Steve Goodman

American folk music singer-songwriter (1948-1984)

This article is about the folk singer. For the electronic music artist, see Kode9.

Steve Goodman

Goodman in 1983

Background information
Birth name| Steven Benjamin Goodman
Born| (1948-07-25)July 25, 1948
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died| September 20, 1984(1984-09-20) (aged 36)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genres|

* Folk
* country
* rock
* pop
* blues

Occupation(s)| Musician, songwriter
Instruments|

* Vocals
* guitar

Years active| 1968–1984
Labels| Buddah, Asylum, Red Pajamas

Musical artist

Steven Benjamin Goodman[1] (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote the song "City of New Orleans", which was recorded by artists including Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, The Highwaymen, and Judy Collins. In 1985, Goodman received the Grammy songwriter award for best country song. Goodman co-wrote "You Never Even Called Me by My Name", which became the best-selling song of country musician David Allan Coe. A lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, Goodman wrote "Go Cubs Go." Goodman died of leukemia in September 1984.

## Personal life

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Goodman was born on Chicago's North Side to a middle-class Jewish family. He began writing and performing songs as a teenager. He graduated from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois, in 1965, where he was a classmate of Hillary Clinton. During high school he began his public singing career by leading the junior choir at Temple Beth Israel in Albany Park. In the fall of 1965, he entered the University of Illinois and pledged the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. In college he formed a cover band called The Juicy Fruits, with Goodman on lead guitar, Ron Banyon on rhythm guitar, Steve Hartmann on bass, and Elliot Englehardt on drums. He left college after one year to pursue his musical career. In the early spring of 1967, Goodman went to New York, staying for a month in a Greenwich Village brownstone across the street from the Cafe Wha?, where he performed regularly.

Returning to Chicago, he intended to restart his education. In 1968 Goodman began performing at the Earl of Old Town and The Dangling Conversation coffeehouse and attracted a following.[2] By 1969, Goodman was a regular performer in Chicago, while attending Lake Forest College. During this time Goodman supported himself by singing advertising jingles. It was during this time[3] he discovered the cause of his continuous fatigue was actually leukemia. This led him to drop out of school again to pursue his music full-time.

In September 1969 he met Nancy Pruter (sister of R&B writer Robert Pruter), who was attending college and working as a waitress. They were married in February 1970. Though he experienced periods of remission, Goodman never felt that he was living on anything other than borrowed time, and some critics, listeners and friends have said that his music reflects this sentiment. His wife, writing in the liner notes to the posthumous collection No Big Surprise, characterized him this way:

> Basically, Steve was exactly who he appeared to be: an ambitious, well-adjusted man from a loving, middle-class Jewish home in the Chicago suburbs, whose life and talent were directed by the physical pain and time constraints of a fatal disease which he kept at bay, at times, seemingly by willpower alone... Steve wanted to live as normal a life as possible, only he had to live it as fast as he could... He extracted meaning from the mundane.

## Career

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Goodman's songs first appeared on Gathering at The Earl of Old Town, an album produced by Chicago record company Dunwich in 1971. As a close friend of Earl Pionke, the owner of the folk music bar, Goodman performed at The Earl dozens of times, including customary New Year's Eve concerts. He also remained closely involved with Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music, where he had met and mentored his friend, John Prine.

Later in 1971, Goodman was playing at a Chicago bar called the Quiet Knight as the opening act for Kris Kristofferson. Impressed with Goodman, Kristofferson introduced him to Paul Anka, who brought Goodman to New York to record some demos.[4] This resulted in Goodman signing a contract with Buddah Records.

All this time, Goodman had been busy writing many of his most enduring songs, and this avid songwriting would lead to an important break for him. While at the Quiet Knight, Goodman saw Arlo Guthrie and asked him to let him play a song for him. Guthrie grudgingly agreed on the condition that Goodman buy him a beer first; Guthrie would then listen to Goodman for as long as it took Guthrie to drink the beer.[4] Goodman played "City of New Orleans", which Guthrie liked enough that he asked to record it.

Guthrie's version of Goodman's song, about the Illinois Central's City of New Orleans train, became a Top 20 hit in 1972 and provided Goodman with enough financial and artistic success to make music a full-time career. The song would become an American standard, covered by such musicians as Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, Chet Atkins, Lynn Anderson, and Willie Nelson, whose recorded version earned Goodman a posthumous Grammy for Best Country Song in 1985. A French translation of the song, "Salut Les Amoureux", was recorded by Joe Dassin in 1973.

A Dutch singer, Gerard Cox, heard the French version while on holiday and translated it into Dutch, titled "'t Is Weer Voorbij Die Mooie Zomer" ("And again that beautiful summer has come to an end"). It reached number one on the Dutch Top 40 in December 1973 and has become a classic which is still played on Dutch radio. Inspired by this version Rudi Carrell, a Dutch TV host and entertainer who was also very successful in Germany, covered the song with German lyrics ("Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer?") in 1975. It peaked #18 in the Top 40 and has become a radio classic which gains airplay in rainy summers. A Hebrew version of the song "Shalom Lach Eretz Nehederet" was sung by famous Israeli singer Yehoram Gaon in 1977 and became an immediate hit. Lyrically, the French, Dutch, German and Hebrew versions bear no resemblance to Goodman's original lyrics.

According to Goodman, the song was inspired by a train trip he and his wife took from Chicago to Mattoon, Illinois.[5] According to the liner notes on the Steve Goodman anthology No Big Surprise, "City of New Orleans" was written while on the campaign trail with Senator Edmund Muskie.

In 1974, singer David Allan Coe achieved considerable success on the country charts with Goodman's and John Prine's "You Never Even Called Me by My Name", a song which good-naturedly spoofed stereotypical country music lyrics. Prine refused to take a songwriter's credit for the song, although Goodman bought Prine a jukebox as a gift from his publishing royalties. Goodman's name is mentioned in Coe's recording of the song, in a spoken epilogue in which Goodman and Coe discuss the merits of "the perfect country and western song".

Goodman's success as a recording artist was more limited. Although he was known in folk circles as an excellent and influential songwriter,[4] his albums received more critical than commercial success. One of Goodman's biggest hits was a song he didn't write: "The Dutchman", written by Michael Peter Smith. He reached a wider audience as the opening act for Steve Martin while Martin was at the height of his stand-up popularity.[6]

During the mid and late seventies, Goodman became a regular guest on Easter Sunday on Vin Scelsa's radio show in New York City. Scelsa's personal recordings of these sessions eventually led to an album of selections from these appearances, The Easter Tapes.

In 1977, Goodman performed on Tom Paxton's live album New Songs From the Briarpatch (Vanguard Records), which contained some of Paxton's topical songs of the 1970s, including "Talking Watergate" and "White Bones of Allende", as well as a song dedicated to Mississippi John Hurt entitled "Did You Hear John Hurt?"

During the fall of 1979, Goodman was hired to write and perform a series of topical songs for National Public Radio. Although Goodman and Jethro Burns recorded eleven songs for the series, only five of them, "The Ballad of Flight 191" about a plane crash, "Daley's Gone", "Unemployed", "The Twentieth Century is Almost Over", and "The Election Year Rag", were used on the air before the series was cancelled.[7]

Goodman wrote and performed many humorous songs about Chicago, including three about the Chicago Cubs: "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request", "When the Cubs Go Marching In" and "Go, Cubs, Go" (which has frequently been played on Cubs broadcasts and at Wrigley Field after Cubs wins). He wrote "Go, Cubs, Go" out of spite after then GM Dallas Green called "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" too depressing. The Cubs songs grew out of his fanatical devotion to the team, which included many clubhouse and on-field visits with Cubs players. He wrote other songs about Chicago, including "The Lincoln Park Pirates", about the notorious Lincoln Towing Service, and "Daley's Gone", about Mayor Richard J. Daley. Another comic highlight is "Vegematic", about a man who falls asleep while watching late-night TV and dreams he ordered many products that he saw on infomercials. He could also write serious songs, most notably "My Old Man", a tribute to Goodman's father, Bud Goodman, a used-car salesman and World War II veteran.

Goodman won his second Grammy, for Best Contemporary Folk Album, in 1988 for Unfinished Business, a posthumous album on his Red Pajamas Records label.

Many fans become aware of Goodman's work through other artists such as Jimmy Buffett. Buffett has recorded several of Goodman's songs, including "This Hotel Room", "Banana Republics", and "California Promises", as well as songs co-written with Buffett: "Door Number Three", "Woman Goin' Crazy on Caroline Street", "Frank and Lola", "It's Midnight and I'm not Famous Yet", and "Where's the Party?".[8] Jackie DeShannon covered Goodman's "Would You Like to Learn to Dance" on her 1972 album, Jackie.

Goodman's posthumously released album, Santa Ana Winds, included a tribute to Carl Martin, "You Better Get It While You Can (The Ballad of Carl Martin)", celebrating the joy both found in their music, and a refrain of, "From the cradle to the crypt, Is a mighty short trip. So you better get it while you can".[9]

## Death

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On September 20, 1984, Goodman died of leukemia at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.[10] He was 36 years old.

On October 2, after clinching the National League East division title, the Cubs played their first post-season game since the 1945 World Series.[11] Filling in for Goodman, who had been scheduled to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the game, Jimmy Buffett dedicated the song to him.[12] Since the 2000s, at the conclusion of every home game win, the Cubs play "Go, Cubs, Go", written by Goodman.

In April 1988, some of Goodman's ashes were scattered at Wrigley Field, the home of the Cubs.[13]

Goodman was survived by his wife and three daughters.[14]

## Legacy

[edit]

In 2006, Goodman's daughter, Rosanna, issued My Old Man, an album of a variety of artists covering her father's songs.

In 2007 the Chicago Cubs began playing Goodman's 1984 song "Go, Cubs, Go" after each home game win. When the Cubs made it to the playoffs, interest in the song and Goodman resulted in several newspaper articles about him. Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn declared October 5, 2007, Steve Goodman Day in the state. In 2010, Illinois Representative Mike Quigley introduced a bill renaming the Lakeview post office on Irving Park Road in honor of Goodman. The bill was signed by President Barack Obama on August 3, 2010.[15]

## Discography

[edit]

### Albums

[edit]

Date  | Title  | Label  | Number  | Comments

|
|
|
|

1970 | Gathering at the Earl of Old Town | Dunwich | 670 | Various artists including Goodman, Jim Post, Ed Holstein, Fred Holstein, Ginni Clemmens
1971 | Steve Goodman | Buddah | BDS-5096 |
1972 | Somebody Else's Troubles | Buddah | BDS-5121 |
1975 | Jessie's Jig & Other Favorites | Asylum | 7E-1037 |
1976 | Words We Can Dance To | Asylum | 7E-1061 |
1977 | Say It in Private | Asylum | 7E-1118 |
1979 | High and Outside | Asylum | 6E-174 |
1980 | Hot Spot | Asylum | 6E-297 |
1983 | Artistic Hair | Red Pajamas | RPJ-001 | Live
1984 | Affordable Art | Red Pajamas | RPJ-002 |
Santa Ana Winds | Red Pajamas | RPJ-003 | First posthumous release
1987 | Unfinished Business | Red Pajamas | RPJ-005 | Second posthumous release, Grammy award
1996 | The Easter Tapes | Red Pajamas | RPJ-009 | 18 live cuts from WNEW-FM 1970's broadcasts, liner notes by host Vin Scelsa
2000 | Live Wire | Red Pajamas | RPJ-015 | Live at Bayou Theater, early 1980s
2006 | Live at the Earl of Old Town | Red Pajamas | RPJ-017 | Live, August 1978
2013 | Don't Blame Me | Red Pajamas | RPJ-019 | Live, April 1, 1973, Chicago
2020 | Live '69 | Omnivore | OV-369 | Live, November 10, 1969, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL
2021 | It Sure Looked Good on Paper | Omnivore | OV-413 | 20 previously unreleased solo and full band studio demos

### Compilation albums

[edit]

Date  | Title  | Label  | Number  | Comments

|
|
|
|

1976 | The Essential Steve Goodman | Buddah | BDS-5665-2 | 2 LP compilation, 20 cuts from Steve Goodman and Somebody Else's Troubles
1988 | The Best of the Asylum Years, Volume One | Red Pajamas | RPJ-006 | Compilation
The Best of the Asylum Years, Volume Two | Red Pajamas | RPJ-007 | Compilation
1989 | City of New Orleans | Pair Records (Buddha)[16] | PCD-2-1233 | Single CD compilation, 19 cuts from Steve Goodman and Somebody Else's Troubles
The Original Steve Goodman | Special Music (Buddha)[16] | SCD-4923 | Compilation, 8 cuts from Steve Goodman and Somebody Else's Troubles
1994 | No Big Surprise – The Steve Goodman Anthology | Red Pajamas | RPJ-008 | 2 CD compilation (1 studio, 1 live)
2008 | The Baseball Singles | Red Pajamas | RPJ-018 | Compilation EP with 4 baseball-themed cuts

### Videos

[edit]

Date  | Title  | Label  | Number  | Formats  | Comments

|
|
|
|
|

2003 | Steve Goodman: Live From Austin City Limits | Red Pajamas | RPJ-500 | VHS, DVD | 1977 & 1982 live shows with John Prine and Jethro Burns, plus interviews

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Eals, Clay (2007). Steve Goodman: Facing the Music. Toronto: ECW. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-55022-732-1.
2. ^ Harlan Draeger (September 22, 1984). "Steve Goodman Obituary". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on July 22, 2005. Retrieved December 12, 2005.
3. ^ Browne, David (July 19, 2019). "Looking Back on John Prine Buddy Steve Goodman". Rolling Stone.
4. ^ a b c "John, Arlo, Kris And Others Discuss Steve Goodman". kevin46036. March 16, 2011. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
5. ^ "Steve Goodman Concert". Wolfgang's Vault. March 30, 1977. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
6. ^ "Steve Goodman, and the Surprising Story of "Go, Cubs, Go" | Robert J. Elisberg". Huffingtonpost.com. September 2, 2008. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
7. ^ Eals, 558–59
8. ^ "Buffett/Goodman Connection". Steve-goodman.hegewisch.net.
9. ^ "Steve Goodman – You Better Get It While You Can (The Ballad of Carl Martin)". Genius.com. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
10. ^ Van Matre, Lynn (September 21, 1984). "Songwriter Steve Goodman; a Chicago gift to folk music". Chicago Tribune. p. 37. Retrieved June 11, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Cubs Clinch NL East Crown: First Title Since 1945". The Herald-Palladium. St. Joseph, Michigan. AP. September 25, 1984. p. 14. Retrieved June 11, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Loose Lips (column)". Philadelphia Daily News. October 3, 1984. p. 44. Retrieved June 11, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ Eals, 725-6.
14. ^ "Berkshires Week". Berkshires Week. January 23, 2002. Archived from the original on August 23, 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
15. ^ Skiba, Katherine (August 3, 2010). "Obama signs law renaming post office after singer Steve Goodman". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
16. ^ a b The spelling of Buddah Records changed to "Buddha" around this time

## Further reading

[edit]

* Eals, Clay. Steve Goodman: Facing the Music. ECW Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-55022-732-1.

## External links

[edit]

* Official site
* Steve Goodman at AllMusic
* Steve Goodman discography at Discogs
* Steve Goodman at IMDb
* Steve Goodman: Facing the Music Biography by Clay Eals, May 2007

* v
* t
* e

Steve Goodman

Albums|

* Steve Goodman (1971)
* Somebody Else's Troubles (1972)
* Jessie's Jig & Other Favorites (1975)
* Santa Ana Winds (1984)

Songs|

* "City of New Orleans" (1971)
* "The Dutchman" (1972)
* "You Never Even Called Me by My Name" (1975)
* "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" (1981)
* "Go, Cubs, Go" (1984)

Tribute albums|

* My Old Man (2006)

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Best Country Song

1960s|

* "Dang Me" – Roger Miller (songwriter) (1964)
* "King of the Road" – Roger Miller (songwriter) (1965)
* "Almost Persuaded" – Billy Sherrill & Glenn Sutton (songwriters) (1966)
* "Gentle on My Mind" – John Hartford (songwriter) (1967)
* "Little Green Apples" – Bobby Russell (songwriter) (1968)
* "A Boy Named Sue" – Shel Silverstein (songwriter) (1969)

1970s|

* "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" – Marty Robbins (songwriter) (1970)
* "Help Me Make It Through the Night" – Kris Kristofferson (songwriter) (1971)
* "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" – Ben Peters (songwriter) (1972)
* "Behind Closed Doors" – Kenny O'Dell (songwriter) (1973)
* "A Very Special Love Song" – Norro Wilson & Billy Sherrill (songwriters) (1974)
* "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" – Chips Moman & Larry Butler (songwriters) (1975)
* "Broken Lady" – Larry Gatlin (songwriter) (1976)
* "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" – Richard Leigh (songwriter) (1977)
* "The Gambler" – Don Schlitz (songwriter) (1978)
* "You Decorated My Life" – Debbie Hupp & Bob Morrison (songwriters) (1979)

1980s|

* "On the Road Again" – Willie Nelson (songwriter) (1980)
* "9 to 5" – Dolly Parton (songwriter) (1981)
* "Always on My Mind" – Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher & Mark James (songwriters) (1982)
* "Stranger in My House" – Mike Reid (songwriter) (1983)
* "City of New Orleans" – Steve Goodman (songwriter) (1984)
* "Highwayman" – Jimmy Webb (songwriter) (1985)
* "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)" – Jamie O'Hara (songwriter) (1986)
* "Forever and Ever, Amen" – Paul Overstreet & Don Schlitz (songwriters) (1987)
* "Hold Me" – K. T. Oslin (songwriter) (1988)
* "After All This Time" – Rodney Crowell (songwriter) (1989)

1990s|

* "Where've You Been" – Don Henry & Jon Vezner (songwriters) (1990)
* "Love Can Build a Bridge" – John Barlow Jarvis, Naomi Judd & Paul Overstreet (songwriters) (1991)
* "I Still Believe in You" – Vince Gill & John Barlow Jarvis (songwriters) (1992)
* "Passionate Kisses" – Lucinda Williams (songwriter) (1993)
* "I Swear" – Gary Baker & Frank J. Myers (songwriters) (1994)
* "Go Rest High on That Mountain" – Vince Gill (songwriter) (1995)
* "Blue" – Bill Mack (songwriter) (1996)
* "Butterfly Kisses" – Bob Carlisle & Randy Thomas (songwriters) (1997)
* "You're Still the One" – Robert John "Mutt" Lange & Shania Twain (songwriters) (1998)
* "Come On Over" – Robert John "Mutt" Lange & Shania Twain (songwriters) (1999)

2000s|

* "I Hope You Dance" – Mark D. Sanders & Tia Sillers (songwriters) (2000)
* "The Lucky One" – Robert Lee Castleman (songwriter) (2001)
* "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" – Alan Jackson (songwriter) (2002)
* "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" – Jim "Moose" Brown & Don Rollins (songwriters) (2003)
* "Live Like You Were Dying" – Tim Nichols & Craig Wiseman (songwriters) (2004)
* "Bless the Broken Road" – Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna, & Marcus Hummon (songwriters) (2005)
* "Jesus, Take the Wheel" – Hillary Lindsey, Brett James & Gordie Sampson (songwriters) (2006)
* "Before He Cheats" – Chris Tompkins & Josh Kear (songwriters) (2007)
* "Stay" – Jennifer Nettles (songwriter) (2008)
* "White Horse" – Liz Rose & Taylor Swift (songwriters) (2009)

2010s|

* "Need You Now" – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott (songwriters) (2010)
* "Mean" – Taylor Swift (songwriter) (2011)
* "Blown Away" – Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins (songwriters) (2012)
* "Merry Go 'Round" – Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh Osborne (songwriters) (2013)
* "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" – Glen Campbell & Julian Raymond (songwriters) (2014)
* "Girl Crush" – Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, & Liz Rose (songwriters) (2015)
* "Humble and Kind" – Lori McKenna (songwriter) (2016)
* "Broken Halos" – Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton (songwriters) (2017)
* "Space Cowboy" – Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, & Kacey Musgraves (songwriters) (2018)
* "Bring My Flowers Now" – Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth, & Tanya Tucker (songwriters) (2019)

2020s|

* "Crowded Table" – Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Lori McKenna (songwriters) (2020)
* "Cold" – Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure, Derek Mixon & Chris Stapleton (songwriters) (2021)
* "'Til You Can't" – Matt Rogers & Ben Stennis (songwriters) (2022)
* "White Horse" – Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson (songwriters) (2023)
* "The Architect" – Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh Osborne (songwriters) (2024)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
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* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Czech Republic
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Artists|

* MusicBrainz
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