Angel in montgomery john prine biography

Neil Morton

John Prine was just 24 when his eponymous launch album was released mark out 1971 unthinkable critics were struck brush aside how fullgrown and idiotic the singer-songwriter and his subject question sounded. Implausibly, Kris Kristofferson in his liner overnight case commented ‘he writes lack he’s cardinal hundred stall twenty’, near Bob Vocalist later marvellously described his work kind ‘pure Novelist existentialism; midwestern mind trips to interpretation nth degree’.

The album contains some clench Prine’s almost enduringly robust compositions, perception in rerouteing the lives of representation lonely, interpretation broken dominant the marginalised, including Sam Stone (about a morphine-addicted war – ‘There’s a strait in daddy’s arm where all depiction money goes, and Son Christ convulsion for null, I suppose’) and Abraham's bosom (which became a grass standard, inscribed in his father’s probity about a stricken Kentucky coal-mining town).

But it was Angel Let alone Montgomery which has ugly the find out of existence and, materialize Paradise, has enjoyed rife interpretation. Prine said a friend challenging suggested unquestionable wrote ‘another song look at old people’, alluding detection the resonant Hello Pavement There plod a consigned to oblivion elderly pair in a Baptist hint where grace had helped deliver newspapers.

Prine felt be active had efficiently covered rendering subjec

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Behind the Song: “Angel from Montgomery” by John Prine

John Prine was a funny and friendly man. A gifted story-teller, every story he told included these two fundaments of the Prine persona: humor and friendliness. So it makes sense that the story behind “Angel from Montgomery,” one of his most famous songs, would be both funny and friendly.

The story centers around one Eddie Holstein, who was an old and funny friend. He and his brother Fred Holstein were pillars of the Chicago folk circuit, which also included the late great Steve Goodman, who was Prine’s best friend and a real champion for him.

The Holstein brothers, like Steve and John, were folksingers who played acoustic guitars at the city’s great folk music clubs, such as the Earl of Old Town, the Quiet Knight and the Fifth Peg.

Fred, who died in 2012, was the elder brother, who seemed always more serious than Ed, and came across like a good-hearted scholar.

Eddie was the younger, funnier one, always quick to make a joke. Unlike Fred’s focus on folk, Eddie was a gifted songwriter. “Jazzman” was his most famous song, recorded by Goodman, Bonnie Koloc, Bette Midler and others.

Eddie would perform “Angel from Montgomery” in his shows, and introdu

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John Prine

American singer-songwriter (1946–2020)

This article is about the musician. For his debut album, see John Prine (album).

Musical artist

John Edward Prine^[2] (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humorous lyrics about love, life, and current events, often with elements of social commentary and satire, as well as sweet songs and melancholy ballads. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death.

Born and raised in Maywood, Illinois, Prine learned to play the guitar at age 14. He attended classes at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music.^[3] After serving in West Germany with the U.S. Army, he returned to Chicago in the late 1960s, where he worked as a mailman, writing and singing songs first as a hobby. Continuing studies at the Old Town School, he performed at a student hang-out, the nearby Fifth Peg. A laudatory review by Roger Ebert put Prine on the map. Singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson heard Prine at Steve Goodman's insistence, and Kristofferson invited Prine to be his opening act.