John Prine, Elvis Costello and a jukebox on fire

Novelist and journalist Tom Piazza struck up a friendship with the irreplaceable John Prine in the last years of his life. This relationship, which began as a profile for a magazine, almost blossomed into an autobiography and involved a road trip in an inadvisable vehicle, has resulted in a new book “Living In The Present With John Prine”. Which involves:

•⁠ ⁠setting off in a 1977 Coupe De Ville and driving “until the engine burns up”.

•⁠ ⁠sitting up all night playing old country songs.

•⁠ ⁠remembering how he came to write some of the greatest songs of the last fifty years

•⁠ ⁠an evening’s swapping stories with Elvis Costello which ends with the alarming word “the jukebox is on fire!”

•⁠ ⁠what Prine’s last album “The Tree Of Forgiveness” has in common with Beethoven’s late quartets

Buy Living In The Present With John Prine: https://amzn.eu/d/9vWv9rg

Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.