John Prine Left Behind Unreleased Music, Says Wife Fiona
John Prine fans can expect to hear some unreleased music from the folk giant, his widow Fiona says. He left new material behind when he died.
Talking to CBS' Anthony Mason, Fiona Prine shares that her husband was working on a new album before he died on April 7, at the age of 73, of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Prine family is planning to debut one new song during a Thursday (June 11) tribute concert in the singer-songwriter's honor, and Fiona says more unreleased tracks will be released in the future.
"I have the resilience muscle, which is a little exhausted right now. But I'm gonna be okay," Fiona Prine says of life following her beloved husband's death. "John left me a lot — a lot of memories, music, cars."
Picture Show: A Tribute Celebrating John Prine will feature Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves and many more celebrating their friend and musical hero's life and work during a livestream event. The show will benefit, among others, Alive and the National Alliance on Mental Illness; it's being organized by Prine's family and their record label, Oh Boy Records.
"It's been difficult at times," Fiona Prine says of putting the event together, "but it's also been a great distraction."
John Prine contracted the coronavirus in late March and spent his final days in a Nashville-area hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator; Fiona had just recovered from the virus herself when he was admitted, in fact.
In addition to his wife, Prine is survived by three sons, Jody, Jack and Tommy, and grandchildren, along with a legion of adoring fans and beloved friends. Numerous artists paid tribute to him in their own ways following his death, and while the family was unable to have a traditional memorial service or funeral due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have found small ways to honor his memory.
"It came as the biggest surprise when I learned about how deep and yet uncomplicated John's faith was in God and the afterlife," Fiona shares. "[H]e really did believe with no doubt that he would die and he would be in Heaven."
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