Notes: A Tribute to John Prine
Project notes…
In early 2020, as the world started locking down due to the pandemic, I reached out to David Thomas, Nick Vote, and Matt Frick to see if they’d be interested in recording a version of John Prine’s classic song Paradise. The project started simply as something fun to do together (remotely) while we all found ourselves stuck at home with new-found time on our hands. It was also a great excuse for old friends who hadn’t been in touch much to reconnect! While we were in the process of recording Paradise it was announced that John Prine had contracted Covid-19 and was hospitalized. Upon learning this news we decided to expand the project to become a four or five song EP. It was our way of sending positivity and healing vibes to John in what we hoped to be his convalescence . Sadly, Covid-19 took John Prine from all of us far too soon. Upon learning this horrible news, I didn’t know what else to do but to expand our project again and record a full-length album of some of John’s greatest songs. Over the next several months we worked through the shock and grief of losing John Prine by recording Half An Enchilada: Songs of John Prine.
It’s hard to overstate how much John’s music means to me. He was truly a songwriter’s songwriter. He had the ability to distill the human condition into verses that can simultaneously make you laugh, cry, cringe, and rejoice. John’s way with words was second-to-none, with a humor, humility, wisdom, and efficiency that will forever rank him up there with best. Thank you, John Prine, for all your work. You are gone too soon. RIP.
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank David Thomas, Nick Vote, Matt Frick, and Carey Gunn for their considerable contributions to these recordings. I couldn’t have done it without you!
Album artwork is derived from a photo by Tom Hill.
Disclaimer:
Red Hippo Recording/Travis Ellison has no financial stake in putting these recordings out to the world. None of the Red Hippo Recording tribute albums are for sale, nor will donations of any kind be accepted. These albums were recorded out of love for the music and are offered here for free for your enjoyment.
