Who Was John Prine? All About Kacey Musgraves’ Late Mentor Who Reportedly Inspired Her New Song Cardinal (2024)

On Friday, Kacey Musgraves released her most recent album, which features a touching homage to her late friend John Prine.

John Prine (PC: Getty Images)

John Prine, one of the most well-known singer/songwriters of his day, was a gifted storyteller whose songs were frequently humorous and deeply emotional, often reflecting his Midwestern upbringing in a subtle but genuine way.

He also wrote about the lives of regular people in a remarkable and perceptive way. Although most of Prine’s compositions had folk and country influences, he was well-versed in rock & roll, R&B, and rockabilly. He could easily modify his gritty yet expressive voice to fit in with the genres.

Who was John Prine?

Although Prine never achieved a big hit, several well-known performers—including Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, George Strait, Bette Midler, Paul Westerberg, and Dwight Yoakam—recorded his songs. Many of these performers are also well-known songwriters. Some of Prine’s most famous songs, such as “Sam Stone,” “Hello in There,” “Paradise,” and “Illegal Smile,” were included on his self-titled debut album, which was published in 1971.

Diamonds in the Rough, which came out in 1972, was regarded as almost as good. His first album, Bruised Orange (1978), was a subdued return to the style of his debut, while Pink Cadillac (1979) paid homage to his passion for rockabilly and early rock & roll. Musicians like Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan admired Prine for his songs, which ranged from political to rollickingly funny to melancholy. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the January Grammy Awards. One of Prine’s trademark concert songs, the 1971 ballad “Angel from Montgomery,” was performed live by Bonnie Raitt.

Before his career in the Chicago folk scene began to take off, thanks in part to a glowing review by Roger Ebert, Prine, who was born in Illinois to parents from western Kentucky, worked as a mailman and as a soldier in the Army. In 2018, Prine recalled in an NPR interview that “he wrote a whole page on ‘Singing Mailman Delivers The Message,’ I think that was the headline.” “And after that, I never had an empty seat again.”

Several songs from his critically acclaimed 1971 debut album, “Paradise,” which was inspired by his father’s stories of the destruction caused by coal strip-mining in his hometown, “Angel from Montgomery,” “Sam Stone,” which was about a Vietnam veteran addicted to heroin and featured the menacing line “There’s a hole in Daddy’s arm where all the money goes,” and “Hello in There,” which lamented the loneliness of aging, are now considered classics of country-folk music.

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In addition, despite being denied credit, Prine co-wrote the satirical 1975 hit song “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” with David Allan Coe. John Denver, the Everly Brothers, Carly Simon, Dwight Yoakum, and Bette Midler were among the performers who covered his tunes. The content of Prine is akin to Proustian existentialism. “Midwestern mental journeys to the maximum extent,” Bob Dylan remarked in 2009 to The Huffington Post.

Kacey Musgraves honors John Prine

Kacey Musgraves says that the album’s lead song, Cardinal, was inspired by the late country music legend, who passed away in April 2020 from complications related to COVID-19. She writes, “When cardinals appear, angels are near,” in the zine available for purchase with her new record, Deeper Well, which is out now.

“Unexplainable things started happening, and cardinals started showing up on my doorstep soon after my good friend and mentor passed, John Prine,” Musgraves states in the magazine. “Cardinals have always held a special place in his heart, and he believed they were messengers from the afterlife. Without a doubt, he inspired this song.”

“I saw a sign / Or an omen / On the branches / In the mornin’ / It was right after I lost a friend / Without warning / Words unsaid / Scarlet red / Cardinal / Are you bringin’ me a message from the other side / Cardinal / Are you tellin’ me I’m on somebody’s mind / Don’t leave me behind,” Musgraves sings on the track.

Before becoming friends and partners with Prine after she achieved prominence in Nashville, Musgraves had been a lifelong fan of the singer. She sang his classics “Illegal Smile” and “Paradise” with Prine on his 2015 Cayamo: A Journey Through Song cruise. In 2017, they got back together to perform his iconic “Angel from Montgomery” at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. “No one else has influenced my songwriting more than John Prine. After his death four years ago, Musgraves gave PEOPLE an exclusive statement describing himself as the “king of turning phrase but keeping it simple.”

Musgrave said about Prine, “They say you never should meet your heroes, but he was the most genuine person you will ever meet.” At the time, Musgraves added: “There are two times I’ve ever seen my dad cry: my Memaw’s funeral and the time I got to play with John Prine.”

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