Series

Prine on Prine
Prine on Prine ›
By Holly Gleason

PDF, EPUB, Trade Paper

Published Sep 2023

"As close to an autobiography as we’re going to get from John Prine, Prine on Prine captures the inimitable, whimsical voice of one of our greatest songwriters . . . Nashville legend Holly Gleason knew the man and assembled this brilliant collection with a knowing eye and loving heart." —Joel Selvin, author of Fare Thee Well: The Final Chapter of the Grateful Dead's Long, Strange Trip and other books

Curated by a critic who knew him across five decades, Prine on Prine distills the essence of an iconic American songwriter: unguarded, unfiltered and real. In his own words, in his own time—on the road, in the kitchen, the Library of Congress, radio shows, movie scripts, and beyond.
 
John Prine hated giving interviews, but he said much when he talked. Embarrassed by fame, delighted by the smallest things, the first songwriter to read at the Library of Congress, and winner of the Pen Award for Literary Excellence, Prine saw the world unlike anyone else.
 
The songs from 1971’s John Prine remain spot-on takes of the human condition today, and his writing only got richer, funnier, and more incisive. The interviews in Prine on Prine trace his career evolution, his singular mind, his enduring awareness of social issues, and his acute love of life, from Studs Terkel’s radio interviews from the early ’70s to Mike Leonard’s Today Show packages from the ’80s, Cameron Crowe's early encounter to Ronni Lundy's Shuck Beans, Stack Cake cookbook, and Hot Rod magazine to No Depression’s cover story, through today.
 
Editor Holly Gleason enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Prine and his longtime co-manager, and she often traveled with him on tours in the late 1980s and represented him in the 2000s.
 

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Musicians in Their Own Words

Including newly transcribed interviews from radio and TV shows, long out-of-print interviews collected from obscure magazines, and, of course, famous interviews from the pages of major magazines and newspapers, the books in the Musicians in Their Own Words series are a dazzling showcase for the thoughts and theories and observations of some of the most beloved entertainers of our time. Ranging from simple question-and-answer sessions to multilevel descriptions of the performer and complicated conversations with preeminent journalists, they are arranged in chronological order, often amounting to a kind of autobiography. In many cases, these books bring readers as close as they can get to the artist’s own story, told in his or her own words. Whether you’re a fan of jazz giants, warmhearted troubadours, rock legends, or artists that all but defy categorization, these outstanding collections give readers an unrivaled glimpse behind the microphone.