John Prine’s Early Nashville Years Highlighted In New Book By Tom Piazza, ‘Living In The Present With John Prine’

John Prine’s early Nashville years are vividly captured in a heartfelt new book by his friend Tom Piazza, Living in the Present with John Prine, which draws from their conversations before Prine’s death at 73 in 2020. Originally intended as Prine’s memoir, the book evolved into a moving portrait of their friendship and loss, featuring excerpts in Prine’s own voice that reveal his first experiences in Nashville, including a memorable backstage visit to the Grand Ole Opry in the early 1970s. There, surrounded by country legends like Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff, and Dolly Parton, Prine felt he was “in hillbilly heaven,” warmly welcomed into a community that deeply influenced his life and music. Piazza says his book, due out on September 9, is “a portrait, the best I can deliver, of John, and of our friendship, as he made the most of the final two years of his life.” (Rolling Stone)