A  two-time  Grammy-winner,  John  Prine  is  among  the  English  language’s  premier  phrase-turners.  Almost  50  years  into  a  remarkable  career  that  has  drawn  effusive  praise  from  Bob  Dylan,  Kris  Kristofferson,  Bonnie  Raitt,  Roger  Waters,  Tom  Petty,  Bruce  Springsteen  and  others  who  would  know,  Prine  is  a  smiling,  shuffling  force  for  good.He  is  a  2019  Rock  &  Roll  Hall  of  Fame  &  Songwriter’s  Hall  of  Fame  nominee,  a  Nashville  Songwriters  Hall  of  Fame  member  and  a  PEN  New  England  Lyrics  Award  recipient  whose  classic  debut  album,  simply  titledJohn  Prine,  is  recognized  as  part  of  the  Recording  Academy’s  Grammy  Hall  of  Fame  and  whose  songs  have  been  recorded  by  Johnny  Cash,  Carly  Simon,  Bette  Midler,  Bonnie  Raitt,  Norah  Jones,  George  Strait,  Miranda  Lambert,  Zac  Brown  Band  and  many  others.His  critically  acclaimed  new  album,The  Tree  of  Forgiveness,  was  produced  by  Grammy  Award  winning  produce  Dave  Cobb  and  recently  debuted  at  #5  on  the  Billboard  200—a  career  high  chart  position  and  sales  week  for  the  legendary  singer,  songwriter  and  performer.

Of course, the opposite is true today. Those three songs – as well as “In Spite of Ourselves,” “Lake Marie,” “Fish and Whistle,” and so many others – are Prine signatures. His songs have been recorded by iconic singers like Johnny Cash (“Sam Stone”), Bette Midler (“Hello in There”) and Bonnie Raitt (“Angel from Montgomery”). He’s an uncredited co-writer on the now-classic “You Never Even Call Me by My Name” and his songs have been cut by country stars like Zac Brown Band (“All the Best”), Miranda Lambert (“That’s the Way the World Goes Round”) and George Strait (“I Just Want to Dance with You”). A gem from The Tree of Forgiveness, “Boundless Love” is also ripe for the picking.

Prine won his first Grammy for the 1991 album, The Missing Years, and he joined the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003. The Grammy Hall of Fame inducted his 1971 self-titled debut album in 2014. Two years later he accepted the PEN New England’s Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award. At the age of 70, he was named Artist of the Year by the Americana Music Association in 2017. Naturally, The Tree of Forgiveness is rooted in that same observant songwriting that he’s crafted throughout his career.

“I kept saying when I was doing this album, it’s going to be my last one,” Prine admits with a grin. “But if things go really good with it, I can’t see why I wouldn’t do something else.”

Talent, dreams and determination are an intoxicating little cocktail. It's a recipe that has served to propel a lithesome Georgia blonde from local honky tonks to the world's most prestigious stages. For Trisha Yearwood, there was never any other path but music. Like most hopeful young artists, Yearwood began singing around her hometown, and though she became a big fish in that small pond, deep inside she wondered if she really had the goods to succeed.

 

She started singing demos, and earned a reputation for her solid work ethic, engaging personality and phenomenal voice. Songwriter Kent Blazy frequently used Yearwood on his demos and it was in his attic studio that she first met Garth Brooks. Brooks introduced her to his producer, Allen Reynolds, who introduced her to producer Garth Fundis. Soon after, Yearwood did a showcase and landed a deal with MCA Records.

 

Such gems have always bee a staple of Yearwood's artistry. "I always thought my biggest hits have been happy accidents. I didn't know 'She's In Love With The Girl' was going to be that big. I didn't know 'How Do I Live' was going to be that big and those allow me to do some of the other songs that are maybe a little more left-of-center," she says. "I always called it the Emmylou factor. I was always checking my integrity level and saying, 'Okay would Emmy sing this? Could I pass her on the street if I sang this song?'

 

"I think I was actually a lot more serious in the beginning and finally Garth Fundis said, 'You have to lighten up a little bit. Everything doesn't have to be so deep. You can have some fun and nobody's going to think you've lost your artistic integrity.' I think we've had more fun on the later albums because I have lightened up a little bit. I can sing the gut-wrenching stuff, but I can have fun too. I think I'm able to sing some happier songs with sincerity in a way that I never did, not that I wasn't happy before, just not this level of happy. I can actually put a little more into those kind of songs."

 

Yes, Trisha Yearwood is happy these days. There's a light in her smile and buoyancy in her tone that's undeniable and absolutely infectious. "It still amazes me that I make a living doing what I love to do," she says. "I don't ever feel like it is work. I feel really grateful and blessed to get to do what I love. I love, love, love to sing."