of the first people to hear “Angel Of Montgomery,” a song that would go on to define Prine’s career.[video_embed id='6145773705001']RELATED: iheartradio Living Room Concert: Mariah Carey[/video_embed]Admired by fans and his musical contemporaries, Prine released his first album in 1971 and the self-titled debut received support from Kris Kristofferson, who had Prine open for him. During one of his first shows in New York, Prine received a surprise backing on harmonic from Bob Dylan. Prine released multiple albums in each decade, receiving 11 Grammy nominations and winning two, including Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1991 for The Missing Years and again in 2005 for Fair & Square. In 2020, Prine was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by longtime friend Bonnie Rait. Prine’s music would go on to be covered by some of the greatest musicians of his time, including Rait, as well as Johnny Cash, Bette Midler, Carly Simon and Dylan.
 
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Prine continued releasing new music into his 70s, including his 18th and now final studio album, The Tree of Forgiveness. Debuting at number five on the Billboard chart, Prine helped usher in a new era of singer-songwriters, working with young artists like Brandi Carlile, Dan Auerback and Jason Isobell. Following the news that Prine had been hospitalized after contracting COVID-19, fans and friends of the singer already began sharing tributes and memories of the prolific artist. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert posted a never-before-seen performance between Colbert and Prine from 2016, when the two men sang “That’s The Way The World Goes Round.” On Sunday, Mandy Moore and her husband, musician Taylor Goldsmith, performed Prine’s 1999 song “In Spite Of Ourselves” during their weekly Instagram Live concert.Following the news of Prine’s death on April 7, social media was flooded with memories of the poetic singer-songwriter, including fond interactions with Prine and more commonly, those that featured Prine’s music as the soundtrack to his fans' most impactful life experiences. A quote from Pitchfork writer Jayson Greene and his 2018 interview with Prine has continually been shared by fans on Twitter, where Prine talks about his own relationship with grief and death. “I guess I just process death differently than some folks,” Prine told Greene. “Realizing you’re not going to see that person again is always the most difficult part about it. But that feeling settles, and then you are glad you had that person in your life, and then the happiness and the sadness get all swirled up inside you.” [video_embed id='1935646']BEFORE YOU GO: Lady Gaga enlists the A-list for her coronavirus fundraiser[/video_embed]

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