John Prine (born October 10, 1946, in Maywood, Illinois) is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.

Biography[link]

In the late 1960s, while Prine was delivering mail in Maywood, Illinois, he began to sing at open mic evenings at the Fifth Peg on Armitage Avenue. Prine was initially a spectator, reluctant to perform, but eventually did so in response to a "You think you can do better?" comment made to him by another performer. Chicago ''Sun-Times'' movie critic Roger Ebert heard him there and wrote the first review Prine ever received, calling him a great songwriter. He became a central figure in the Chicago Folk Revival, which also included such singer-songwriters as Steve Goodman, Bonnie Koloc, Jim Post and Fred Holstein. Joined by such established musicians as Jethro Burns and Bob Gibson, Prine performed frequently at such clubs as the Earl of Old Town, the Quiet Knight, Somebody Else's Troubles, The 5th Peg, and the Bulls.

John Prine is currently living in Nashville with his third wife, Fiona Whelan. They have three children, stepson Jody Whelan, Tommy and Jack. Prine has a second residence in Pinellas County, Florida.

Recordings[link]

Prine's second album, ''Diamonds In The Rough'', was a surprise for many after the critical success of his first LP; it was an uncommercial, stripped-down affair that reflected Prine's fondness for bluegrass music and features songs reminiscent of Hank Williams's work as Luke The Drifter. Highlights include the allegorical "The Great Compromise," which features a recitation and addresses the Vietnam War, and the touching ballad "Souvenirs," which Prine later recorded with Goodman.

Later albums include ''Sweet Revenge'' (1973), containing such fan favorites as "Dear Abby," "Grandpa Was A Carpenter," and "Christmas In Prison", and ''Common Sense'' (1975), with "Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard". The latter album was Prine's first to be charted in the US Top 100 by ''Billboard'', reflecting growing commercial success. It was produced by Steve Cropper. Many veteran Prine fans view the release of 1978's ''Bruised Orange'' as a creative highpoint. The Steve Goodman-produced album gave listeners songs such as "The Hobo Song," "Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone," and the title track showing that he could capture the human condition as easily as writing politically inspired anthems.

In 1974, singer David Allan Coe achieved considerable success on the country charts with "You Never Even Called Me By My Name", co-written by Prine and Goodman. The song good-naturedly spoofed stereotypical country music lyrics. Prine refused to take a songwriter's credit and the tune went to Goodman, although Goodman bought Prine a jukebox as a gift from his publishing royalties.

The 1979 album ''Pink Cadillac'' features two songs produced by legendary Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, who by this time rarely did any studio work. The first song, "Saigon," is about a Vietnam vet traumatized by the war ("The static in my attic's gettin' ready to blow"). During the recording, one of the guitar amps blew up (which is evident on the album track). The other song Phillips produced is "How Lucky," about Prine's hometown. "Chinatown," the first song on the record, contains what is Prine's most controversial lyrics, including a reference to "a slant-eyed chicky" and the line "I got a sugar rush that'd make a nigger blush." The song initially appears completely at odds with the liberal-minded songwriter's previous work and baffled many fans and critics. It should be noted, however, that other songwriters of the era, such as Randy Newman and John Lennon, also wrote songs using strong, potentially offensive language, and Prine may have been assuming a character in a song whose lyrics did not reflect his own beliefs.

Prine continued writing and recording albums throughout the 1980s and formed his own record label, Oh Boy Records. His songs continued to be covered by other artists; the country supergroup The Highwaymen recorded "The Twentieth Century Is Almost Over," which had been written by Prine and Goodman. Steve Goodman died of leukemia in 1984 and Prine continues to perform many of Goodman's songs in concert to this day, such as "My Old Man."

In 1991, Prine released the Grammy Award-winning ''The Missing Years'', his first collaboration with producer and Heartbreakers bassist Howie Epstein. The title song records Prine's humorous take on what Jesus did in the unrecorded years between his childhood and ministry. In 1995, ''Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings'' was released, another collaboration with Epstein. Prine followed in 1999 with ''In Spite of Ourselves'', which was unusual for him in that it contained only one original song—the rest were covers of classic country songs—and all were duets with well-known female country vocalists, including Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Dolores Keane, and Iris DeMent (whom Prine appeared with on the Letterman Show & referred to as his "favorite girl singers".)

In 2001 John co-starred in the Billy Bob Thornton movie Daddy & Them (Alvin Montgomery), and "In Spite of Ourselves" can be heard as the end credits roll .

Cancer[link]

Awards and influence[link]

Prine has taken his place as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation. In 2009, Bob Dylan told the Huffington Post that Prine was one of his favourite writers, stating "Prine's stuff is pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mindtrips to the nth degree. And he writes beautiful songs. I remember when Kris Kristofferson first brought him on the scene. All that stuff about "Sam Stone," the soldier junkie daddy, and "Donald and Lydia," where people make love from ten miles away. Nobody but Prine could write like that." In Johnny Cash's autobiography ''Cash'', he admitted "I don't listen to music much at the farm, unless I'm going into songwriting mode and looking for inspiration. Then I'll put on something by the writers I've admired and used for years (Rodney Crowell, John Prine, Guy Clark, and the late Steve Goodman are my Big Four)..." When asked by ''Word Magazine'' in 2008 if he heard Pink Floyd's influence in newer British bands like Radiohead, Roger Waters replied "I don't really listen to Radiohead. I listened to the albums and they just didn't move me in the way, say, John Prine does. His is just extra-ordinarily eloquent music—and he lives on that plane with Neil Young and Lennon." Prine received the Artist of the Year award at the Americana Music Awards on September 9, 2005. The award was accepted in his name by awards host and long-time friend Billy Bob Thornton.

Recent years[link]

In 2005, Prine released his first all-new offering since ''Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings'', the album ''Fair & Square'', which tended toward a more laid-back, acoustic approach than, for example, ''Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings''. The album contains songs such as "Safety Joe," about a man who has never taken any risks in his life, and also "Some Humans Ain't Human," Prine's protest piece on the album, which talks about the ugly side of human nature and includes a quick shot at President George W. Bush. ''Fair & Square'' won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. The album contains original songs plus two covers: A.P. Carter's "Bear Creek Blues" and Blaze Foley's "Clay Pigeons."

2010 kicked off with a flurry of Prine activity, as he stopped by ''The Marty Stuart Show'' on RFD-TV in January to perform three of his most popular recordings: "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness," "Souvenirs," & "Paradise." Later in May Prine appeared on Late Show With David Letterman, performing "All The Best" with Jim James of the band My Morning Jacket.

On July 3, 2010, Prine appeared at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, broadcast on American Public Media's A Prairie Home Companion, playing several of his songs.

On September 30, 2011, Prine played a thirteen song set on the main Banjo Stage at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco, California.

Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Guest singles[link]

References[link]

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Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:American country musicians Category:American folk singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Old Town School of Folk musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Cancer survivors Category:Folk musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:People from Maywood, Illinois Category:Mail carriers

Early life[link]

She was born near the town of Paragould, Arkansas, but grew up in Cypress, California, where she was exposed to and influenced by country and gospel music.

Music and career[link]

She gained some notice singing the Merle Haggard song, "Big City", on ''Tulare Dust: Tribute to Merle Haggard'', a 1994 various artists tribute album. In 1995, her song "Our Town" was played in the closing moments of the last episode for the CBS TV series ''Northern Exposure'', gaining DeMent more fans. (The song has also been recorded by Kate Rusby, Jody Stecher, and Kate Brislin.)

DeMent has sung duets with John Prine (on ''In Spite of Ourselves''), Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris and is featured on the albums of many other performers. She has made frequent appearances on Garrison Keillor's ''A Prairie Home Companion'', and appeared in the 2000 film ''Songcatcher'', playing the character Rose Gentry and singing on the soundtrack as well. In 1994, Natalie Merchant of 10,000 Maniacs performed DeMent's song "Let the Mystery Be" with David Byrne for the show ''MTV Unplugged''. The song was included on ''Campfire Songs: The Popular, Obscure and Unknown Recordings''.

DeMent's rendition of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" accompanies the closing credits of the Coen brothers' ''True Grit'' (2010).

Personal life[link]

Charts[link]

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Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:American agnostics Category:American country musicians Category:American country singers Category:American female singers Category:American folk singers Category:American folk musicians Category:People from Greene County, Arkansas Category:Musicians from Arkansas Category:Warner Bros. Records artists

Nanci Griffith, (born Nanci Caroline Griffith, July 6, 1953, Seguin, Texas) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter based in Austin, Texas.

Biography[link]

Griffith's high school boyfriend, John, died in a motorcycle accident after taking her to the senior prom, and subsequently inspired many of her songs. Griffith was married to singer-songwriter Eric Taylor from 1976 to 1982. In the early 1990s, she was engaged to singer-songwriter Tom Kimmel, but the couple parted before marrying. In 1994, Griffith teamed up with Jimmy Webb to contribute the song "If These Old Walls Could Speak" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization. Griffith is a survivor of breast cancer which was diagnosed in 1996, and thyroid cancer in 1998.

Griffith has in recent years toured with various other artists including Buddy Holly's band, The Crickets; John Prine; Iris DeMent; Suzy Bogguss; and Judy Collins. Griffith has recorded duets with many artists, among them Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, John Prine, Don McLean, Jimmy Buffett, Dolores Keane, Willie Nelson, Adam Duritz (singer of Counting Crows), The Chieftains, and Darius Rucker (singer of Hootie & the Blowfish). She has also contributed background vocals on many other recordings.

Griffith suffered from severe 'writers block' for a number of years after 2004, lasting until the 2009 release of her "The Loving Kind" album which contained nine self-penned or co-written songs.

After several months of limited touring in 2011, bandmates The Kennedys (Pete & Maura Kennedy) packed up their professional Manhattan recording studio and relocated it to Nashville, where they installed it in Nanci's home. There, Ms Griffith and band (including Pete & Maura Kennedy and Pat McInerney) co-produced her forthcoming album, "Intersections" over the course of the summer. The album includes several new original songs and is due to be released in early 2012 with a UK tour scheduled and an American tour to follow.

As well as her own songs Griffith is well known for her outstanding versions of other people's material, usually by contemporary singer-songwriters.

Band (The Blue Moon Orchestra)[link]

Current members[link]

Previous band members[link]

Discography[link]

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Compilation albums [link]

Singles[link]

Awards[link]

Videography[link]

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References[link]

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Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:American country singers Category:American folk singers Category:American female singers Category:American feminists Category:American pacifists Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Breast cancer survivors Category:Feminist musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Kerrville New Folk Competition finalists Category:People from Austin, Texas Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:Country musicians from Texas Category:Fast Folk artists Category:People from Guadalupe County, Texas Category:People from Seguin, Texas

Griffith John (14 December 1831 – 25 July 1912) was a British Christian missionary and translator in China. A member of the Congregational church, he was a pioneer evangelist with the London Missionary Society (LMS), a writer and a translator of the Holy Bible into the Chinese language.

Biography[link]

In 1853 he offered his services to the London Missionary Society and after two years' training was ordained in 1855 at Ebenezer, Swansea. That same year he married his first wife, Margaret Jane, a daughter of the Christian missionary, David Griffiths. After ordination he offered himself for service in Madagascar. But he was persuaded by the London Missionary Society to accept appointment to China, and the newly wed couple made the voyage to Shanghai arriving in September 1855. Griffith John would serve in China for 55 years, chiefly in Hubei and Hunan.

An inveterate itinerator, John became well known for his extensive missionary journeys into the Chinese interior - journeys that sometimes stretched to 5,000 km or more. He was among the first to begin Christian missionary work in Hupeh, Hunan, and Szechwan. He set up schools, hospitals and training colleges, with a permanent base at Hankou. In 1861 he went from Shanghai through the provinces of central China, and he later claimed that with his colleagues he had established over 100 mission stations in Hubei (Hupeh) and Hunan. In July of that year he had moved to Hankou, which remained his base until his final departure from China in 1912 - although in 1863 he was in Wuchang, Hubei and in 1867 Hanyang.

John, fluent in both spoken and written Chinese, made a major contribution to the Church in China as author, translator, and preacher. A powerful and eloquent speaker, he was popular with the Chinese, who would gather in great numbers to hear him preach. He was notably successful in training and mentoring numerous Chinese evangelists. He was also a prolific pamphleteer, authoring numerous popular tracts and serving for many years as chairman of the Central China Tract Society.

Mrs John suffered from ill health. In 1870 she and her husband left China for a rare visit to Britain; but In 1873 she died at Singapore during the return voyage.

In 1874 he met and married Mrs Jenkins, a missionary's widow.

In 1885 his second wife died.

In 1890 he became a founding member of the Permanent Committee for the Promotion of Anti-Opium Societies. Fellow committee members were prominent missionaries John Glasgow Kerr MD, American Presbyterian Mission in Canton; BC Atterbury MD, American Presbyterian Mission in Peking, Archdeacon Arthur Evans Moule, Church Missionary Society in Shanghai, Henry Whitney MD, American Board of Commissioners for foreign Missions in Foochow, the Rev Samuel Clarke, China Inland Mission in Kweiyang and the Rev Arthur Gostick Shorrock, English Baptist Mission in Taiyuan. They resolved to continue their opposition to the opium traffic, urging Christians in China to arouse public opinion against it. The desire of the missionaries that their ideas be carried out caused them to form “continuation committees” that were assigned tasks to assure that action would be taken on whatever matters had been approved by the conferences.

Having acquired an intimate knowledge of the Chinese language and literature, John translated the New Testament and a great part of the Old Testament into more than one Chinese dialect. He made a Mandarin Chinese translation of the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs, as well as a Wen-li New Testament, published in 1885.

In 1888 or 1889 he was elected chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, but declined the honor and remained in Hankou among the Chinese whom he loved. In the Yangtze valley he founded a theological college for Chinese preachers, which bears his name. The University of Edinburgh conferred on him the degree of D.D. (1889) in recognition of his service to the Chinese.

In 1905 John celebrated his missionary jubilee at Hankou. For health reasons he left China for a short time but returned in 1907. During a career spanning 60 years John left China only three times. He finally returned to Britain in January 1912, and died in London on 25 July that year. He was buried at Sketty in Swansea.

Works[link]

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Further reading[link]

Category:Christian missionaries in China Category:British Christian missionaries Category:Welsh Christian missionaries Category:Translators of the Bible into Chinese Category:Welsh Christian leaders Category:Christian writers Category:Welsh Congregationalist clergy Category:Congregationalist missionaries Category:People from Swansea Category:Welsh evangelicals Category:1831 births Category:1912 deaths

Published works[link]

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Category:American music video directors Category:American photographers Category:Living people Category:People from Austin, Texas Category:1955 births