John Prine: In Spite of Himself

American Music Series

by Eddie Huffman

With a range that spans the lyrical, heartfelt songs “Angel from Montgomery,” “Sam Stone,” and “Paradise” to the classic country music parody “You Never Even Called Me by My Name,” John Prine is a songwriter’s songwriter. Across five decades, Prine has created critically acclaimed albums―John Prine (one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time), Bruised Orange, and The Missing Years―and earned many honors, including two Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting from the Americana Music Association, and induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. His songs have been covered by scores of artists, from Johnny Cash and Miranda Lambert to Bette Midler and 10,000 Maniacs, and have influenced everyone from Roger McGuinn to Kacey Musgraves. Hailed in his early years as the “new Dylan,” Prine still counts Bob Dylan among his most enthusiastic fans. In John Prine, Eddie Huffman traces the long arc of Prine’s musical career, beginning with his early, seemingly effortless successes, which led paradoxically not to stardom but to a rich and varied career writing songs that other people have made famous. He recounts the stories, many of them humorous, behind Prine’s best-known songs and discusses all of Prine’s albums as he explores the brilliant records and the ill-advised side trips, the underappreciated gems and the hard-earned comebacks that led Prine to found his own successful record label, Oh Boy Records. This thorough, entertaining treatment gives John Prine his due as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2015

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update 1/6/25: Found this awesome 2 hour podcast on the making of his first album. Lot's of really interesting stuff in there. https://lifeoftherecord.com/#/john-pr...
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One time a few years back, I was in a weird mood and googled “what is the best sad song”. I came across “Sam Stone” by John Prine, and man, that was an experience. That was my introduction to John Prine. As it turns out, I’m not even sure that is his best sad song. “Six O’Clock News” or “Far From Me” are at least equally incredible to me. Not that you should think of John Prine as just a specialist in writing sad songs. Listen to “Sweet Revenge” or “Saddle in the Rain” for something more upbeat, or “Dear Abby” for something hilarious.

I’ve been going back and listening to all John Prine’s albums, by order of release, from his 1971 debut album, John Prine to his final album, Tree of Forgiveness, released in 2018. Eddie Huffman’s book has been a great accompaniment.

It’s not super deep at penetrating into the mind of John Prine, which can’t be helped because Prine decided not to cooperate with the author (he was going to write his own memoir, which sadly never happened). But it is great at giving a concise history of his career, with interesting notes about each album. It was never boring, and I’d much rather read a book that left me wishing for more detail, than a book that bored me.

It’s interesting that John Prine never had a hit song. It seems like most singers that hang around for as long as he did, with such a level of admiration from music insiders, and such a loyal cult following, luck into at least one hit. But Prine always stayed on the margins of popular culture.

Huffman shares this quote from Kris Kristofferson about John Prine “Twenty-four years old and writes like he’s about two-hundred and twenty”. This was when he released his debut album, which still might be my favorite. He would make a lot of great songs over the next 50 years, but the level of songwriting on almost every single song in John Prine just blows me away.

His vocal quality was still maturing though, and you can see in subsequent albums how his voice gets better. I’m not usually big on live albums, but I would recommend the 1990 album John Prine (Live) to see him deliver “Six O’Clock News” and “Sam Stone” to get a different feel for these songs than how they sounded in his debut album. You can also listen to a story he tells at the beginning of The Oldest Baby in the World, which made me think he could have had a career as a stand-up comic.

Later, John Prine’s voice would change again, this time a result of his cancer treatments, becoming deeper and throatier. In 2018, at the age of 71, after a 13-year hiatus from making new music, he released one of his best albums, The Tree of Forgiveness. Take a listen to “When I get to Heaven” for a funny song about dying, which incidentally was not his first funny song about dying. “Please Don’t Bury Me” is another great song on this topic from one of his earlier albums (Huffman told a story about Elvis loving that song so much he made his friend play it for him over and over again.)

Did I just read this book and write this review so I could go on about John Prine? Maybe. But I’ve gone this far, so I’ll mention my current favorite John Prine song, “Lake Marie”. I just love this haunting story about memories and love. The first verse is a slow build, giving some historical background about a lake. In the second verse, you learn about a man meeting his wife, by that same lake. Them falling in love. Then drifting away from each other. Then rekindling their romance, with her falling asleep in his arms to the song “Louie Louie”. The way the story is told in this verse, with so few words, but such vivid imagery, is just perfect storytelling. Then there is the third verse, where some crazy stuff happens.

John Prine died in 2020 at the age of 73 from COVID. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of his songs, and I appreciate Eddie Huffman’s book for the color it adds. If you are a John Prine fan, let me know what some of your favorite songs are!

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seemed like a good idea at the time but it turned out to be like a stray that caught your eye at the pound but grows up to be something else. Rather than read this book you would be better off listening to Bonnie Raitt doing "Angel From Montgomery" or maybe the man himself doing "Dear Abbey, Dear Abbey...

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but like a big review article, because of his lively subject, who declined to participate or authorize this biography. I'm more ready for Prine's own memoir with songs -John Prine Beyond Words- and most recent two records.
Mildly recommended.

[Stacy Bearse · Rating 2 out of 5]

This biography of one of my favorite singer/songwriters proved to be a deep disappointment. Yes, it is a detailed chronicle of John Prine's musical output and the views of published critics. But it provides little insight to the character and musings of John Prine, the man. Prine declined to be interviewed by Huffman, leaving the author to rely on recordings and previously published sources. The book suffers accordingly.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Prine: In Spite of Himself by Eddie Huffman (University of Texas Press 2015) (780.92) (3596).

I love John Prine's music. John Prine wrote and performed in the folk and rock genres; he is considered to be a "songwriter's songwriter." I’ve been a fan of the singin’ Chicago mailman since I first saw him on PBS in the early 70’s when I was a very young teenager.

Author Eddie Huffman loves John Prine too. Huffman’s book was obviously written by a fanboy; the entire book reads like one loooooong album review. Indeed, Huffman likely offers at least a passing comment on seemingly every single song Prine ever recorded. He also comments on the commentary of seemingly every rock critic’s published reviews of Prine’s music. But that’s all right, for Huffman's detailed reviews reminded me of the sheer number of astonishingly clever tunes that John Prine has penned over the course of his career.

The book offers juicy tidbits about Prine’s personal life that even his most hard-core fans will appreciate.

My rating: 7/10, finished 12/16/21 (3596).

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author had no cooperation from Al Bunetta or the Prine family since they were planning their own book and documentary when this was written in 2015.

He chose to focus on the music, the albums, the concerts and the reviews. He kind of had to sketch in the rest. Still, it's enjoyable as a guide to his songs, his development as a songwriter and singer and his musical growth.

Some places seem like filler and his private life remains pretty private. I did get a big laugh toward the end when he says that Prine's songwriting muse seems to have deserted him and he has written no new material in years.

I wonder if JP read that and thought "Hmmm". Three years later he released 'The Tree Of Forgiveness' which debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200, At number 2 on the Top Country Albums Chart and number 1 on Americana/Folk Albums.

Every song on it was either co written or entirely written by Prine and was the highest charting album of his career. He was nominated for Best American Roots Song for TWO of its songs, 'Summer's End' and 'Knockin' On Your Screen Door' and in 2020 won the Lifetime Achievement Award before his untimely death in early April of that year.

I am sure another book awaits... hopefully written by someone with input from family and friends and filled with photos and other memorabilia.

[M. Sarki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a review copy that I have enjoyed, but wish was more involved in the personality of the man himself. What draws me to Prine is his character, and though this book offers a glimpse for a first-time reader of anything Prine, it lacks the meat I would have liked to savor. This is however a very good introduction to his chronological development as a singer-songwriter, and many albums detailed in their development offers an insight into what to listen to first. My wife and I were fortunate to see Prine perform live in Louisville a few years ago but never had purchased any of his albums. His work is clever, humorous, serious, and heartfelt but the melodies prove redundant and nothing that makes us want to return time and time again for a good listen. Nonetheless, John Prine is an iconic figure and important to the development of lyric-based music. It is sad he died unnecessarily.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a huge John Prine fan, but I am a huge Eddie Huffman fan. Eddie's been a friend of mine for a number of years and he's not only a great and smart guy, but a fantastic writer. Despite no assistance from Prine or his people, he did a great job pulling together, in a journalistic way, tons of information about his life and his music. Phrases like "looking about as ill at ease as a dog trying to send a fax" didn't hurt either. You probably know some John Prine songs even if you think you don't--Angel From Montgomery and Paradise are two of his most well-known. Longtime John Prine fans will get a lot out of this book, and it may just get me to go out and buy a couple of Prine albums!

[Naomi Krokowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prine's songwriting skills just blow me away and have for years. I've loved and laughed at his songs much of my life. This book was a good trip through the life and times of John Prine. I'm still in awe of his talent and don't quite understand it, but I enjoyed learning more about a real genius and a character.

[Brian Johannesen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of the career and man. Collections of funny and insightful lines from interviews that will sound familiar to the hardcore fan. An easy read with lots of good info. I️ would much rather hear the story from the horse’s mouth, but until that book comes along, this will do.

[Isaac Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine biography. Essentially Prine’s life told through a chronological history of his discography, with plenty of incidental stories and anecdotes alongside.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably great read for a true John Prine fan. I really respect his music, but found there was too much detail and not enough juice. Prose a little dry. I suppose that is explained by lack of access to Prine himself. Too bad.

[Frank Mazzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was less than I anticipated. I wanted more. Unfortunately, I read that John Prine declined to be interviewed or discuss anything with the author. Info was culled from many different sources and I think this contributed to result being less than satisfying.

[Gregory Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had really high hopes for this book. Perhaps my standards are a bit unfair, but for the book being released by the press of one of the best musicology institutions in the nation, I expected more. First of all, the author admits in the beginning that Prine was unwilling to work with him. To make up for this lack of interview material, the author quotes many, many other interviews. In fact, the majority of the book is a bit of a mashup of what other folks have said about Prine's career. There are some brilliant Prine quotes from liner notes and such, but could have more in terms of originality there.

More than that issue, though, is the fact that there are no citations and this is a book from an academic press. Despite literally hundreds of quotes from various industry publications and other interviews, there are no citations to allow scholars to follow up on the author's work.

I don't mean to nitpick and I rarely write negative reviews, but I genuinely found this book to be a disappointment. I cannot imagine what the author endured in trying to cobble together this collection, but it sort of feels like a book that doesn't live up to its billing. Had I been involved in advising the project, I would have recommended that the author focus on Prine's reputation and public perception; that would have been a different book, not a biography per se, and would have made sense for the source base that it used.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fan's bio. Prine himself, despite the interest of the press, wanted nothing to do with it, which signaled to all around the songwriter to keep Huffman at bay. That said, it's better by a stretch than the average fan bio. Affectionate toward its subject, and Huffman benefitted from both a crack researcher, as well as a brother who helped him think through the musical issues. Huffman put his researcher to good use. It's an interpretation of the existing clippings. Huffman has nothing personal on Prine, little that is revelatory in the background, hasn't bothered to interview anyone. Prine remains a "midwestern Proust," as Bob Dylan has styled him, and -- as Roger Waters has said -- in a songwriting class with Neil Young and John Lennon. There's a there there, nor is Huffman ignorant of the achievement. But with little new in the record, Eddie Huffman offers a career-summary as preparatory to criticism. I don't know that it will be enough to remain serviceable.

[Mike Mikulski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huffman pulls together a concise bio of singer, songwriter John Prine, drawing from a wide variety of newspaper, radio, television, and internet interviews of Prine and his colleagues. I never stopped to think how many classics Prine wrote before he was 25. "Sam Stone", "Hello in There", "Angel from Montgomery", "Illegal Smile" and "Paradise" all came out on "John Prine" in 1971.

Prine's talent and wry insight did not stop there. Huffman's accounts of Prine anecdotes, song writing and recording of his music make this a great read.

This is not an authorized biography since Prine's Oh Boy label was putting out their own retrospective. The critiques of each Prine release made me go back and listen to some Prine songs I hadn't heard in a while. I'd recommend this to any fan of Prine, Chicago folk and improv or Americana music as well as anyone interested in what makes a great song lyric.

[Jeff Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful read, been wanting to read it for years.. worth the wait as I feel it truly captured the heart and soul of a man who had his own genre in songwriting, whatever that is or was.. loved and respected by all that gave themselves the opportunity to listen to his Travis picking guitar and unique songwriting ability.. he was no angel in his early years but for all his faults he was accepted and eventually found those wings that supported a beautiful family and admiration from his fans and his musical peers.. sad that he will not have the opportunity to throw stones at the people outside his retirement home singing one of his gems "Hello in There".. peace and love to his family and friends.. RIP John 🖤

[Ted Papoulas · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a huge John Prine fan (and amateur guitar player who loves singing his songs) I was really looking forward to reading this biography that I received from my wife as a Christmas gift. While I ended up enjoying the book, it was basically a review and a little behind-the-scenes look at each of his albums with some life stories thrown in. Much of the book is simply quotes taken from various interviews and videos of Mr. Prine compiled over the years. It reads more like a lot of separate clips than as a well structured, emotional story of a person's life. In many ways, his songs seem more revealing.

That said, it was an enjoyable read, provided some interesting information and a few laughs, so it wasn't a waste of time. I just wish it were a bit more intimate.

[Danny Balister · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Prine was the best American songwriter to ever live. His songs are primarily hilariously thoughtful observations on normal people and the absurdity of everyday life. If you like John Prine songs I probably like you. He is most likely your favorite songwriter's favorite songwriter. Prine wrote songs in his early 20s that stopped Bob Dylan in his tracks & made him sing Prines praises. As proof of his longevity, almost half a century later at 70 years old his final record is just as good as his first. "John Prine In Spite of Himself" dives deep into his lengthy catalog of recorded music. This book primarily focuses on Prines songs, albums, recording sessions, album receptions, and the music itself as opposed to Prine as a person.

[Timothy Swartout · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author states this is an “unauthorized biography,” but he very neatly ties together of John Prine’s career despite this. The book was released in 2015, before the singer’s death, so is not complete, but is still worth a read for its insightfulness. We had the pleasure of seeing John Prine live in concert not long before Covid took him from the world(thanks Mary Donahoe for the heads-up) and even though we had probably the worst seats in the venue, it was a true pleasure. This man was a gem of a singer-songwriter and his songs will hold up for centuries due to their beautiful simplicity and universal, Everyman themes.

[Edward Janes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely read biographies but made an exception for this portrait of American folk/country artist and songwriter John Prine who died last year.

I hadnt heard of Prine before talking to a random at a music gig who put me onto him and I havent looked back since. This book is full of anecdotes that capture the combination of humour, social commentary and knowledge of the human condition that he put into his music and gigs, but also how he had a successful 45 year career and the respect of his peers without ever becoming a global star.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview, especially given that the Prine family declined author access to much of Prine's memorabilia and archives. Gives a less intimate but fairly well-balanced view of Prine through interviews with the artist and contemporaries that let the reader place John Prine both within the context of the late folk era and signer-songwriter role to reveal neither a folk-rock or country-Americana musician but a story teller and poetic observer of American culture from his lived perspective. Worth the read.

[Gail Marquardt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t grow up listening to John Prine but, having recently been introduced to his music, I enjoyed reading about how it all began. Unfortunately, since the author didn’t have access to Prine when writing this book, it lacks the personal insights I was hoping for. It’s mostly a compilation of reviews and articles pulled from articles and blogs. I read about two-thirds of it and skimmed the rest.

[Larry Dacus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so Good Biography of John Prine

This biography suffered from a lack of support from the subject. The author is honest about this lack of participation at the very beginning but this makes the book into a rehash of old interviews and reviews. The reader would be better served to obtain the recent anthology songbook produced by Prine himself available at Old Boy Records.

[Tom Devlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is John Prine which is always an interesting subject. Mr. Huffman did a great job in digging deep into Prine's material and his evolution within the sticky music business. I started this book just a few days prior to learning that John was infected with Covid-19. I am not a praying person, but for John, I am pulling them out. Good read on a great songwriter.

[Ken Sayers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very interesting book about an interesting man and his decades of music. It was only a few years ago that I started learning about John Prine and I have been fascinated with him ever since. This book goes through John’s career year by year with background information on the songs and albums over the years.

[Tommie Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came out about the same time as Beyond Words and fills in the blanks that are on that book.
I had not read it as I received the book right before John died of COVID-19, and every time I started reading it, I would cry. A few sniffles this time, but I got through to the end. If you are a John Prine fan, you should certainly read this book.

[Tyler Presley · Rating 4 out of 5]

“John Prine: In Spite of Himself” offers a comprehensive look at the famed songwriter’s life, exploring the significant moments that define his legendary career.

Huffman narrates Prine’s story in a way that stands out from other biographies in the genre, incorporating a variety of compelling quotes and excerpts that help bring his world to life.

I would recommend this book to both diehard Prine fans and those who, like me, are just beginning to explore his music and wish to learn more about the man behind the songs.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a John Prine fan so of course I wanted to read this book. I found it somewhat interesting. It told a few stories I had not heard before but not many. The Prine family was not interviewed for this book so I think it influenced just how good this might be. Still, if you are a Prince fan you will like it. John Prine is one of those entertainers I would like to invite over for a barbecue.

[Steve Klemz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good summation of the facts. Prine did not get involved in this, so personal stories are mostly quotes from interviews. But the facts are impressive. QUite a career, involving a lot of famous people. Amazing how John Prine's career took off when he turned 60. He went out on a high note.