John Prine: In Spite of Himself

February 2, 2015
In 1970, the late Roger Ebert wrote of John Prine’s performing style in the Chicago Sun-Times: “He appears on the stage with such modesty that he almost seems to be backing into the spotlight.... He starts slow. But after a song or two, even the drunks in the room begin to listen to his lyrics. And then he has you.” In the same way, music critic Huffman slowly backs into this fan’s notes and heartfelt appreciation of Prine and his music. Weaving well-known biographical details (Prine was a mail carrier in Chicago when he got his start) into meticulous sketches of the making of each album—and reviews of those albums—Huffman offers an admiring portrait of an often restless though always canny songwriter. Reflecting on Prine’s eponymous 1971 debut album, Huffman points out that “everything his fans would come to love about him—drama, humor, memorable characters, great stories, a badass outsider stance offset by a reverence for tradition—could be found, fully developed... the recordings showed ample room for Prine to grow as a musician... but the songs were built to last.” Two years later, on the album Sweet Revenge, Prine “sounded fully integrated with backing musicians, and he once again rose to the challenge of writing a compelling batch of tunes.” In the 1980s, Prine started his own record label, Oh Boy, and in 1991, he released The Missing Years, which Huffman calls Prine’s Born to Run or Damn the Torpedoes, a swaggering rock statement that fully realized his potential.” Huffman’s book will make us want to pick up Prine’s albums and listen to them once again or for the first time.

March 1, 2015

In 2011, singer/songwriter John Prine (b. 1946) released The Singing Mailman Delivers as a sardonic wink to his humble beginnings as a mail carrier in suburban Chicago. Here music journalist Huffman (Greensboro News & Record) retraces Prine's musical development from his childhood in Maywood, IL, to the establishment of his own record label, Oh Boy Records, in Nashville. Using his songs as a narrative frame, Huffman digs into Prine's Kentucky roots, his alcoholism, and his status among his musical peers. The compelling story of a gifted songwriter with a talent for distilling the American experience into music is interlaced with entertaining anecdotes about Prine and his friends, such as Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson. Detailing both his subject's personal accomplishments and his setbacks, the author uncovers the human spirit that motivates Prine to continue touring well into his golden years. VERDICT Though an unabashed fan, Huffman manages to strike a necessary balance between penning a tribute and a biography. This first biography of Prine will not disappoint fans of America's singing mailman.--Joshua Finnell, Denison Univ. Lib., Granville, OH

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2015
Prine's honest, empathic, plainspoken, and humorous lyrics coupled with tuneful melodies and his distinctive, raspy voice have earned the singer-songwriter a reputation as a songwriter's songwriter, influencing generations of folk and country artists. A fixture in the burgeoning Chicago folk scene, Prine got his big break when his buddy, the up-and-coming Steve Goodman, brought Kris Kristofferson and Paul Anka, after hours, to the Earl of Old Town, forcing the napping Prine to perform an impromptu set. The rest, as they say, is history. His first album, the eponymous John Prine (1971), though not a chart topper, put him firmly on the map with such memorable songs as Sam Stone, a character study of a veteran's addiction; Paradise, concerning strip mining in Kentucky, where his family was from; and Angel from Montgomery, mostly identified with Bonnie Raitt's moving rendition. Prine has been performing and recording ever since, garnering numerous critical raves, honors, and awards. Huffman is heavy on the recording sessions and the tours, and he astutely evaluates the songs and their production. Unable to interview Prine, Huffman successfully aggregates numerous accounts of Prine, and while touching upon Prine's personal life (upbringing, wives, health), he mostly, and most importantly, sticks to the music.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

January 15, 2015
A guide to the troubadour's career lacks access to the artist himself but benefits from a subject who is as intriguing as his songs.In his first book, Greensboro News & Record staff writer Huffman proves an amiable companion as he leads readers though the musical development of an artist whose songwriting uniqueness has prevailed over a decided lack of ambition and decades of commercial indifference. If it weren't for his close friend and fellow troubadour Steve Goodman, who "had enough ambition for both of them," Prine might have been happy to remain the singing mailman from suburban Chicago. The author shows just how little Prine enjoyed the business side of the music business and how the strength of his songwriting offset raw indifference as a singer and guitarist in his early studio recordings. More than once he was willing to chuck his career for something different. He never believed the critical claims made by others on his behalf: "If I'm a genius, how come it took me five years to get out of high school?" he told an AP reporter in 1978. "If I'm a genius, how come I don't have three Cadillacs?" It might have seemed that Prine was destined to be known primarily from the songs on his 1971 debut album-"Sam Stone," "Hello in There," "Angel from Montgomery"-with subsequent efforts doing little to raise his profile as he bounced from one record label to another. Yet he amazingly rebounded in 1991 with "The Missing Years," his most popular album ever and a return to critical acclaim. By then, Prine had started his own label and found domestic bliss with his third wife, and he has subsequently survived a couple bouts with cancer. If he's lost the inspiration to write songs, that doesn't seem to bother him much. It's difficult for Huffman to establish much stylistic continuity when he relies so heavily on quotes from other journalists, but the unlikely success of the reluctant performer makes for fascinating reading.

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