Why Bruce Springsteen Loved John Prine: “A Complete Original”

Prine passed on April 7, 2020, from COVID-19 complications. The world was shocked and devastated by the huge loss to the music community. In the wake of his death, Springsteen used his SiriusXM slot, E Street Radio, to remember the late Americana icon.

“John Prine was a sweet and lovely man, and I was proud to count him as my friend,” Springsteen said at the time. “He wrote music of towering compassion with an almost unheard of precision and creativity when it came to observing the fine details of ordinary lives. He was a writer of great humor, funny, with wry sensitivity. It has marked him as a complete original.”

We have to agree with Springsteen in his assertion of Prine’s originality. Though many may be able to recreate his simple, yet affecting melodies and simple guitar riffs, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who could write lyrics with the same candor.