A Short Tribute to a Great Musician
It was 25 years ago yesterday (Sunday) that the music world lost one of its great unsung heroes and I personally lost one of the biggest influences from my time of playing music.
Steve Goodman was a Chicago singer-songwriter who is best known for writing The City of New Orleans but, when you dug deeper into his recordings, you found a person that could go from extreme depths of emotion in his songwriting to total silliness. He was an extremely good guitar player, had a sparkling personality and was a musicologist who would mix songs from the 20's and 30's, old rock and roll and his originals into one of the most entertaining shows I've ever seen.
The only time I saw him live was in 1973 at the Buffalo Folk Festival. I actually met him walking across campus while looking for the building with a guitar clinic. He, John Prine and Loudon Wainwright III were doing the same thing. Between the five of us, we figured it out. I was too young and too shy to talk to them, but it was an experience walking across the campus and listen to them talk about themselves.
After seeing his show, I knew that I wanted to become more like him as a guitar player and an entertainer. I never got near him in either, but it he was a great person to look up to.
Unfortunately, Steve had a long fight with leukemia (he was diagnosed in 1969) that took his life on September 20, 1984 at the age of 36. He was a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, writing two songs about the team (A Dieing Cub Fans Last Request and Go, Cubs, Go). His ashes were scattered at Wrigley Field in 1988.
Here he is singing one of the most touching songs ever about old age. Ironically, he didn't write this one, but he sang it at almost every show.
From the other end of the spectrum, here's Steve singing his own composition, Talk Backwards.
Steve Goodman was a Chicago singer-songwriter who is best known for writing The City of New Orleans but, when you dug deeper into his recordings, you found a person that could go from extreme depths of emotion in his songwriting to total silliness. He was an extremely good guitar player, had a sparkling personality and was a musicologist who would mix songs from the 20's and 30's, old rock and roll and his originals into one of the most entertaining shows I've ever seen.
The only time I saw him live was in 1973 at the Buffalo Folk Festival. I actually met him walking across campus while looking for the building with a guitar clinic. He, John Prine and Loudon Wainwright III were doing the same thing. Between the five of us, we figured it out. I was too young and too shy to talk to them, but it was an experience walking across the campus and listen to them talk about themselves.
After seeing his show, I knew that I wanted to become more like him as a guitar player and an entertainer. I never got near him in either, but it he was a great person to look up to.
Unfortunately, Steve had a long fight with leukemia (he was diagnosed in 1969) that took his life on September 20, 1984 at the age of 36. He was a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, writing two songs about the team (A Dieing Cub Fans Last Request and Go, Cubs, Go). His ashes were scattered at Wrigley Field in 1988.
Here he is singing one of the most touching songs ever about old age. Ironically, he didn't write this one, but he sang it at almost every show.
Click to viewFrom the other end of the spectrum, here's Steve singing his own composition, Talk Backwards.