Article published June 02, 2005
Folk-rocker John Prine in Ann Arbor
John Prine gave his first public performance at an open-microphone night at a Chicago area bar, after his grumbling about the lack of talent among the amateur artists led a friend to say, "Well, if you think you could do better…"
"I said, 'I could,' and I got up there and played 'Sam Stone,' 'Hello in There,' and 'Paradise'," said Prine, who will perform a sold-out concert tomorrow night at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor.
The audience "seemed to like it," said Prine, who was working as a mailman in suburban Chicago at the time. The club owner liked it too, offering him a regular gig. So Prine went home and wrote enough songs to make it through a night's performance, and those tunes ended up on his 1971 self-titled debut disc for Atlantic Records.
Prine was a critic's favorite right away with his witty and humorous lyrics and a deep, folksy voice paired with catchy melodies and a folk-rock heart. Unfortunately, some critics tended to go overboard, pegging him as "the new Dylan," a label that is never fair and never fits.
But Prine, now 58, steered away from the Dylan comparisons and blazed his own successful career path, having his songs covered by such artists as Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler, and Johnny Cash.
After several tries with major labels, Prine decided he'd be better off on his own and founded Oh Boy Records in the early 1980s.He was nominated for two Grammys and won in 1992 with "The Missing Years," which featured guest appearances by Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen.
Prine's latest release, "Fair & Square," his first album of new material in nine years, debuted at No. 55 on the Billboard 200 album chart when it was released in April.
Tomorrow night's sold-out concert at the Michigan Theater, presented by the Ark, starts at 8 p.m. with Mary Gauthier opening.
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