Hi Bill---I guess my qualifier applied more to Tom Petty than John Prine, but I see how it could be read as Prine not being folk. Like you, I don't know what the hell he is either, but folk comes a lot closer than anything else. Unfortunately, there is no definition as to what folk is that all can agree on and we end up with another agreement to disagree. There is a large contingent that believe unless a performer sings about long dead folks...he ain't folk. Perhaps you saw Billy Connelly's HBO special a few years ago when he blasted his previous means of support...I damn near died laughing. One contingent draws the line in the early American period, while another stops with Woody. Some go on further, but very few allow present day folkies unless they have hung in like Tom Paxton or died for their work like Phil Ochs. I like both of them, but what about Prine...too country (a folk derivative)??? Sometimes these people lead us back to other more traditional players, but I don't believe they have to. Steve Goodman and Harry Chapin ought to fall in here somewhere. Doesn't folk music tell stories? Harry Chapin told great stories, and wasn't a navel contemplater either! And Steve Goodman? Speaking of.....what about Arlo??? I guess Harry and Steve have a leg up on him since they're dead. I understand the disdain for many singer/songwriters but sometimes they are simply dismissed out of hand because so many are into long winded explanations of truly simple ass songs. I can't take that bunch either, but it doesn't mean every singer/songwriter is a complete nabob because he doesn't feel compelled to sing about events and people long past. Anyone who has listened to the early work of Jim Croce would not deny the folk influence. Has anybody else heard the songs he was doing for his next album which were far more country/folk than rock...and he was looking to do a less produced sound and was working with some folks in Nashville. Hell, I'm not trying to sell Jim Croce as a folkie, but we dismiss so many out of hand without hearing more of their work.

Why am I bothering? What I really wanted to say was Thank You Bill for having some insight into John Prine and where he's often led others. I just also want to reiterate.....he doesn't have too. When John, his guitar, and his bottle of Jack hit the stage, sit back and enjoy an evening of great "storytelling."

catspaw