UNIVERSITY PROGRAM COUNCIL
JOHN PRINE
April 9, 1976
Morgan Auditorium
At the time of his Tuscaloosa performance, the 29-year-old folk singer was moving beyond cult fame and establishing himself among mainstream audiences.
Known for an interesting blend of iron lyrics about life, love, and contemporary events, he could eloquently shift gears into a more sensitive posture with poignant songs and melancholy autobiographical tales.
The audience knew his music extremely well and gently sang along to several of the choruses, including “Illegal Smile,” which produced his sneakiest grin of the evening.
He also earned huge applause for numbers like “Angel From Montgomery,” “Dear Abby” and other favorites.
Wry, shy, and modest, Prine chatted between songs in a hushed voice. A classic humorist, his act felt like a modern-day Mark Twain as he spun tales about working as a mailman for the United States Postal Service, songwriting, and his hitch in the U.S. Army. At one point somebody in the audience stood up and walked in front of a spotlight stationed in the balcony, completely shading Prine onstage for a moment. “Did somebody just walk in front of the sun?” he shrugged and asked the crowd.
The UPC scheduled the singer-songwriter for two shows, 7 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. Tickets were $3 for students and $5 for general admission in the Morgan Hall Auditorium which seated a bit over 600 people. The fact that Prine’s performance was in the building that was home base of the English Department seemed apropos.
Artist Patrick Covert designed an outstanding promotional poster for the show, a lovely piece of black and white artwork that found its way up on dorm room walls all over campus as a keepsake.