Hi Everyone. Sorry to have stayed away so long. Hope you didn't forget me. I was off getting a new knee and learning to walk upright again. Anyway, I'm baaaaaaack, and raring to go. My first piece is a little different in that it doesn't all happen in Old Town. Only part of it. But it is almost October and the end of baseball season--a rather dismal one for those of us who love the Cubs. So before we close up Wrigley for another year, I'd like to take you there for a little visit with my man, Steve Goodman.
Actually, I can't really take you to meet Steve Goodman at Wrigley. Steve died in 1984, but his ghost lingers over Wrigley just as surely as Harry Caray's still sits in the WGN broadcast booth at every home game. Read on and I'll explain why.
Go Cubs go; go Cubs go,
Hey Chicago, what do you say,
The Cubs are gonna' win today
Steve Goodman, 1984
Most of you have probably never heard of Steve Goodman. He was, as they say, before your time. But you do know what has become, arguably, his greatest hit since the 2007 Cubs made the playoffs. Then, all Chicago--or all of us in Old Town and on the North Side--were singing, humming, or dancing to Go, Cubs Go and waving our W banners. We didn't get a chance to wave them much this year; and the season is winding down. But every year about this time, I tip my hat to Steve and say, "Thank You"--not just for the Cubs anthem, but for all of the other wonderful songs he left us and for the memories of him playing his guitar and singing at the Earl of Old Town on Wells Street. So come along with me and let's pay tribute to one of Old Town's and the Cubs greatest fans.
Steve Goodman was born and raised in Chicago. He began writing and performing songs as a teen-ager. In 1969, after a brief stay in New York, he joined the Old Town club scene and became a fixture at the Earl of Old Town on Wells Street, as well as other well known Chicago clubs dedicated to folk music. I met him at the Earl in the late 70s and was so impressed with his singing that I went up to him after one set and asked if I could buy him a drink. You'll never guess what he ordered. Blackberry wine. Knowing the Earl, I would bet they stocked it just for him--and for me, because every time I went in, I sent a glass over to Steve.
In 1971, Goodman was playing at the Earl and at a bar called The Quiet Knight. He was the opening act for Kris Kristofferson. Kristofferson was so impressed with Steve that he introduced him to Paul Anka who took him to New York to record some demos. In New York, he met Arlo Guthrie at a bar and persuaded him to listen to one of his songs, "The City of New Orleans". Guthrie said okay, but only if Goodman would buy him a beer. That beer was the best investment Steve Goodman ever made, because Guthrie liked the song so much he asked for the right to record it. That recording made so much money that Steve was able to make music his full-time career. After Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, and Willie Nelson also recorded "The City of New Orleans'; and Kris Kristofferson called it "the best damn train song ever written". I have a special fondness for the song, because as a student at Northwestern, I used to ride the City of New Orleans from Chicago to Cairo, Illinois at the end of every quarter. Later, my son rode the same train to visit his grandparents. He knew every stop along the way and every porter in every car. He could even sing a few of the lyrics:
Good morning America, how are you? Don't you know me, I'm your native son.
I''m the train they call the City of New Orleans, and I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done.
But back to Go, Cubs Go. Steve Goodman was the ultimate Cubs fan and a huge Chicago fan. He wrote and performed many songs about the city, including the notorious Lincoln Park Pirates about the Lincoln Towing Company; and Daley's Gone, a memorial to Richard J. Daley. But his best-known Chicago songs were about his beloved Cubs. The first was A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request, which is played at the start of baseball season every year.He introduced it on Roy Leonard's WGN radio show in 1981:
By the shores of old Lake MIchigan, where the hawk wind blows so cold
An old Cub fan lay dying in his midnight hour that tolled.Round his bed, his friends had all gathered, they knew his time was short.
And on his head they put his bright blue cap from his all-time favorite sport.
He told them,"It's late and it's getting dark in here; and I know it's time to go
But before I leave the line-up, there's just one thing I'd like to know
When the snow melts away, do the Cubblies still play in their ivy-covered burial ground?
When I was a boy they were my pride and joy, but now they only bring fatigue,
To the home of the brave, the land of the free, and the doormat of the National League.
A lot of people thought the song was autobiographical because Goodman was battling leukemia. (It would claim his life just three years later.) Though the lyrics sound downbeat, they were really Steve's affectionate, albeit bluesy salute, to the perpetual failure at Wrigley. But the song put Steve on bad paper with the Cubs' front office, which, in 1981, was trying to shed the image of the Cubs as lovable losers. The general manager at the time, Dallas Green, hated the song and declared that Steve Goodman was no fan of the Cubs. He was wrong, of course. Three years later, WGN commissioned Steve to write a more upbeat song about the Cubs. That song turned out to be, "Go, Cubs Go". Ironically, Goodman wrote the song about the time he learned his experimental leukemia treatments had failed and he was dying. The team and the WGN station execs loved the song, and Steve recorded it, along with Cubs players Thad Bosley, Jay Johnstone, Jody Davis, Gary Matthews, and Keith Moreland. It was an instant hit and sold 74,000 copies, more than any other album or song Steve Goodman had ever recorded. The Cubs went on a winning streak, and it became clear they were going to make the playoffs. Steve was asked to sing the national anthem at the first playoff game. He didn't make it. He died just four days before the Cubs clinched the National League East Division title with a victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. His good friend, Jimmy Buffett, sang it for him.
At one point, Steve had jokingly said that he wanted to be cremated and have his ashes scattered over home plate at Wrigley Field so that they would blow out and find their final resting place on Waveland Avenue. His partner, Al Bunetta, asked Cubs management for permission to do this, pointing out that Steve was such a devoted Cubs fan and had written two songs that would forever be part of Cubs lore. The team officials refused. Three years went by. Finally, Steve's brother Dave took matters into his own hands. He spoke to someone who knew someone who would let them in. Just before opening day in 1988, a group of Steve's friends went up into the bleachers and scattered a portion of his ashes out over left field. (His widow and daughters scattered the remainder over home plate at Doubleday Field, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York). Now, whenever the Cubs win and fans start to sing Go, Cubs Go, a part of Steve Goodman is listening.
Filed under: Uncategorized
