John Prine Fans Picture in a Picture Show

...Every time they click their Kodak pics
they steal a little bit of soul

  After 21 years, Persistence pays off for one jumbo fan - 3/27/2004
I also was fortunate enough to meet John after the show, after he'd  finished up with all the friends and family that were upstairs. His road manager was nice enough to let us into the bldg as it was getting pretty cold outside.
 I brought with me to the show a sign I've had for over 20 years. It was from a show in 1983 at the Old Style stage at  Milwaukee's Summer fest on the lakefront. The sign said "John Prine &  Steve Goodman" as JP and Steve played together and it was a great show. After the show I asked one of the roadies tearing down the stage if I could have it. He went over and grabbed it and handed it  to me. I've treasured it ever since.
  I used to live in Milwaukee for many years, and most of my JP memories are from there. I live in Green Bay now and John played here about two years ago at the Weidner Center with Dave and Jason. Todd S. opened. (and closed, like he does, when they do Paradise)., I've long wanted JP to sign it for me but haven't ever had the chance. In fact I think I emailed you a few years back asking if I mailed it to you could you have him sign and return it. You
 politely said you couldn't guarantee that he'd sign it or said it may even get lost or damaged. I got a similar reply from the folks at Oh Boy. So, not wanting to risk losing it, I didn't mail it. And I  never took it to the many shows of John's that I'd seen for fear of it getting stolen, damaged, etc.
 UNTIL MARCH 27th, that is. :>)
 I'm a big fan of Steve Palec and his Sunday morning Rock n Roll Roots show on WKLH in Milw. I also know he's a HUGE JP fan, as he's featured him alot on the show. A few weeks before the 3/27 show, I
 emailed Steve and asked if he could somehow help me with having JP autograph my sign. He then connected me with the show's promoter, Peter Jest, from the Alternative Concert Group. Peter said he'd take care of it.
  So with Steve and Peter's help (this is getting long, sorry) I got into the bldg and met John afterwards. Along with Dave and Jason, too. John was very gracious and seemed kinda tickled by the sign. We  chatted briefly then I had my wife take a pic of he & I with the sign, showing his autograph. The sign's nothing fancy; just an old pressboard, cardboardy kind thing that's faded and aged. But its sentimental value to me is beyond anything I can describe.  ~Jumbo

Tupelo, MS 10/10/2003 - 1st Annual Tupelo John Prine Birthday Party
  Carl Kellum~president, sister-in-law~vice pres., and niece~mascot. Notice the shirts and the cake. We listened to JP CD's, watched the DVD and talked about the 13 times that Carl has seen Prine over 30 years. Carl is giving his office the 2nd Annual John Prine Birthday Party next year for his birthday - It is on a Sunday.

The photo that broke her camera
Here's a pic of Julie (Lightnin'head) and John. This was 2001 in Cincinnati. We were hanging outside when he got there. As always, he visited for a few minutes and let us get a couple of photo's. My camera hasn't worked since this picture was taken and I just figured out how to get the film out of it. Rich. (Lawton)

8 year old Mega-Prine Fan Meagen Sinclair spent days making this "John Prine Rockz" poster and took it to see him in Ottawa, August 2001, if you look close - the little drawings are from a JP song.  

ZITA B. "THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WHOLE OF CANADA" 
    I just wanted to let you know that you made my day and many of my friends day, when you sent me the newsletter of January 24th (you see it took me a little time to reply, as I wasn't sure I should, but each day at work when I get a little bummed out I look at your e-mail and I smile and grin and get giddy knowing that I will see John again on Saturday, August 25th)
  I had not seen John live since about 1974 or 75 when he was here in Ottawa, Canada, except for the Landmines Concert that was held here last December - where I was lucky enough to see him and get my picture taken with him.
   But that was really not enough for us, and to know he is finally coming to our Folk festival is the best news ever, next of course to the news we had when we heard John was going to be okay after his bout with cancer and after his throat operation.
   I don't know if he truly understands how important he is to so many people - when I was a single  parent bringing up my son and was going through some bad times - I would just put on the record player as loud as I could and play the following verse of "Bruised Oranges (Chain of Sorrow)" You can gaze out the window get mad and get madder throw your hands in the air say "What does it matter?" but it don't do no good to get angry so help me I know for a heart stained in anger grows weak and grows bitter you become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there wrapped up in a trap of your very own chain of sorrow.
   I would sing along and cry and get all the mad, bad stuff out of me and then I would feel so much better.
   John was my private Shrink, I didn't need anything else but to listen to a few of his songs and I would be my happy old self again.
   So, what started out to be a quick thank you, you have now had to listen to my ramblings on, but on closing if I could just ask you the next time you talk to him, that you tell him we all think about him often, and not just when we hear he is coming to our town!
   Finally, if picture could talk, this one would say "I'm the happiest girl in the whole Canada" I know that is not the name of the song, but that is how I felt when this picture was taken.

JOHN GETS THE BIRD FROM AN OLD HIPPIE

Now there might be a lot of unintentional things named after and for Prine's songs but I know for a fact that this Canadian named his coops after John.  The ever Prine Quoting Leonard Hogg aka Old Hippie can find a Prine quote appropriate for any occasion, that is why his "Paradise Loft" deserves a mention....

DADDY'S LITTLE PUMPKIN
Click on the pictures to see  Mike Curme's homepage...where the larger picture of his little pumkin is...it is just too cute! 

Mr Prine's Opus...an inventive plea for Prine by Randy K

    I had a dream last night that you dropped by to say "Hello in there." Everybody was there, all your old friends, Sam Stone, Barbara Lewis, Robert the Sailor, Iron Betty, Donald Lydia, Lulu Walls, your Alabama Angel, Maureen, and even Billy the Bum limped on in. They all joined you in the chorus of The Hobo Song. However, I could not tell if Billy was honored or offended, like I said it was a dream.
    It's been almost twenty years since you last played at the Paramount Theater in Cedar Rapids IA. Can you remember way back then? I have been trying to figure out how we could entice you back, but it's far from me on what it would take. Would one red rose do? Or how about a flag decal? new storm windows? a blue umbrella? A new train? a faster boat to China? a straighter piece of time? a fresh orange? None of these souvenirs doing the trick? I think I have it. You not know that Cedar Rapids is known as the City of Five Seasons, so we could give you that one extra season, you have been looking for, so maybe now you can figure out the other four.
    You might be wondering just where the heck Cedar Rapids is? Well it's just down by the side of the the road on the edge of the great midwest, somewhere in between the jungles that Sabu hated and the place you call home and delivered all that junk mail. Some say its a million miles from paradise, unless, of course, you have played on the field of dreams, in which case you could mistake this place for heaven, which is highly unlikely, but you never can tell. I thing that's someone else's story.
    Just give me one good reason and I promise I won't ask you anymore why you cannot make it. But being a contemporary man I will walk away and someday understand. But I don't think that you know that I think that you don't know just how many fans you have in the land where the tall corn grows. But if you can not make it, everything is cool, we all know that's the way that the world goes round. You will not have to worry our wish is all the best as you keep strolling down the highway because you know it's only the thirsty that hunger to roam. I am sure that there will be some sour grapes as we live through life's in-betweens. Some people will be bummed, while others will be way down into an all night blue, and some may even join the late John Garfield in his blues. As for myself, I have always been a quiet man, but I have sat down at the table and screamed, hollered, and cried, and I've commenced to carryin' on till I almost lost my mind. But i will most likely be a bad boy, imbibing on a drink they named after you just killing the blues and I will probably end up with some illegal smile. But when the day is done, I will not get wrapped up in my very own chain of sorrow because we all that this is nothing but a big ole goofy world.
   But if you could make it we would all be happy as clams.
All the Best
The Happy Enchilada Club
Randy Knudson, President
Cedar Rapids, IA

 
"Cleaning up I came across this photo of Prine hanging out at a gig at the Exit In in Nashville in the summer of 78.  The colours have really faded, I wonder what the chances are of finding the negativess??  - Cheers, Marj"

My dad, Tim Dunphy took these down at the U of IL in Champaign-Urbana 20 some years ago.  He couldn't remember the exact date - understandably so :)  He's a huge John Prine fan and has passed it down to me.  erin dunphy. ©Tim Dunphy