John Prine & Sturgill Simpson Discuss Songwriting & Perform Together For Grammys

Legendary singer-songwriter John Prine and on-the-rise singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson recently appeared together for a discussion regarding their craft that included a performance by the pair of guitarists. Hosted by author Paul Zollo for a Grammy Pro Songwriter Week session at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, the insightful discussion and performance are the focus of this week’s Sunday Cinema installment.

Prine, who’s known for such classic compositions as “Angel From Montgomery,” “Sam Stone,” “Paradise” and many others, discusses his early development, telling stories of how Bob Dylan influenced his early attempts at songwriting and humorous tales involving fellow Chicago-area musician, the late Steve Goodman. Simpson, who’s garnered attention in country music circles with his recent critically acclaimed albums Metamodern Sounds in Country Music and this year’s excellent A Sailor’s Guide To Earth, explains how he found traction after moving to Nashville and his different approaches to using the studio for recording.

Prine plays some of his songs during the highly insightful and at times humorous discussion. Prine and Simpson also performed together after the interview, with Prine starting off solo on “Souvenirs,” following with a full rendition of “Sam Stone” which he previewed during the talk. Sturgill then emerged to help out on “Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness” and “Paradise” with more banter coming between songs.

Watch footage of the interview followed by the joint performance below:

Interview

Performance