John Prine's Death From Coronavirus Mourned by Country Fans

Kyle Phillippi

04/08/2020 12:14 am EDT

Following his coronavirus diagnosis, country music icon John Prine has died after complications due to COVID-19. News of his passing came out on Tuesday evening. This comes about a week after Prine was hospitalized after showing symptoms and with his wife, Fiona, testing positive.

His death was confirmed by Rolling Stone by his family. Fiona shared the news of her husband's hospitalization with an Instagram post on March 29. "After a sudden onset of COVID-19 symptoms, John was hospitalized on Thursday (3/26). He was intubated Saturday evening, and continues to receive care, but his situation is critical. This is hard news for us to share. 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 more of that love and support now. And know that we love you, and John loves you."

Over the course of his career, Prine put out 18 studio albums between 1971 with his self-titled debut up until 2018 with The Tree of Forgiveness. Moreover, he quickly became known as one of the most distinguished songwriters of his lifetime. The Illinois native won two Grammy Awards in his career, both for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1991 and 2005.

With the loss of Prine, many of his fans and those in the industry took to social media to send their thoughts and prayers and share their memories.

Sending Thoughts and Prayers

The news came as a stunner on Tuesday for all those in the entertainment industry and for all his fans. While the world was aware of his fight with the coronavirus, seeing the news pop up online took all of his fans aback.

"Cuts Deep"

The country music industry has taken its lumps over the past few weeks. Before Prine passed away, the world also lost Kenny Rogers and Joe Diffie.

"I am so sad about John Prine," one user wrote. "He'd survived so much. His work taught me a great deal about compassionate, thoughtful writing -- writing that understood a love rooted in the critical and curious was the love worth pursuing. I'm thankful we got him for as long as we did. Still sad."

"One of the Greatest to do it"

One tweet in particular summed up Prine perfectly, calling him a "genius" and "the real deal."

"RIP John Prine. The real deal," the tweet read. "Great American singer/songwriter that found the heart and humor in even the darkest of human stories through song. Genius. Very heavy loss."

Never Too Late to Appreciate

"I was a latecomer to John Prine, only just learning his name at a Burning Man wedding a few years back," one tweet read. "As I was attempting to ride a bike with an open bottle of champagne, I heard "In Spite of Ourselves" & thought it was one of the best things ever. RIP."

His music will surely live on forever, as one user pointed out on Twitter. Rolling Stone also put together a list of his 25 most essential songs for fans looking to learn more about his music.

Another Country Music Icon Gone

The past month has been a tough one for those involved in the country music scene. Amid the coronavirus pandemic and other tragedies, such as the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash, 2020 has been anything but a memorable year so far.

"I just got the news that John Prine passed away 2020 has not been kind first Kobe then Kenny Rogers, Joe Diffie, now John Prine this has been a year to forget and we're not even out of the first quarter yet," one user wrote.

Another Coronavirus Horror Story

One Twitter account noted the tough three week span not just in the music industry but in the world. Diffie also lost his life due to the coronavirus.

"Kenny Rogers, Joe Diffie, and John Prine have all passed away within two weeks. 2/3 deaths were from the virus and I know this affecting people everywhere and people are losing family members every day, but country music is a place for happiness and positivity, and I feel like the entire country music family has been getting pretty hard from this and it makes me so sad," he wrote, before adding a second message in the thread. "I hope this is all over soon and we can go back to enjoying our summer concerts and supporting the artists we love and never take for granted."

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