John Prine has won the 2021 Grammy Awards for Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song, both for his final recording, “I Remember Everything.” His wins were announced during the 2021 Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony on Sunday afternoon (March 14), ahead of the televised portion of the all-genre awards show.
Prine’s wins were especially emotional, as the folk icon died in April of 2020 of complications of COVID-19. His singer’s widow, Fiona Prine, accepted the trophies on his behalf, appearing virtually from her Nashville home alongside the couple’s sons, Jody, Jack and Tommy. They thanked producer Dave Cobb, a longtime champion of Prine’s, as well as Prine’s Oh Boy Records label and its employees; they also made sure to thank Prine’s large fanbase “in Nashville and beyond.”
Brandi Carlile will perform in honor of Prine during the 2021 Grammy Awards telecast. Of the singer-songwriter, she shares, ”He is one of my great heroes. He’s certainly one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and there’s so many of that just wouldn’t — we wouldn’t write songs and we wouldn’t know how if not for John.”
A folk legend known for songs such as “Sam Stone” and “Angel From Montgomery,” the latter of which Bonnie Raitt made famous, Prine died of the novel coronavirus on April 7, at the age of 73. Carlile admits that his death has felt especially heavy for her and many others because the singer-songwriter’s friends, family and fans were not able to gather together in person to honor him.
“Having lost him this year to COVID is especially heartbreaking,” Carlile continues, “but there’s something about this performance for me that’s really cathartic … and I just feel like there’s hope and redemption in the words of [the song I’m performing].”
Prine earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy in 2020. On Thursday (March 11), Fiona — who also contracted COVID-19, but beat the virus — shared several photos from that night. “Not sure how long it will take to walk in the world without John by my side or him calling me 15 times a day to check in if I was on an adventure,” she writes.
Comedian and late-night TV host Trevor Noah will host the 2021 Grammy Awards telecast, which will air live beginning at 8PM ET on CBS. The show was pushed back from late January due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Country Artists With the Most Grammy Awards Wins: