Oh Boy Records is pleased to announce the release of John Prine Beyond Words, available for purchase via https://johnprine.com on April 18th. Beyond Words includes over 100 photographs from Prine’s personal collection, copies of handwritten lyrics showing the creative process with select commentary, and lyrics with guitar chords for 60+ classic Prine songs. Watch the trailer for Beyond Words here. The book retails for $34.98 and is currently available for pre-order with free shipping (within in the U.S.).
For fans of Prine, the general consensus of this release is it’s about time, as a songbook has been requested at the merch table for years. Personally curated, the book is for both the studied Prine fan and the next generation of songwriters newly discovering his work. Beyond Words is a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the man No Depression Magazine dubbed “the poet laureate of our everyday experience.”
Beyond Words is new territory for both Prine and Oh Boy Records, as this is Prine’s first ever songbook and the label’s first foray into book publishing. Decidedly indie, Oh Boy was founded in 1981 by Prine and his manager Al Bunetta, and is the second oldest artist owned independent label in the country; the oldest in Nashville.
Two time Grammy-award winner, John Prine, is a singer songwriter who, from his eponymously titled first LP release in 1971, has continued to write and perform songs that have become central to our American musical heritage. Classics like, ‘Angel from Montgomery,’ ‘Sam Stone,’ ‘Paradise,’ and ‘Hello in There’ speak to the everyday experience of ordinary people with a simple honesty, and an extraordinary ability to get right through to the heart of the listener.
With his career spanning more than 40 years, Prine continues to perform at sold out shows all over the US, Canada, and Europe. Among the many awards and accolades John has received in recent times include is his 2003 induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and an Americana Lifetime Achievement Award for songwriting. In 2005, Prine was honored at the Library of Congress by US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser and in 2016 was awarded the prestigious PEN New England’s Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award. Prine has become for many, not just a well loved and appreciated songwriter, but a bonafide American treasure.
