The Time Billy Strings Served John Prine Hot Dogs & Handsome Johnny Cocktails

Billy Strings started performing John Prine’s “Sweet Revenge” in July 2020, months after the legendary singer-songwriter died due to complications from COVID-19. The debut took place at Nashville 3rd & Lindsley, but because of the pandemic, the venue was empty for the livestreamed performance.

“Sweet Revenge,” which served as the title track to Prine’s 1973 album, has appeared in a handful of additional Billy Strings setlists, most recently at his show in St. Louis on June 9, 2023.

Strings shared his condolences after completing “Sweet Revenge” for the first time at the vacant 3rd & Lindsley. The guitarist recalled having seen Prine at the venue when The Travelin’ McCourys were playing a show and how Strings often saw Prine out at seeing live music in Nashville at places like the Station Inn and 3rd & Lindsley.

One such instance of Prine attending a concert in Nashville was when Strings hosted his String The Halls concert at Marathon Music Works on December 19, 2019. Although he was not one of the many all-star guests who sat in with Strings and his bandmates that evening – and among them – Prine was treated like a guest of honor.

Shortly after Prine’s death in April 2020, Strings recorded a solo session for American Songwriter’s “Behind The Mic” series. Along with playing a few songs, Strings also talked about the recently departed Prine and relayed the story of the night he attended String The Halls:

“We did this Christmas show – String The Halls – it was our second year at Marathon [Music Works] in Nashville, and John reached out and said he wanted to come and see the show, so we were able to set him in this VIP section above the soundboard. He had his own little section up there–we really tried to treat him like royalty that night. It was amazing. He walked right through the crowd and everybody kind of separated and it was this epic thing. He sat up there and ate a couple hot dogs and made some Handsome Johnnys with his buddy Shawn — Shawn Camp — they were sitting up there together.

“After that, John sent me a text: ‘Hey this is John Prine. I really loved your show. I think you’re great. Take care’ or something like that,” Strings said. “So I was just like, ‘Alright. My life is complete.’ I of course responded and said thanks for coming and everything. We didn’t even get to really cross paths that night. I’ve seen him play live a couple times. But after that we were texting back and forth and we were trying to go grab lunch sometime. I remember I was like, ‘Let’s meet up on Sunday’ at this place that he suggested and then he was like, ‘I got this doctor’s appointment.’ And then both of us sort of got busy again, and then this shit happened. It’s a major bummer, but what a great memory at least to be able to show John a good time that one night at the Christmas Show. That was really fun.

“My manager Bill and some folks got to meet him and say hey and everything. So that was really special for my whole team and everybody on stage, too. We were playing and John Prine was sitting out there watching. It was amazing.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdzZahYyOa4?&t=1472

Prine had a well-documented love of hot dogs. When Prine toured, he went so far as to pack his own mustard for hot dogs (he also packed ketchup and syrup too, “just in case of emergencies”). As a native of the Chicago area, ketchup was likely not a condiment used for hot dogs.

“Whatever I can steal from the hotels,” Prine told The New York Times about his condiment packing habits. “It’s usually Heinz ketchup and they give you a weird mustard. You don’t get French’s or anything; you get some sort of Dijon or some mustard. That’s just for hot dogs. I don’t use mustard for anything else.”

In addition to a love of encased meat, Prine’s favorite and signature beverage was a cocktail called the Handsome Johnny. The drink’s ingredients are vodka (preferably red Smirnoff, not blue), ginger ale (preferably diet so it is not too sweet) and a slice of lemon (summertime) or lime (wintertime) “dropped from approximately 6″ above, do not squeeze it.”

Singer-songwriter Shawn Camp, who accompanied Prine to the String The Halls show at Marathon Music Works, recounted his experience to fellow singer-songwriter Otis Gibbs. A transcript of Camp’s story follows:

“I guess the first week of December [20]19. Billy Strings was playing a concert down here at the Marathon … Music Works. And [Prine] said, [his wife] ‘Fiona’s gone out of the country and my son’s gone doing something – you want to go to this concert with me tonight? Billy Strings is playing and I told him I’d go down there.’ I said, ‘Sure, you want me to come pick you up?’

He said, ‘Yeah, that’d be great.’ So I go get him and we go down there And pull around to the back door and somebody lets us in they’ve got the balcony set up, for him, nobody else. But you got to go through the crowd. Everybody’s standing up. It’s like a Grateful Dead concert or something, you know?

“We opened the door and everybody’s lit from the stage lights, their faces, and we’re walking into the lit crowd and Prine’s right in front of me. Everybody’s just like parting, ‘Oh, John Prine! Back up!’ We were just moving through this crowd of a couple of thousand people and he was like Jesus walking through the crowd.

“He was like their god or something, you know? It was like, ‘Man, that’s kind of wild!’ Just to feel everybody’s love toward him and they just opened up like a sea of faces to let him pass right through it. He was just like, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ He would speak to some folks and we got to the balcony, and they had diet ginger ales and vodka, little Smirnoff vodka.

“His favorite drink was a Handsome Johnny, which was diet ginger ale, Smirnoff vodka and a twist of lemon. They had all that spread out with a cooler and they brought hot dogs up there, like platters of hot dogs for me and him to set up there and eat. Just crazy stuff. It was like hanging out with the king and we were overlooking the crowd …

“It was a real honor to be his chauffeur that night. Just to kind of see the crowd’s reaction to him on that level – it was kind of mind-blowing.

Prine’s final album was 2018’s The Tree Of Forgiveness. The title comes from the last song on the album, “When I Get To Heaven,” in which he says he’ll name a heavenly nightclub “The Tree Of Forgiveness.” Prine also sings about having a cocktail upon his arrival in heaven, “vodka and ginger ale” of course.

When John Prine died on April 7, 2020 at age 73, Strings posted a message on social media expressing sadness over the loss of the beloved singer-songwriter. The photo of Prine attached to Strings’ note was taken on the night of the holiday concert with hot dogs and Handsome Johnnys.