Legendary Musician John Prine Dead at 73 After Battling Coronavirus Complications
Legendary songwriter and musician John Prine passed away due to coronavirus (COVID-19) complications.
Prine died on Tuesday (April 7) at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He was 73.
His family confirmed to Rolling Stone that the two-time Grammy winner's death was due to complications due to COVID-19.
On March 26, after a "sudden onset of COVID-19 symptoms," the musician was hospitalized. The family shared a statement on social media that described his situation as critical. Two days later, he was intubated.
"This is hard news for us to share," the statement continued. "But so many of you have loved and supported John over the years, we wanted to let you know, and give you the chance to send out more of that love and support now. And know that we love you, and John loves you."
Prine's manager and wife, Fiona, revealed in March that she had also tested positive for the novel coronavirus after returning to the United States following a European tour. She was quarantined away from her husband when he fell ill.
"As you know, John was put on a ventilator last Saturday," she wrote on Instagram last week. "He still needs quite a bit of help with his breathing. Like many patients currently in ICU beds all around the world, John has pneumonia in both lungs. He has also developed some peripheral issues that are being treated with meds, including antibiotics."
The Songwriters Hall of Fame member was not only a world-class performer that was loved by Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan, but he was also an actor, owner of Oh Boy Records and an author. He paved the way for artists in the Americana and folk genres.
Prine previously fought squamous cell cancer in 1998 and then battled lung cancer in 2013, which caused him to have part of his lung removed.