John Prine

Prine is the son of William Prine and Verna Hamm. Prine himself started playing guitar at age 14, taught by his brother, David.[1] He was a postman for five years and served in the Army before beginning his musical career in Chicago.

In the late 1960s, while Prine was still 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 and the Bulls.