Remembering Steve Goodman
This Sunday, September 20 marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Red Pajamas Records recording artist and famed songwriter Steve Goodman. Steve Goodman (July 25, 1948 - September 20, 1984) was born and raised in Chicago, and by 1969 had become a regular performer at the city's celebrated folk music clubs.
In 1971, with a little help from Kris Kristofferson, he signed his first major recording contract. It was also at this time, when he met Arlo Guthrie, who later made Goodman's hit "City Of New Orleans" legendary a year later.
In 1974, Goodman's "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" achieved considerable success on the country charts with artist David Alan Coe. Goodman's passion also rested with the city of Chicago and his beloved Chicago Cubs. He wrote and performed many humorous songs about them, including "The Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" and "Go, Cubs, Go."
Goodman was closely involved with the Old Town School of Folk Music, where he met and mentored his good friend, John Prine.
Around the time Goodman's career began to take off, he was diagnosed with leukemia. The entire time he was writing and singing, he was also fighting cancer. On September 20, 1984, Goodman died at University of Washington Hospital in Seattle, Washington.
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 in Goodman's prolific career surged, resulting in October 5, 2007 being declared Steve Goodman Day across the state of Illinois.
We encourage you to check out stevegoodman.net to learn more. We also are running special prices on all CDs from Steve in our online store. Please check out Musicfansdirect.com for details and enjoy our newly revamped storefront.
Thanks and have a great weekend. Talk soon.
