A biography for John Prinehasn’t been written yet.
“I don't concern myself with where I fit in. I just keep my head down and keep doing whatever it is I'm going.”
“If you listen to people talk, when people actually talk, they talk in melodies. If they get angry, their voice rises, and it's more of a staccato thing. When they ask for something, they're real sweet. It's all music.”
“After cancer, I ain't scared of nothing.”
“I think if you write from your own gut, you'll come up with something interesting, whereas if you sit around guessing what people want, you end up with the kind of same schlock that everybody else has got.”
“I became a recording artist before I knew it. And I just - when I would listen to my old records, I'd just hear this young, extremely nervous fella that that made me want to run out of the room, you know, rather than listen to what he had to say.”
“I don't like to be caught without a pick.”
“Howie Epstein was a kind, patient, and extremely talented musician. He took two years out of his life and dedicated his undivided attention to the making of two of my records. Those records changed my life thanks to Howie.”
“I guess what I always found funny was the human condition.”
“'The Ways of a Woman in Love' is one of my very favorite early Johnny Cash songs. I like the way the lyric talks about the character walking by the girl's house and wishing he was the one in her arms.”
“I have to have something that really excites me in order to write about it.”
“It doesn't hit you until you pull up to the hospital, and you see 'cancer' in big letters, and you're the patient. Then it all kind of comes home.”
“I don't like to see Christmas trees torn down.”
“When I'm making my own record, it's real work for me.”
“I feel basically good about my career because it's remained constant. What I do has never been especially in vogue or gotten high on the charts. At the same time, I haven't had to stop performing any of my music because it aged in style.”
“After a couple bouts with cancer and everything, black cats are nothin', you know?”
“The only time I ever think about getting old is when I look in the mirror. I feel pretty good about it, actually.”
“Never wear your necktie while you're operating a lathe.”
“All the girls over there in Ireland are well versed in American country music. Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline are like king and queen over there.”
“To tell you the truth, the nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame totally surprised me. I had no idea that was coming. I know a lot of people like to say it's enough just to be nominated. But I've been nominated for so many things, I'd like to get this one. I think it's a long shot, considering I never had a No. 1 rock n' roll record.”
“Yeah, early '71 is when I got my record contract. I had a record come out by August of '71. Things happened really fast.”