A hard-to-find documentary about John Prine is coming to the Beach Theatre this month.
The rare screenings of “How Lucky Can One Man Get” are a fundraiser for the Hello in There Foundation, a nonprofit that benefits social causes that the late singer-songwriter cared about.
They are also something of a homecoming for Prine.
The legendary country-folk artist, who died in 2020, started visiting St. Pete Beach in the 1970s. Later, he brought his family to Don CeSar for spring break stays.
Prine had a soft spot for Gulfport and the beaches.
“I never thought about buying a place,” Prine told the Tampa Bay Times in 2005. “We usually rent a house when we come here. But (Gulfport) is such a neat neighborhood.”
Prine did end up purchasing a property in Gulfport, which he furnished with antiques purchased with Fiona at local thrift stores. He loved starting his morning with breakfasts at Stella’s and visiting the beaches.
“We may not have lived there year-round, but it absolutely was home,” Fiona said in a recent interview. “It’s one of the last true Americana kind of places and John was very much drawn to that.”
He often headlined local concerts, and popped up on stage with other touring acts like Van Morrison and Kris Kristofferson, and occasionally friends in the local music scene, but was mostly just fine keeping a low profile in Gulfport.
“Fiona is a beach person,” he told the New York Times in 2019. “I just bought a 1977 Cadillac Coupe DeVille and I’ve got that down at the house in Florida, so I usually take that to the carwash and go get a hot dog and wait for Fiona to come back from the beach, and then we go out to a nice restaurant at night.”
In late 2019, he performed at Ruth Eckerd Hall. As the Times wrote in a review:
When fans started whooping and hollering between songs: “Thanks for your yelps. You make me feel right at home. That’s what we do at the dinner table.”
On the sweet love song “In Spite of Ourselves”: “A lot of people are using this song for weddings these days. I don’t know how well it’s working. They use ”Please Don’t Bury Me” for funerals, so I got you on both ends. I got you covered.”
And when a fan shouted “I love you!” Prine said he loved them back.
“When you get to be my age,” he said, “you tell everybody you love them.”
It would be his final concert in Tampa Bay. Prine died months later from complications of COVID-19 early in the pandemic.
In death, Gulfport treated him like one of their own. Folks arranged a time for everyone to come out on their porches and sing a Prine song in his memory.
“Dear Abby.” “Hello In There.” “Illegal Smile.” People stepped out of their quarantines and sang.
No doubt more than a few will be in St. Pete Beach for documentary screenings on April 10 and 11. A first screening sold out quickly, and two more were added. Those have also sold out. For more information, visit thehellointherefoundation.org.
