Miranda Lambert ‘Dropped Everything’ to Duet With John Prine in 2016
Miranda Lambert is one of the biggest country stars of her generation, but she didn't hesitate when she got a call inviting her to record a duet with John Prine in 2016. The superstar "dropped everything" to sing with Prine on a new recording of Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart," Prine recalled to People.
The call came at an odd time for Lambert, who announced her divorce from Blake Shelton in July of 2015. She was still coming to grips with that while working on her own album, The Weight of These Wings, when Prine's request came in in January of 2016, and he was sensitive to her predicament.
“It wasn’t a really good time for her to do it," Prine related, "but she dropped everything and showed up.
"I let her pick the song, because of all the stuff that was going on in the newspapers," he added. "I didn’t want to ask her to come in and do a divorce song, or to do a sad song, I said, ‘You can pick a sad one or a happy one and I’ll go along with it.'"
Lambert opted for "Cold, Cold Heart," and the track appeared on Prine's 2016 album For Better, or Worse, which also features the iconic singer-songwriter singing classic songs with Lee Ann Womack, Alison Krauss, Morgane Stapleton, Iris DeMent, Kacey Musgraves and more.
The two hadn't met before, but Prine was one of Lambert's musical heroes, and he was a big fan of hers, too, ever since seeing her sing his song "That's the Way That the World Goes 'Round" on the CMA Awards in 2010. She included her energetic, almost punk-infused version of the classic song on her Revolution album in 2009.
“I’ve been watching the CMAs since I was old enough to walk and I know that record companies always push the artists to debut their next single, but Miranda didn’t care,” Prine recalled to People. “I just sat there on my sofa with my mouth open. The guitars were wailing and I thought, 'I like that girl!' A number of people have done it as a folk song and they totally screw it up. Miranda nailed it."
John Prine died on Tuesday (April 7) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville at the age of 73, after suffering complications from the coronavirus (COVID-19). Lambert was among the country stars who turned to social media to remember him and celebrate his legacy.
WATCH: John Prine's Best Songs
10 Things You Didn't Know About John Prine