Name: John Olsen, Norway My first meeting with John Prine´s music was on the Norwegian Television NRK. A Concert from London, many years ago. The day after I was a happy owner of my first John Prine CD. I just love The text processing, The music and The Man John Prine!!! Name: LEMESA DAVIES- DALTON,GA. WELL, IT HAPPENED, NOT ONLY DID I MEET JOHN PRINE BUT I KISSED HIS CHEEK AND STOLE HIS BEER RIGHT OUT OF HIS HAND.( NOW I HAVE HIS COLD I THINK, ALTHOUGH I'M STILL BEAMING. THIS WAS IN NEW ORLEANS AT THE DECEMBER 7TH SHOW. I RAN INTO A NICE GUY I HAD MEET AT A PRINE SHOW IN ATHENS, GA. HE TRYED TO GET ME BACK STAGE THEN BUT COULDN'T. HE REMEMBERED ME FROM ATHENS AND TRYED TO GET ME BACK AGAIN. JOHN HAD A COLD SO THEY WERE ONLY LETTING TWO BACK PER PASS, THEN WHO SHOULD COME TO MY RESCUE BUT DAVE JACQUES, THE ANGEL HIMSELF. JOHN WAS AS NICE AS I EVER IMAGINED HE'D BE. JASON,DAVE,AND JOHN SIGNED MY SHIRT. JOHN'S MANAGER SIGNED MY CHEST. DREAM COME TRUE. DAVE JACQUES EVEN LET ME BUY HIM A DRINK. CAN YOU IMAGINE NEW ORLEANS WITH SUCH A TALENTED HANSOME ESCOURT. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT SHOW, HOPEFULLY THEY'LL REMEMBER ME. I'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER THOSE WONDERFUL,ECITING FEW HOURS. SEE DAVE, I DID NOT HAVE TO MANY HURRICANES!!!!! LOVE TO ALL! LEMESA I've been a Prine Fan for: 6-10 yrs Favorite Album: Souvenirs, Live On Tour, Lost Dogs, German Afternoons Name: Dani Norwood I am seventeen years old, and I grew up listening to John Prine. When I was a little(er) girl, my daddy used to play the guitar to get me to go to sleep. He usually didn't sing, just played until I got tired. One night, however, (I was maybe six years old), he sang to me-"Paradise." I was so moved that I wanted to cry. I didn't understand at that point that music had the power to do that. Since then, I've acquired my own John Prine collection, consisting primarily of my daddy's old vinyl records. And you know? Those songs still move me. Whenever I hear the sweet a capella "Diamonds in the Rough" or the nostalgia-inspiring "Souvenirs," I am reminded that this is what makes me write poems, this is the reason that music can change the world--because it can touch your heart. Name: Frank Mroz Convocation Hall T.O. - I've seen John lots of times in T.O. especially the concerts at Ontario Place before it turned into the monstrosity it now is... revolving stage dope smoking on the grounds that surrounded... anyway, this time at UofT Steve opened for him and was awesome... John came on but was obviously intoxicated and was having trouble performing... now this, to me, wasn't a bad thing cuz he TALKED - a lot - and historically at Ontario Place anyway, he'd hardly say anything.... stories weaved by words, John was on another planet for this evening, which to some sucked, but to me was a revelation... Steve had to come on stage and help out with lyrics about 2 songs in, and again, something special was happening that might have otherwise not happened. A very fond memory indeed. Name: Curt Mayfield , MN, USA I'm a little new to the www but i've been a fan of JP for close to 10 yrs. ever since I saw him on Austin City Limits. Great grooves, sound and lyrical images. One of the BEST songwriters of all time. I'll be blowin' up my TV, throwin' away my papers,goin'to the country, buildin' a home, plantin' a little garden,eatin' a lot of peaches, and tryin' to find Jesus on my own. Name: Ima Prinefan I just love ol Johnny! Nice guy, great music.... how'd he get inside my head and find all those thoughts for those songs he sings. Keep on keepin' on John! I'm a fan for life! Name: Dave Evans, Shropshire Hi all you John Prine fans. What a songwriter, what a fantastic singer, total heart and real soul. To papraphrase True Grit You're a Real Man, John! My one regret is not having seen John live yet. I had tickets for the Cambridge Folk Festival the year he broke his elbow feeding the birds and this time round all the tickets had gone by the time I applied. Be great if JP could tour somewhere more accesible next time he comes to the UK - Birmingham, Manchester, London, whatever - I'll make it next time! For anyone interested my Prime Prine tracks are Hello In There, Six O'Clock News and Lake Marie. Let me know yours. Cheers from England, Dave Evans Name: John Beck Bowdon, GA I had a friend introduce me to John Prine's music several years ago and his music has completly changed my life. Since the first time I heard Sam Stone, Everybody, and Spanish Pipedream I've been hooked. His way of putting lyrics together inspired me to write myself. I spent alot of lonely nights driving a taxi around town humming a John Prine tune. I've seen John twice in the past year, in Macon, Ga. and Athens, Ga. The show in Macon was the first time I had seen the lyrical master and I was blown away by his stage presence. The show in Athens was even better. I didn't have tickets, but me and a friend drove up to Athens anyway. As soon as I got in the ticket line some couple came up to us and sold us two tickets for the fourth row center stage. John came out on stage an just blew us away. Since I have all of his music and know all the words to each song I didn't hold back any and just sang along with him. It seemed like he kept looking down at me and my friend and tried to play a song that we didn't know, but he was never able to accomplish that. He went totally off of his song list and played for nearly three hours. That show in Athens was perfect and I can't wait to see the Norman Rockwell of music again sometime soon. Name: carol in manitowoc, wisconsin I'm not going to tell a story here but as I was reading through this page I saw that John's mom had died recently. If John reads this I offer my condolences. It's sad when someone who's always been there isn't anymore. Last JP concert I went to was in MN in August. Wonderful show as usual. Although I listen to John's music anytime, anywhere, when I get stressed out or am feeling down his music sems to give me a better perspective, like everything is OK. Thanks , Carol Name: bill hardman, RI concert in northhamton, mass w/ heather eatman was terrific!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you john---first started listening to you about 73-74. please come to new englad again real soon. (the venue---the .....something theatre was great---old fashion-engineered acoustics, sorry the name escapes me, but none out of one ain't bad for my age. Thanks, bill Name: Tim Krahulec - CA You mentioned Skips Fiesta Drive In,I heard many stories about the place from my girlfriends father in the late 70's who also attended Proviso East H.S. about racing on North Avenue when the police would change shifts. Anyway I was there when they tore Skips down, I would stop at Skips from time to time when I attended Triton College in the early 80's and would try to visulize what it was like in it's hey day. Name: Staci Wendt--currently Portland, OR The year I got married (1999)was the year that I discovered John. Wow. We saw him at the Fleadh Festival in Chicago on the second stage--we knew something magical was about to happen because of the buzz in the air. It was the most incredible musical moment I've ever experienced. Since then, I have seen him two more times--the last of which I actually got to meet him and found out that his ex is from my hometown of Atlantic, Iowa, and that my mom used to buy records from the family. It's been a year now, though, and I am seriously having withdrawals--John, are you ever coming back to Portland? We would love to have you!! Name: CHRIS RICHARDS, SOUTH CAROLINA Hello Mr. Prine, I opened for you twice at a small club in Columbia,S.C. called GREENSTREETS. It was a Monday night before the Tuesday night show and you and your bodyguard and I played pool until about 3:30 in the morning. We talked about music, and you signed a cassette tape of mine. I finally drove you and your buddy back to the hotel, The Radison. We both played exceptionally well on those two Tuesday nights. I have been playing and writing for a while, about 30 years. You have always been a great inspiration to me and all my musical buddies. Hope you remember a few moments in Columbia, S.C. I am glad to have known you John Prine, and got to play a few hours of pool! CHRIS RICHARDS http://www.chrisrichardsband.com Name: rob nickel   BC Canada. First heard JP way back in the late 70's when a long since dearly departed friend of mine played "Dear Abbey", for me. Went out and bought his first and every one of his albums since. Great stuff Mr.Prine and I thank you for all the fine memmories and good times. Some of those earlier songs of your's bring back friends lost so many years ago as though they'd never left at all, and I've yet to find any drup capable of the same. Name: Mike Gubbins 14 Woodway Crescent Harrow Middlesex England HA12NQ John and my brother Pat were letter carriers together back in Westchester. My brother and I had a 66 GTO, burgandy with a black landau top.I had been away at college for two years and had hair down to the middle of my back, my girlfriend had hair down to her waste. We went zoomin down Norfolk Ave past John and beeped the horn as we passed while he was delivering the post. Later that day John saw my brother back at the Westchester Post office and said, " Hey Pat who were the 2 broads driving your GTO ?" Pat said "John, that's my brother Mike and his girlfriend." John said th F..K long is his hair! Name: Guy Santillo, Elmwood Park, IL Well I don't think John will read this but I just want to say how inspiring his songs are and how much of an influence he is in my life. I have been a fan for many years (I started as a young kid). I live in the next town over that John used to live in in Il. when he was delivering mail. His music is always on my radio in the car and at home. John, if you do read this, I just want to say thank you for all the music you have put out over the years. You were my inspiration for learning to play guitar. Name: Forbidden Tommy - IL Gonna see John in two days at Orchestra Hall, of all places. Been a devotee since Champaign in the mid-70s. Owe it all to a roommate that turned me on to Prine by playing "Saddle in the Rain". A lot. Noodle, if you're out there, Thanks a load, man. Still trying to find "afterneath" in the dictionary. Name: john monaghan, Ireland By: John Monaghan  Everybody writes great reviews about John Prine's concerts, and they say all the things I would say, except that he is even better than that! Brilliant set of songs, John referred to "The Other Side of Town" by saying that he will have it out on album as soon as he has written 9 more to go along with it. I don't know if I can hold out that long. Every J.P. concert I have been to was better than the last, and he really makes you feel as though you are his personal friend. I had the honour of meeting him after the show, and it nearly killed me to remain composed and natural in this great man's presence. He was every bit as charming and friendly and modest as he is on stage, as were his fellow musicians Jason Wilber and Dave Jacques, with whom we spent a while in the bar back at the hotel. Thanks to all of you for the pleasure you spread. (And thanks Annette for arranging the backstage pass!) Name: STAN KOZLOWSKI     DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA I FIRST HEARD JOHN PRINE BACK IN THE CHRISTMAS OF 1980, MY THEN GIRLFRIEND'S UNCLE WHO WAS WORKING IN ALASKA CAME HOME WITH THE BEST OF JOHN PRINE CASSETTE. WELL WE BASICALLY WORE IT OUT. IT WAS A REAL SPECIAL TIME IN MY LIFE AND SINCE THEN I HAVE COLLECTED AS MANY ALBUMS AS I COULD LAY MY HANDS ON. JOHN IS A BIG HIT WITH ALL MY FAMILY INCLUDING MY FOLKS WHO ARE NOW IN THEIR MID SIXTIES TO MY OWN CHILDREN THE YOUNGEST OF WHICH IS SIXTEEN. JOHN PRINE 'YOU BEAUTY YOU' AS WE SAY IN OUR PART OF THE WORLD. YOU HAVE HAVE BROUGHT US SO MUCH FUN,LAUGHTER AND JOY, AND ALTHOUGH YOU ARE NOT WELL KNOWN IN SA WE ONLY HAVE TO PLAY A SINGLE TRACK OF YOURS TO NEW FRIENDS - WHAMMO - INSTANT FANS. GOOD LUCK FOR THE FUTURE AND SINCERE THANKS FOR THE PAST. MY FAVOURITE TRACK IS PLEASE DON'T BURY ME. I ALSO ENJOY JACKSON BROWNE AND IT'S NO WONDER OUR FAVOURITE - THE HOBO SONG - HAD JOHN PERFORMING WITH JACKSON. Name: Ruben Delgado - Lazio, Italy Ok, so I am working in a hostel in Rome, Italy that is. So I meet this guy who recognized some music that I was playing and we started talking about some meaninglful tunes. The next thing that I ask him is if he has ever heard of John Prine. He said that he actually is the nanny for John, and that he was just visiting him in Ireland. Goddamn, how did I run into this kid? So the next thing that I realize I am playing a bunch of Prine tunes that I downlaoded of the internet by John. The guys name is Nick Bishop and he is passing through Italy. Good to meet you Nick, and I hope I get to see John in Boise. I will be living in Seattle and I will definitely make the trip. Ciào, Ruben Delgado Name: JOEL GOOVERT - STERLING HEIGHTS MICHIGAN JOHN PRINE IS A LEGEND OF HIS OWN TIME THAT ALMOST EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT. HE HIMSELF IS ONE OF A KIND, SPECIAL IN LOTS OF WAYS, HIS WRITING AND INSTRUMENTS, MR PRINE IS KNOWN ALLOVER THE WORLD . AND HIGHLY RESPECTED IN THE MUSIC SOCIETY. WITH THE UPCOMING MOVIE AND NEW ALBUM/C.D. MR PRINE WILL BE COME TO MICHIGAN FOR THE 13TH AND 14TH ONE OF THE REQUEST THAT I HAVE RECEIVED WAS MR PRINE TO SHOW UP/REGISTER TO PLAY AT THE FREEDOM HILL IN STERLING HEIGHTS. Name: Stephen James Crothers Esq. - Pilot Point, Texas, USA Dear John, Since about 1974, you've been a big part of my life & I Thank You!!! Please come back to Dallas some time soon!!! Love, Stephen James Crothers Esq. Pilot Point, Texas, USA Name: Lemesa Davies         Dalton, GA. I was introduced to john's music several years ago by a much older pot-head friend. I have really fallen in love, not only with the music but sometimes I think with the man, who exposes his heart to us. MY FAVORITES ARE MEXICAN HOME, FAR FROM ME, AND UNWED Fathers. I think John must have a beautifully pure heart. I hope to meet him one day maybe in New Orleans in September. I've been to several of his shows, he winked at me once, but I won't be content till I sake his talented hands. For now .... Name: Rosenkrans family of MO Our family attended a John Prine/Iris Dement show in Sept. at the Hammons Center on the SMS campus in Springfield, MO. Great Show!! He sang several of our 9 year old daughter's favorites that he doesn't always get to perform. She was delighted! We enjoyed the duets with Iris Dement very much also. Name: Paul Hannah - canada I have no idea when I first heard john Prine but He was just a soldier on his way to Montreal and I was just a Lanark County product who had to taste it all!! I do not know if this the proper venue but I want to Thank John for the songs. No one compares!! Name: Prairieprospector - Saskatchewan Canada When I brought up Johns name with my much younger roomate he laughted. "Who the hell is John Prine?" he stated. I replied, "sit down and listen." Then after hearing his tunes he was the first one to call me and say "John Prine is coming to Sask place lets go." I could not believe John is coming to saskatchewan. I say "Who the heck is Elton John?" Name: Alicia Rotel - Fort London, OH I'm sorry to say, I've only recently come to know John's brilliant work. I first fell in love with the Great Days anthology, and have since gathered cd's and songs on-line. It never ceases to amaze me, the simplicity and pure truth woven into his lyrics and chord progressions. I keep his music playing almost 24-7...and can't get enough! Thanks to my dearest "Angel from Montgomery" for introducing me to JP's incredible body of work, and thanks to John for being such a blessing to the world of music! Name: brundith Merseyside Eng I first heard John Prine singing Sam Stone when I was about 16 in the early seventies. There was a club called the Remploy as it was situated above a workshop that employed people with learning disabilities. The club and workshop are both closed now, but his songs have accompanied me through good times and bad times. Wish you all the best Name: Lynne -Essex As per my previous letter. Got the tickets for Cambridge Festival- I also got a trapped nerve in my spine and some very aggressive form of gastro enteritis. Logging onto a web cam was not the same. I will catch up with John again some day -here's hoping. Of course to add insult to injury I missed Iris Dement! Name: Rosa - Edinburgh (Scotland) I'm 12 now and I've been a fan of John Prine since I was about 8. My dad has been a fan since he was 13. He is now 44. Between the two of us we have 16 of his albums. I recently went to see him playing here and he is still an amazing performer. What I most like about his songs is the deceptively beautiful lyrics and the fact that days after a concert, you are still singing them and enjoying the pure poetry in the words. I met him annd Iris Dement backstage after one concert and, though they were rushing for a plane, they still had time to say hello to an unknown fan. These are some of the things that make his music special to me and I think I'll be singing 'Sam Stone' and 'Paradise' for months to come. Thankyou John, you are a performer who can lift the spirits of anyone and make a middle aged crowd rush the stage. You are something special. Name:  Patti  - IOWA   My brother came home from college in the 70's singing this crazy song about rug burns on elbows & knees, it was, of course, Iron Ore Betty. I was in high school. First time I heard of John Prine. I felt John Prine was an immediate "kindred spirit." I was drawn to his clever words, his intelligence, his humor, his passion. I can't remember the exact year, because most of the 70's was a blur to me, but the first time I saw John Prine, he was with his dear friend Steve Goodman. I loved Steve Goodman almost as much as John. I know every word to just about every song John has ever recorded. I have seen him in concert not only with the dearly departed Steve Goodman, but with the likes of Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, Todd Snider, Keith Sykes just to name a few. John is like a family member to us. He feels like our family. My parents, both of my brothers, my daughter, my oldest son, are all devoted Prine fans. My brother & I used to buy our 45's from the Peer Music Shop in Atlantic IA, where Rachel Peer worked for her father. We were delighted to think we "knew" John's wife (now ex) for a time. Prine's music is ingrained in our family's history, it is a common thread that brings us closer together. We appreciate his talent and his taste. I am not really sure how many times I have seen him in concert. Every single Iowa appearance in the last 30 years, plus various out of state appearances. I have turned so many people on to Prine, young & old alike, and it gives me a warm fuzzy to see my kids doing the same thing with their friends. I am a true fan of THE MAN. Next concert: 8/24/02 in Minneapolis! -PP David Santillanes Albuquerque NM June 29, 2002 The first time I heard John Prine was when I was about 13(1973) years old, my brother had borrowed the album "Bruised Orange" from his best friend. I had never heard anything like it, I was hooked from that day on. I bought every album he had out. I finally got to see him "Live" in Taos NM. He was playing 2 nights at the "Cabaret Room". I drove about 6 hours on the day of the first show, i found the place he was playing at and bought tickets(8.00 each) for both shows. I sat right in front of the stage both nights and enjoyed the best music I have ever heard, I have seen John 4 more times at shows at Santa Fe and Albuquerque. At all the shows he played his heart out. I feel so lucky to have been part special occasion in my life, THANK YOU GOD FOR GIVING US JOHN PRINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ben - Delavan, Wi No particular story - same old thing, listening since '71. John comes to the Milwaukee area frequently enough that I've seen him several times over the past few years (most recently in Rockford, Il.). The shows are consistantly great, and it seems that his voice is getting stronger. My wife and friends have been dragged to enough of these, so I took my daughter (17) to the last one - she can't help but be familiar with the music! - and she loved it. My Prine tapes make the 45 minute commute much more enjoyable. Keep on rockin, John! jim michalski/jim_michalski@zatz.com having spent the majority of my late teens and onward following the grateful dead, i had never heard fo john. then i moved to florida to pursue a young woman, as any man would do. thru her and a job i met someone who would go onto become one of my best buddies(jeff deal in case he is reading ) one nite in a drunken gf/wife fighting kinda mood we picked up our guitars, and jeff taught me the chords to the song he was playing. i thought based on the lyrics, it was the most beautiful song i had ever heard...jeff said it was called souveneirs and was played by some cat named john prine. well the nite went on and on, i learned speed of the sound of loneliness along with several others that have escaped my brain, and the rest is history. that was 1996, after moving back to nj when my relationship disintegrated, i finallty got the oppurunity to see john last year. took the girl i was chasing at the time, who fell in love with john. she spent the next few nites singing bottomless lake..:). it turned out in the long run tho, that again i was the victim of the great compromise....and again john helped me thru with such witty tunes and great outlook. so if mr prine is reading, thank you so much ...and if jeff is out there...dood thanks for making my life a little fuller and richer with these great tunes.. Name: Lynne- Essex UK   John was not able to play the Cambridge festival this year so we have not seen him . We were told by friends to go see last year at the Corn Exchange Cambridge. This was our first time. Blown away. needless to say I play him all the time. Where has he been all my life. We were in the US in September and just missed him in Vermont as we had to return home.   Best wishes to all JP fans and special thoughts go to US fans Lynne Name:  Ken Hranek - Phx Ariz   The first John Prine song I ever herd was paradise on John Denver's Rocky Mountain High album (didn't know it was a Prine song for several years) and hadn't herd the last verse. My brother became a local musician and started doing it with the last verse and it changed the meaning of the song for me. I now own most of his albums and all of the CD's. I am looking forward to seeing his show next week (11/9/01). I've never met this man but feel like he has lived next door to me for years. THANKS JOHN!!!!!!!!!! Name: Mark Welsh Berlin NJ   Been listening to John Prine since'76. At first, I thought all his music sounded the same and I hated it. I was a music snob then and thought complexity equaled virtuosity. WRONG. I was hooked after Bruised Orange totally. I am 48 now started listening around 24. My wife and I know more Prine songs than we can remember the words to, at this point. We spent many a night in small bars singing Prine tunes with odd harmonies that suited S. Jersey sensibilities. We hardly had to pay for a beer after the first few numbers. We'd just sit at the bar and start singing and it was closing time before we knew it. Most of the folks had never heard of Prine and they didn't always get his lyrics, but they got his message. At 48 I'll still be driving along and a line will pop into my head that I will get all of a sudden and I'll smile. I think what I like best about his songs is their commonness. I really feel and think most of the stuff he writes about and in the same way he thinks about it too. It's not like I need his identity to have one, I just know what he means mostly because I 've seen it too. I only have seen him once at a small festival and he was fine. I really don't want to know too much about him in case he is a total ass and I'll not like his stuff so much anymore. Right now he's a slice of real life and real humor for me and I'd like to keep it that way. If I could invite him to dinner, I would, and I'd bet he come. Afterwards we would play some tunes ,I'd run a few of my own by him for fun. My kids are into serious urban rap at 13 and 15 years, yet they were raised on Prine and still love the hell out of him. Their peers just shake their heads and wonder but my kids get Prine too. So if anyone actually knows Prine and thinks he'd like to meet the family and pick some tunes and have some amazing food, have him contact me at Onnawa @AOL.com. I know it will never be, but it would make my kids day and I'd get a kick out of it too. My wife Jean ,is a big fan too. We keep singing. Name: rob nickel  Langley bc Canada Been in to JP for more years now than I care to remember, and hope to be blessed by his stuff for many more to come? Saw him live only once way back in the 80's sometime, at the Bird's Hill folk festival outside of Winnipeg MB. Canada and what a show it was! Took a friend just recently turned on to JP and she loved it to. How could anybody not like John Prine? With his beautiful lyrics and genius at turning a phrase there's no one like him now that The Band seem's to have gone. God bless you JP! Name:  Clint Davis - Murfreesboro Tennessee I have no great John Prine stories, I am 23 and have never really been exposed to him, but from what I understand he is a very respectable man, and I have a very special request. It was discovered three weeks ago that my father, Bill has a brain tumor (he is 47 years old). At first we thought it might be a cyst, but as it turns out it is a high rate glioma (a fast growing cancer). Things are not looking very promising at the moment. My father is a great man and I would give anything to see him better, but trying to give him a few moments of happiness is the best that my family can do. John Prine is his favorite singer/songwriter, he talks about him all the time and I was hoping that he might consider meeting my father. I understand that he is probably a very busy man, but if it is at all possible, I was hoping he could fulfill this request. Thank You Clint ledbellyhead@aol.com Name: leo troup......Aberdeen Scotland   At 19 i must be one of johns youngest fans but i must say ever since been introduced to his music in 1993 i can now say i know the true meanig of lyrics in music i can only regret not being able to apprieicate john earlier. i first say john in 1999 at glasgow house and was truely blown away. my best songs are space monkey, sam stone. cant wait till 02/08 edinburgh Name: GARY LEICESTER UK HELLO ALL PRINERS AND THE MAN HIMSELF< Like a big old idiot I trekked back from France Earlier this year to see him play in Cambridge and when I got there the cupboard was bare ha ha! except a load of Guinness and lots of Prine songs in the air WOW Blackgutrot for 3 days!!! anyway I was disappointed to say the least and I thought some drunk accordion player was winding me up when he said john had broke his elbow so we changed a few words here and there. for please don't bury me and have started singing my own verses as well as JOHNS (there better) to THAT'S THE WAY THE WORLD GOES ROUND Thanks alot just thought id let you all know Touch wood gonna get to Geordie Land and see the Living Legend (do you think he will sign my guitar?) In DECEMBER YIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEE Name:  Rolf Holowenko, Berlin, Germany, www.psydeco.de   First time I heard John Prine, was when my father bought his 1st car. From that moment on, I was, hmm hmm, 11 maybe, every time we drove, Papa heard The Missing Years... Now I'm older, and I have my own car, but boy, I still hear the Missing Years every time I ride it !!!   (And the story goes on: I became a musician - maybe because of John! - And John really came to Germany for a few concerts, so I had the chance to meet my STAR in person! Ohhhh... that was something SPECIAL !!!!)   Greetings from Germany, and, John: come back, please! Rolf, www.psydeco.de Name:  John Basile //  Vermon   This past year in Galway, Ireland, I worked in a record shop with a lad whose father, he said, was good friends with John Prine. I realized JP was around Galway, and had no reason to doubt him. Donal would regularly amaze me with his stories of how John was over at their place the evening before, or how John might be dropping into the shop that day. Eventually, he told me, I would meet him. Eventually I did, on what was the most outstanding night of my brilliant one-year's stay. I was invited to the 50th birthday party of my co-worker's father, happening just three doors down from my flat, and JP would be there. Hell, I'd drop in. Prine was among a host of celebrated Irish musicians who packed into the old Hogans, which used to be a cozy Irish pub and is now just a perfect hard-wood-floor-and-great-big-hearth living room for a party. The session did not START until 1am, but no one seemed to be watching the clock. Prine's celebrity status went surreally unnoticed as he wound through his and our favorites and played along with the roomful of other musicians. At one point I got up to use the toilet (which happens often when there's a keg of Guinness in the house), and returned to Mr. Prine sitting in my chair. I let it slide. Thank you for everything, John Prine. It was a pleasure meeting you. basileman@hotmail.com Name:   I was raised with John Prine. My dad quoted his words daily. Every day I thank my lucky stars I am able to know the music and the man. I met John when I was very young. We were at Strawberry music Festival in CA. He was out wandering the campsites with his guitar and happened to stop at our fire. John and my family jammed into the wee hours. I remember falling asleep to Sunday morning siwalks. I have two small children 8 mo. and 2 years, and they will grow up with the philosophies of john prine in there lives. I met a man named Todd Snider a few days ago who had so much resemblance I loved seeing someone who can take on the realities of life and make them into beautiful melodies. I thank you John for relaying your stories to the world. You have been an inspiration to so many! Name: Mairtin Sean O'Caiside, Lurgan, Nr. Belfast, Northern Ireland   Way back in 1972, I bought the album "John Prine" after being blow away by a track played on the radio. I then spent the next 28 years raving about John to friends and anyone else who would listen and then say "John Who? never heard of him". I spent many years living abroad and returned to Ireland nearly two years ago. On Saturday 8th December 2001, I finally achieved my lifetime ambition and caught John in concert at Belfast Waterfront Hall. Yes John, I was the guy in the upper terrace, block T, row 6, seat 7, who was trying to outsing you in every song you played!!)   Thank you John for giving me so much pleasure. I can now go to my God a better man after at long last hearing you perform live. God bless you Mr. Prine!! Name: Gail Adams, Kissimmee, Fla   I have only one really big regret in my life, and that is that I didn't know about John sooner. I heard "In Spite of Ourselves" late one night on a country station in Live Oak, Florida. I searched frantically until I found the album, all the while thinking.."Where have this man and his music been all my life?" After I began listening to his CD's, I realized that he had been here all along. I had learned "Angel From Montgomery" and "Paradise" from a John Denver LP (Gulp! I just dated myself big time) that I had as a teenager(I'm 46) and I had loved those songs ever since. What an added bonus to discover that they were his. I can't believe that I didn't know about him until about May of 2000. Well, I just ordered tickets to see him in Sarasota in April and I watched him on TV tonight for the first time on the Grand Ole Opry. I am truly amazed. I didn't know it was possible for a musician to actually 'play' his heart. Oh, my God, I love it ALL!! Thank you Mr. Prine. Name: John Clarke / Cambridge/ England   Being born and raised in Cambridge I could hardly have missed seeing JP at the Cambridge Folk Festivals of the early 1970's. He played alot with the late and much lamented Steve Goodman. They just seemed to be having a great time getting drunk and enjoying the music. I remember taking a local bus to the festival site at Cherry Hinton. It was full of folk festival fans - a group of them were singing City of New Orleans on the way. Such a great song. I also remember hearing Dear Abbey for the first time and loving it, and knowing the words to Donald and Lydia off by heart before I'd even heard the record. I think its great that JP is being recognised as a great song writer now, and his songs are being recorded by people like Dylan (who really rates JP, and has recorded the wonderful People Putting People Down). What a shame that so much popular music now totally lacks JP's trademark qualities of humanity, humour and tolerance. Long may he last. Name:  mike -McAllen, Texas   Let me begin by saying there are great things happening in Austin, Texas as far as music goes; there are the old greats like Willie Nelson, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Jerry Jeff Walker still buzzing around and their off springs like Pat Green , Robert Earl Keen and Charlie Robinson making this area one of the hottest musical centers in the country now. But nothing can compare to the excitement I felt on Wells Street in Chicago in the early 70's. Being a 53 year old Chicago native, I remember a late Fall night in 1971 at Earl's place in Old Town. I had come there with a friend who was about to go to Vietnam to have a few drinks and see the folk legend ,Eric Anderson. It was a Wednesday night and there was no one in the bar but a couple of out of town businessmen, my friend, myself and a group of local Chicago Folk heroes with a few of their Nashville friends. At Earl's small little bar with its postage sized stage we sat with Bonnie Koloc, Steve Goodman, Ed and Fred Holstien and John Prine To watch an earlier hero of all of us (Eric was from those Greenwich Village Bob Dylan 60's days) sing his heart out to "Thirsty Boots" and "Violets of Dawn". The only draw back were those Nashville cats making all that noise in the corner. It was Doctor Hook and the Medicine Show and all was forgiven when they later crowded with Eric on that little stage and sang the Shel Silverstein song "Carry Me Carry". For one Fall night back in the early seventies I sat with John as we both looked on starry eyed at a mutual Folk hero Name:  ejoemac ill.   picture it Peoria 1998. we were at the Madison enjoying the king of folk. sold out for months I had in my company 12 8th row tickets. the nite went by fast before I knew it I was on my way to the truck in the lot .luceille was there (my guitar) knowing I could get signed by john. standing in line after the show I was talked in to playing a song while he was putting his John Prine Hancock on a young lady's bra I belted out the hobo song in perfect harmony with all the roadies taking down the set he signed my guitar with a big smile said god bless I was on the road home. to this day every Sunday nite that's 172 in a row we do his songs as a homage to the working man so never give up and always follow your heart. Name: Tim Harrington - Miami, Florida   I think it's the onset of mid life crisis. I lost (and/or had stolen) all my old albums over the years - an unfortunately common development, it seems. Still, the internet has brought back a flood of memories - particularly one of seeing John Prine at the Saenger Theatre in Mobile, AL in 1974 (or 1975...perhaps illegal smiling going on at the time?). I can see myself staring down at the stage, as John stood there, took an occasional sip of a brew, and hit me right between the eyes. A strong pull of something real has hit me hard in the last few weeks as I've caught up on Prine poetry. A "crooked piece of time" that is extremely thick with nostalgia and a relation to how my ethics developed. I think I am a very ethical person ...and a lawyer, too. Anyway, I got John Prine pegged as a real American treasure. Hope to get another chance to catch a live show. A good cry is very therapeutic - even if it is for the loss a world where someone like John Prine can be heard. I hope that world is not upon us.         Send in Your Prine Story HERE