New bio does justice to songwriter John Prine

John Prine

In Spite of Himself

By Eddie Huffman

University of Texas Press. 224 pp. $24.95

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Reviewed by Tom Wilk

John Prine never had a breakthrough hit for himself in the 1970s. Since the release of his self-titled debut album in 1971, though, he has enjoyed a career of lasting achievement. His songs have staying power and continuing relevance, be the theme a veteran's struggle to adjust to stateside life in "Sam Stone," the loneliness of senior citizens in "Hello in There," or teen pregnancy in "Unwed Fathers."

At 68, Prine remains one of the top American songwriters of the last 50 years and an overdue subject for a biography. Eddie Huffman capably fills that void with John Prine: In Spite of Himself. Prine declined to cooperate with the author, citing a documentary and songbook in the works. Undeterred, Huffman, a staff writer for the Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record, uncovered a paper, online, and video trail of the singer-songwriter - including a 1992 interview by the Inquirer's Dan DeLuca - which provides a solid overview of Prine's career.

Prine's entry into the music business seems right out of a novel. A letter-carrier in suburban Chicago writes songs as a sideline and begins performing publicly at 23 on a dare during an open-mic night. He gains recognition through a rave review from a film critic (Roger Ebert). A fellow musician (Steve Goodman) arranges an impromptu concert for him in a Chicago folk club with a popular crooner (Paul Anka) and a rising musical star (Kris Kristofferson) as the audience. The newcomer's songs impress them, and it leads to a trip to New York and a contract with Atlantic Records. "Some musicians spend a lifetime, angling for a break," Huffman writes. "For Prine, the breaks just kept jumping right in the boat."

In the '80s Prine moved to Nashville and began cowriting songs for others. He also launched Oh Boy, his own record company. That gave him greater creative and financial control over his music and led to Grammys for his albums The Missing Years and Fair & Square. After bouts with cancer, he continues to perform, but has released only one album of new songs since 2000. He is content to work at his own pace. "I consider myself to be one of the most undisciplined people in the world, let alone a songwriter," he once observed. "I'd leave a song in a hot second for a hot dog." He's managed to succeed in spite of himself.