Andy Korn Reimagines John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” With Soulful Grooves and Everlasting Storytelling

After decades of performing alongside music legends and building an accomplished behind-the-scenes career, New York-based drummer and producer Andy Korn is entering the spotlight with his debut single under his own name. His reinterpretation of John Prine’s beloved classic “Angel From Montgomery” brings together Americana storytelling, blue-eyed soul influences, and the unmistakable rhythmic instincts of an experienced musician.

Andy Korn’s musical career has taken him from New York to San Francisco, Portland, and back, including a remarkable 15-year tenure as drummer for Ronnie Spector during the height of her solo career. Along the way, Andy Korn contributed to sessions involving Keith Richards and Joey Ramone, establishing a career rooted in musical range and collaboration.

Andy Korn was inspired to write “Angel From Montgomery” when longtime friend Josh Lava performed a stripped-down piano-and-vocal rendition. Recognizing something special, Andy Korn invited Josh Lava to record lead vocals and keys for a fuller production.

Rather than reinventing the song through unnecessary embellishment, Andy Korn approaches the classic with restraint, prioritizing groove, emotional richness, and the power of John Prine’s original storytelling.

Drawing inspiration from legendary drummers including Jim Gordon, Levon Helm, Andy Newmark, and Ritchie Hayward, Andy Korn builds the arrangement around a patient, soulful rhythmic foundation. The result is a thoughtful balance between instrumental craftsmanship and lyrical intimacy.

“At the end of the day, I hope people just feel something,” Andy Korn shares, stressing the universal emotions that make the song resonate across generations.

This release is particularly meaningful because it reflects Andy Korn’s creative identity. It brings his experience as a drummer, musician, and producer together in one recording.

With more singles planned across multiple genres, “Angel From Montgomery” introduces an exciting new chapter for an artist whose musical contributions have already spanned decades.

You spent 15 years performing with Ronnie Spector and contributed to sessions involving Keith Richards and Joey Ramone. What did those experiences teach you about creating music that feels timeless rather than tied to a particular era? I’m a musical omnivore. I’ve always listened to and appreciated all kinds of music. I grew up a Stones fan, and I was a big admirer of Charlie Watts. I was also a fan of the Ronettes and the Ramones long before I got the drum chair with Ronnie.

Hal Blaine’s and Tommy Ramone’s drumming is legendary, and those parts have lasted because they serve the song. I learned the music of the Ramones, the Ronettes and the Stones, so when a song called for that style, I was ready.

Studio work wasn’t plentiful in those days, so my experience was limited, and working with Ronnie’s producers on the album, Joey Ramone and Daniel Rey, was a real education.

Even my first session with Keith Richards taught me something. A band member had told me beforehand not to play hi-hat on 2 and 4, among other directions. I’d seen the Stones live two or three times and watched Charlie Watts, and sure enough, he doesn’t play it there, so whenever I played a Stones tune, I’d switch to that drum style. When Keith walked in, we started a tune, and after it ended he said, ‘Drummer Andy, really great.’ Then he turned to the person who’d been giving me and everyone else directions and started giving them very ‘specific’ notes. A bit of karma, and pretty ironic.

What it all comes down to is listening, taking direction, drawing on what you know, setting your ego and subjectivity aside, and keeping it simple. That’s what I hear in those Ronettes and Ramones records. They never chased a trend, and that’s why they still sound fresh today.

Hearing Josh Lava perform “Angel From Montgomery” sparked the inspiration for this release. What about that performance made you realize you had something new to contribute to such an iconic song? When I saw Josh Lava’s video of ‘Angel From Montgomery,’ it was just him and a piano, but he played it like he was playing in a band. It had a groove I couldn’t shake, a Richard Tee and Billy Preston feel, that soulful, pocket-driven keyboard sound Richard brought to his work with Paul Simon and Billy Idol.

That’s how I listen when an artist brings me a song. I tap into the immediate possibilities of how my own musical ideas can fit into the stripped-down version. Watching and listening to Josh’s version, I could see and hear what the potential of the song could naturally become.

I listened to twenty or thirty versions of this song, and they’re all great performances. I think of it like driving the same route and looking out the window. The road doesn’t change, but you see different views each time. Josh’s version gave me a view I hadn’t seen before.

To me, this is a song about life, about the parts of it that don’t turn out how you thought. I didn’t want to leave the Americana roots behind, because that’s where the song lives. But I wanted to bring a more soulful, rock and roll feel to it, and honor John Prine’s songwriting while letting the groove carry it somewhere new.

And the drumming is something I put a lot of myself into, because that’s my roots. I came up as a drummer before anything else, then moved into production, and this track is really a snapshot of all of that: the musician, the drummer, and the producer, all in one recording.

You've cited drummers like Jim Gordon, Levon Helm, and Andy Newmark as influences on this recording. How did you translate those inspirations into your own rhythmic identity without overpowering the song's emotional storytelling?

Each of those drummers gave me something different. From Jim Gordon, it’s his musicality and his perfectly placed drum fills. Listen to his drumming on Steely Dan’s ‘Any Major Dude Will Tell You.’ He never played a fill just to be heard; it was always in the right spot. Levon Helm had grease in his playing, and greasy is what gives a drum performance character. Andy Newmark, who was heavily influenced by Gordon, is full steam ahead and punchy, with a gift for using rudiments to make his fills sound simple while still carrying real technique.

I’ve absorbed so many of the recordings they played on that it all melded into the style I bring to my studio work. But when I listen, it’s about understanding why they played what they played, and how I can take that influence and make it mine. I’m not copying their parts.

Their feel is in my hands now. On this recording, you’ll hear it in a few press rolls, a rudiment-based touch that adds technique without pulling attention from the song. What comes out is my own blend of musicality, grease, and punch, always in service of the song.

With ‘Angel From Montgomery,’ that means remembering it’s a song about life, about the parts that don’t turn out how you thought, and the drums have to support that story, not compete with it. So I keep it simple, stay in the pocket, and save the fills for where they mean something. If the drumming is doing its job, you feel it more than you notice it.

After spending decades supporting other artists as a drummer and producer, what made this the right moment to release music under your own name, and did that creative responsibility feel different? After decades of supporting other artists, there comes a time when you have to invest in yourself. I love playing drums and percussion, collaborating, and producing, and I’ve done plenty of that on albums like Metalmorphosis: Vol 1, Aftertouch, and The Trez Hombrez. Those were group efforts where the vision was shared.

During the pandemic, I started writing and working on demos in all the genres I love. I have a recording studio, and what do you do in a recording studio? You record. I’ve been working on all kinds of pieces, long and short, and I wanted to share them. I also have a great team of musicians to bring them to life.

This one is different. It’s not a band project. It’s my production and my arrangement. My friend Josh Lava started the song, and I finished it with his blessing.

The creative side felt natural. The arrangement, the production, and the drum parts were my calls, and it was never nerve-wracking. It’s just a matter of using good musical judgment and keeping the end result in sight. What feels different is everything around the music. I’m the one handling the marketing and PR, doing the interviews, and deciding on the mixes and mastering.

For the mix, I worked with Jaimeson Durr, who I’ve collaborated with since I lived in San Francisco. With today’s technology, we can work in real time from opposite sides of the country. He’s a brilliant engineer and super chill, which makes the process easier.

My approach is still the one I’ve always worked by: listen to the song, keep it simple, and let it lead.

You've mentioned that this single is the beginning of a series of releases spanning different genres. What can listeners expect from this next chapter, and how will you connect them?

Listeners can expect variety. During the pandemic, I started writing and working on demos in all the genres I love, long and short pieces, and this single is the first of those to come out. The new music will showcase prog, soul, rock and roll, and ambient, plus some songs that mesh all of those styles together. I’ve always been a musical omnivore, so it makes sense that the music would be too.

I’ll be releasing covers alongside my own original tunes. Next up, on November 20th, my heavy rock version of Mama Cass Elliot’s ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’ will appear on the Evergreen Compilation, a multi-artist release. It’s such a great song, and I wanted to give it a heavy grunge rock treatment. I hope people like it. With covers, my approach is the same as it was with ‘Angel From Montgomery.’ I listen for what the song could naturally become, and then I bring my own arrangement, production, and drumming to it. With my originals, I get to start from a blank page.

What connects it all is respect for the listener. That means putting real care into the musicality and the performances on every track. For now, I’m releasing singles, but when the time comes, I’ll put out an album of songs that fit together stylistically. Whatever the genre, I just try to serve the song.