Editing Steve Goodman (section)

==Career==
{{More citations needed|section|date=June 2023}}
Goodman's songs first appeared on ''Gathering at The Earl of Old Town'', an album produced by Chicago record company [[Dunwich Records|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.<ref name="kevin46036">{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZx7xCK6yfo|title= John, Arlo, Kris And Others Discuss Steve Goodman|date= March 16, 2011|publisher= kevin46036|access-date= May 17, 2017|archive-date= October 4, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171004233412/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZx7xCK6yfo|url-status= live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="kevin46036"/> Goodman played "[[City of New Orleans (song)|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)|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 (music)|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 Award|Grammy]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Country Song#1980s|Best Country Song]] in [[Grammy Awards of 1985#Country|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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/steve-goodman/concerts/bottom-line-march-30-1977-early-show.html |title=Steve Goodman Concert |date=March 30, 1977 |publisher=Wolfgang's Vault |access-date=March 29, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326060735/http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/steve-goodman/concerts/bottom-line-march-30-1977-early-show.html |archive-date=March 26, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> 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,<ref name="kevin46036"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-j-elisberg/steve-goodman-and-the-sur_b_123206.html |title=Steve Goodman, and the Surprising Story of "Go, Cubs, Go" &#124; Robert J. Elisberg |date=September 2, 2008 |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |access-date=2015-10-08 |archive-date=April 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417033312/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-j-elisberg/steve-goodman-and-the-sur_b_123206.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the mid and late seventies, Goodman became a regular guest on [[Easter|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 [[American Airlines Flight 191|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.<ref>Eals, 558–59</ref>

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 (baseball)|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 [[Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album#1980s|Best Contemporary Folk Album]], in [[Grammy Awards of 1988#Folk|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?".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://steve-goodman.hegewisch.net/jbsg.html | title=Buffett/Goodman Connection|website=Steve-goodman.hegewisch.net }}</ref> [[Jackie DeShannon]] covered Goodman's "Would You Like to Learn to Dance" on her 1972 album, ''[[Jackie (Jackie DeShannon album)|Jackie]]''.

Goodman's posthumously released album, ''[[Santa Ana Winds (album)|Santa Ana Winds]]'', included a tribute to [[Carl Martin (musician)|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".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genius.com/Steve-goodman-you-better-get-it-while-you-can-the-ballad-of-carl-martin-lyrics|title=Steve Goodman – You Better Get It While You Can (The Ballad of Carl Martin)|access-date=December 1, 2024|website=Genius.com}}</ref>