John Prine: In Spite of Himself

221 Pages·2015·14.77 MB·English

by  Eddie Huffman

J OH N PR I N E
American Music Series
Peter Blackstock and David Menconi, Editors
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JOHN
PR i n e
In Spite of
Him<elf
c
EDDIE HU FFMAN
University of Texas Press
AUSTIN
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Cop yright © 2015 by Eddie Huffman
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2015
Requests for permission to reproduce material
from this work should be sent to:
Permissions
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713-7819
http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/rp-form
The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Design by Lindsay Starr
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Huffman, Eddie, author.
John Prine : in spite of himself / Eddie Huffman. — First edition.
pages cm — (American music series)
Includes bibliographical references and discography.
ISBN 978-0-292-74822-4 (cloth : alk. paper) —
1. Prine, John. 2. Composers—United States—Biography.
3. Folk musicians—United States—Biography. I. Title.
II. Series: American music series (Austin, Tex.)
ML410.P846H84 2015
782.42164092—dc23 2014031677
[B]
Frontispiece: Photograph of John Prine by Michael Wilson.
doi:10.7560/748224
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Content<
c
Introduction
1
1. Special Delivery 13
2. Thursday’s Child 19
3. Call of Duty 29
4. Open-Mike Night 39
5. In the King’s Footsteps 53
6. Singers and Songwriters 65
Interlude: Talking New Bob Dylan 81
7. Scattered, Smothered, and Covered 85
8. Tangled Up in Blue 93
9. Seeking Asylum 103
10. Oh Boy 121
11. Tunnel of Love 137
12. Into the Great Wide Open 151
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13. A Close Shave 165
14. Your Flag Decal Still Won’t Get You into Heaven 179
15. Next to the Last True Romantic 189
Acknowledgments
199
Select Discography
203
Select Bibliography
207
vi c John Prine
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J OH N PR I N E
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Introduction
c
Stephen Colbert wasn’t a pompous, reactionary moron, but he played
one on TV. On this episode of the long-running Comedy Central show
The Colbert Report, he struggled to maintain his trademark insincerity.
The star, trim and youthful as he pushed fi fty, was still months away
from being tapped to replace David Letterman as host of The Late Show.
He had just made his nightly glory-hog jog across The Colbert Report
set and taken a seat next to his guest. He couldn’t contain his enthusi-
asm. “I’m an enormous fan, an enormous fan,” the host said. Colbert
was born in 1964, the last year of the Baby Boom. His guest was born at
the front end, in 1946.
Now it was 2013, and John Prine had grown corpulent in his golden
years, his once-luxuriant mane of black hair a distant memory, its rem-
nants gray and receding. His head tilted at an odd angle, as if its weight
were a bit much for his neck. With his round face and gray mustache,
Prine had started to resemble Wilford Brimley, the veteran character
actor best known in recent years as the TV pitchman who talks about
his “diabeetus.” Colbert’s guest had had dramatic health problems of his
own, but lived to tell the tale. The host introduced him as “a Grammy
Award–winning singer-songwriter,” “a folksinger’s folksinger,” and a
“songwriter’s songwriter.” He also noted that Prine started his profes-
sional career delivering mail. “Were you a mailman’s mailman?” Colbert
asked. “Were you the kind of mailman that other mailmen wanted to get
their mail from?”
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