'Speechless': Hardly Strictly favorite John Prine dies from COVID-19

John Prine performs on stage at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California on 2nd October, 2009. John Prine performs on stage at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California on 2nd October, 2009. Photo: Anthony Pidgeon/Redferns Photo: Anthony Pidgeon/Redferns Image 1 of / 73 Caption Close 'Speechless': Hardly Strictly favorite John Prine dies from COVID-19 1 / 73 Back to Gallery

See photos of John Prine performing in the Bay Area in the gallery above.

The raspy-voiced, country-folk singer-songwriter John Prine died of complications related to COVID-19 at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center, according to Rolling Stone. He was 73 years old.

Prine performed often in the San Francisco Bay Area, and was at the Fox Theater in Oakland as recently as October and the Warfield in San Francisco in May 2018. He was also a regular at San Francisco's annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park, including in 2017 when he welcomed guitarist Kurt Vile onto the stage for a set.

The Hardly Strictly Twitter account shared an image of Prine with the message, "Speechless."

San Francisco rocker Chuck Prophet said he's devastated by the news. “The thing about John Prine is there was never a time when he wasn’t cool,” said Prophet. "He could never be imitated. He used such plain language in his songs and he had such an ear for capturing the way people talk. Never did he do any cartwheels across the page. A genius. Likes of which we will never see again. Not in this world."

Faith No More drummer and Mill Valley resident Mike Bordin was also saddened by the news. "We have lost a true American original, a genuine pioneer," Bordin said. "May he R.I.P."

When news that Prine's health was in jeopardy, social media was filled with an outpouring of affection. Joan Baez responded with a video of her playing his song “Hello In There" from her kitchen.

Prine's wife, Fiona Whelan, provided updates on Twitter, writing on April 8: "This is John’s 8th day in ICU. He is receiving excellent medical care and being treated with kindness and compassion by the entire team looking after him day and night. I cannot be with him which makes this nightmare all the more distressing."

Whelan announced on March 17 that she had tested positive for coronavirus, and said the couple was quarantined and isolated from each other. Whelan, who is also Prine's manager, said Monday that she had recovered from COVID-19.

Speechless.

We love you John. Thank you.

Prine was one of the most influential people in folk and country music, and a favorite songwriter of music greats such as Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson. Prine is known for his songs telling tales of everyday hard-working people. He was born in the Chicago suburbs and after serving in the Army in the Vietnam War, he started playing clubs while working as a mailman in his 20s.

He has twice fought cancer. Most recently, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013 and had part of a lung removed. The surgeries affected his voice but Prine continued to make music and tour. Before the onset of the virus, Prine had shows scheduled in May and a summer tour planned.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her at agraff@sfgate.com.