The Singing Mailman promises to deliver

John Prine has been honored with Grammy Awards. He was asked by U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser to read and perform at the Library of Congress. His songs have been covered by stars such as Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, the Everly Brothers, John Denver, Kris Kristofferson, Carly Simon, Ben Harper and Joan Baez.

None other than Bob Dylan once said of his work, "Beautiful songs ... nobody but Prine could write like that."

Prine will perform Saturday at the Tivoli Theatre.

According to his biography, he honed his craft early on by making up songs while he delivered the mail in Maywood, Ill.

"I always likened the mail route to a library with no books," Prine is quoted as saying. "I passed the time each day making up these little ditties."

He started performing those songs during open-mike nights and soon became a fixture on the Chicago folk scene in the '60s.

Many of those songs found their way onto "The Singing Mailman Delivers," a double-disc release featuring some of his earliest studio and live recordings dating back to 1970. It is his newest release.