John Prine Hospitalized With Coronavirus Complications

John Prine

[Update: March 30, 2020, 11:16 a.m. CT]: Prine’s wife and manager, Fiona Whelan Prine, revealed that she has now recovered from COVID-19, and that John Prine is now listed in stable condition.

[Original post, March 29, 2020]:

Songwriters Hall of Fame member John Prine, 73, has been hospitalized and is in critical condition due to the sudden onset of symptoms of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.

According to a post on Prine’s official social media accounts on Sunday (March 29), Prine was hospitalized on Thursday (March 26) and has been intubated. His wife Fiona Whelan Prine revealed her own COVID-19 diagnosis earlier this month.

Prine’s songs, such as “Sam Stone” and “Angel From Montgomery,” have influenced numerous artists and songwriters across country, folk, rock and Americana spheres. David Allan Coe made the Prine co-write “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” into a hit in the mid-’70s. Bonnie Raitt and Joe Walsh are among those who recorded “Angel From Montgomery,” while Joan Baez recorded “Hello In There.” The Highwaymen recorded the Prine/Steve Goodman track “The Twentieth Century is Almost Over.” Tammy Wynette recorded the Prine/Bobby Braddock tune “Unwed Fathers,” releasing the track in 1983.

In addition to being a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Prine is a four-time Grammy winner and has been nominated for membership into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has been nominated for two Country Music Association Awards (including in 1998 for penning George Strait’s “I Just Want To Dance With You,” and in 1992’s Vocal Event of the Year category as part of the group Buzzin’ Cousins—which also included John Mellencamp, Dwight Yoakam, Joe Ely,  and James McMurtry—for the film Falling from Grace).

Prine, who released his debut album in 1971, saw a career resurgence in recent years. In 2018, he was honored with BMI’s Troubadour Award. That same year, he released his first album in 13 years, titled The Tree of Forgiveness and recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A. The album brought the highest debut of Prine’s career, debuting at No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200.

The full post from Prine’s social media account is below: