Dear Abby by John Prine.
(in memory of Pauline Friedman Phillips who, as Dear Abby dispensed snappy, sometimes saucy relationship advice to millions of newspaper readers around the world, died yesterday. She was 94.)
Re-edited from Wikipedia:
"John Prine is one of the most influential songwriters of his generation. His song writing talents have been praised by Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Sun records' Sam Philips, and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, just to name a few.
In 1991, Prine released the Grammy Award-winning 'The Missing Years,' his first collaboration with producer and Heartbreakers bassist Howie Epstein. The title song records Prine's humorous take on what Jesus did in the unrecorded years between his childhood and ministry.
John Prine was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for songwriting in 2003 by the UK's BBC Radio 2 and that same year was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
He recorded a version of Stephen Foster's "Old Kentucky Home" in 2004 for the compilation album Beautiful Dreamer, which won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in 2004, and received the Artist of the Year award at the Americana Music Awards on September 9, 2005.
John Prine was borned October 10, 1946, in Maywood, Illinois. In the late 1960s, while Prine was delivering mail, he began to sing at open mic evenings at the Fifth Peg on Armitage Avenue in Chicago.
He soon became a central figure in the Chicago folk revival, which also included such singer-songwriters as Steve Goodman, Bonnie Koloc, Jim Post and Fred Holstein. Joined by such established musicians as Jethro Burns and Bob Gibson, Prine performed frequently at a variety of clubs—including the Earl of Old Town, the Quiet Knight, Somebody Else's Troubles, The 5th Peg, and the Bulls.
In 1971 Prine's self-titled debut album was released. He and friend Steve Goodman had each been active in the Chicago folk scene before being "discovered" by Kris Kristofferson. The album included his signature songs "Illegal Smile," "Sam Stone," and the folk and country standards "Angel from Montgomery" and "Paradise." The album also featured "Hello In There", a song about aging that was later covered by numerous artists, and "Far From Me," a lonely waltz about lost love for a waitress that Prine later said was his favorite of all his songs.
The album received many positive reviews, and some hailed Prine as "the next Dylan." Bob Dylan himself appeared unannounced at one of Prine's first New York City club appearances, anonymously backing him on harmonica.
Subsequent albums include Sweet Revenge (1973), containing such fan favorites as "Dear Abby," "Grandpa Was A Carpenter," and "Christmas In Prison", and Common Sense (1975), with "Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard". The latter album was Prine's first to be charted in the US Top 100 by Billboard, reflecting growing commercial success. It was produced by Steve Cropper.
In 1974, singer David Allan Coe achieved considerable success on the country charts with "You Never Even Called Me By My Name", co-written by Prine and Goodman. The song good-naturedly spoofs stereotypical country music lyrics.
Prine currently resides in Nashville with his third wife, Fiona Whelan. They have three children, stepson Jody Whelan, Tommy and Jack. Prine has a second residence in Pinellas County, Florida."