April 5, 2021

Last year at this time, the world was going crazy with the COVID-19 virus. The first loss of someone I met a couple of times and hardly knew, but loved, happened on April 7, 2020. John Prine was now gone.

I hate this virus a lot as we all do. I have now lost 18 friends mostly from the racing and music industry. But this also includes a couple of high school friends too.

Hopefully, we are on the other side of it now.  However, it doesn't bring back John Prine or any of the others.

The first time I met and photographed John Prine was in 1972. After the show I met him backstage and we laughed a bit as we drank our Pabst!  I was almost 18 so what the heck, why not? He was so nice to me.  I was just a young kid photographer doing a few photos and a little story for the Bugle American newspaper.

The next and last time I met with him was in 1974 at the Schlitz Country Stage at Summerfest.  I gave him a photo of himself playing on stage with a can of Pabst on the stool next to him. That picture was taken in 1972.  Should have gotten one of my photos signed but I never did. I just enjoyed sharing my work with him and comparing Pabst and Schlitz back then.

We even made an executive from Schlitz laugh a bit as he looked at the photo and said, "no Pabst around here young man"! So we enjoyed a Schlitz and laughed and John went out to play and I went out to photograph him.

I believe I saw him 4 or 5 more times through the years but never did photograph him again.

John was such a great songwriter and musician.

Miss you John Prine...

Thanks for the fun times.

Rich Zimmermann