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20 of the greatest John Prine songs: Remembering a legend

Prine died Tuesday of COVID-19 at age 73.

By Jon Bream

April 10, 2020 at 4:52PM

Songwriting legend John Prine performed with his band Friday, May 31, 2019, at Northrop Auditorium on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis, MN. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A list of John Prine's great songs could fill a couple of columns, but here are 20 standouts — 10 are his versions, 10 are interpretations by others:

1. "Sam Stone" (1971)

2. "Illegal Smile" (1971)

3. "Dear Abby" (1973)

4."The Sins of Memphisto" (1991)

5. "Jesus the Missing Years" (1991)

6. "Lake Marie" (1995)

7. "In Spite of Ourselves" (1999)

8. "Some Humans Ain't Human" (2005)

9. "Summer's End" (2018)

10. "When I Get to Heaven" (2018)

1. "Hello in There," Bette Midler (1972), recorded by Prine in 1971

2. "Angel From Montgomery," Bonnie Raitt (1974), Prine (1971)

3. "Unwed Fathers," Tammy Wynette (1983), Prine (1984)

4. "The Twentieth Century Is Almost Over," the Highwaymen (1985), (written in 1977)

5. "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness," Nanci Griffith (1993), Prine (1986)

6. "Souvenirs," Bettye LaVette (2000), Prine (1972)

7. "I Just Wanna Dance with You," George Strait (1998), Prine (1986)

8. "Paradise," Dwight Yoakam (2004), Prine (1971)

9. "Daddy's Little Pumpkin," Drive-By Truckers (2010), Prine (1991)

10. "All the Best," My Morning Jacket (2010), Prine (1991)

Have a favorite John Prine song to share? Comment below.

about the writer

Jon Bream

Critic / Reporter

Jon Bream has been a music critic at the Star Tribune since 1975, making him the longest tenured pop critic at a U.S. daily newspaper. He has attended more than 8,000 concerts and written four books (on Prince, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan). Thus far, he has ignored readers’ suggestions that he take a music-appreciation class.