John Prine named Artist of the Year at the 2020 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards

JANUARY 16, 2020. John Prine was named Artist of the Year at the 2020 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards, his fourth time winning this award.

Of all people, John Prine would see the ironic humor in how many awards and accolades he’s received since dying. Probably he’d   say something both funny and sad, like one of his classic songs, along the lines of, “Man, if I knew dying would have been so great for my career, I would have done it long ago.”

Regardless, it is a good sign that the world has caught on in a big way to the singular genius and beautiful legacy of this man. Now comes more. Just after his Grammy nominations were announced, he was named Artist of the Year at the 2020 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards. This is Prine’s fourth win in the category, following previous recognitions in 2005, 2017 and 2018. 

The accolade continues to celebrate an esteemed career for Prine, whose last recorded song and first #1 single, “I Remember Everything,” is nominated in two categories at the 63rd Grammy Awards: Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song. Written by Prine and his longtime collaborator Pat McLaughlin, the song was recorded last year in Prine’s living room with Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb and engineer Gena Johnson.

Regarded as one of the English language’s premier phrase-turners, John Prine is a two-time Grammy-winner, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, a seven-time Americana Music Award-winner, a PEN New England Lyrics Award recipient and member of both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Since his debut in 1971, Prine released over eighteen albums and has had his songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Zac Brown Band and many others, while drawing effusive praise from Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, Roger Waters, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and more, who knew him as a smiling, shuffling force for good. 

For more on John Prine, read our interview with John, the one Rolling Stone called “a master class in songwriting,” John Prine: The American Songwriter Interview.

www.johnprine.com