August 14, 2007
OH, WHAT HE'D HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT BARTMAN...:
Gone 500 miles and 23 years (Seattle Times, 8/14/07)
Clay Eals wanted to write a biography of star-crossed folk singer Steve Goodman that people wouldn't be able to put down.Instead, he produced a book that, at 778 pages, is so huge that it's hard to pick up.
"I think Goodman would have liked that," Eals says, laughing at a comment one early reader of the book made to him. After all, he points out, the subject of "Steve Goodman: Facing the Music" barely stood 5 feet tall and might have struggled to juggle a telephone book.
"Facing the Music" holds a lot of words for a guy who lived only 36 years and had but one hit song, albeit a modern American classic, "City of New Orleans."
But then the diminutive Goodman, who captivated audiences by doing everything from slapping out the instrumental "Dueling Banjos" on his face in uncanny detail to donning a cowboy hat nearly as big as he was to sing the ultimate country-music parody, "You Never Even Call Me by My Name," packed a lot of living into those years.
"Many people say he lived more life in his 36 years than most of us will in twice that if we get there," says Eals, a Seattle-based writer who interviewed 1,050 people for the book.
Like many a songwriter he toiled in relative obscurity, except to his devoted fans, and may have died better known as a Cubs fanatic than anything else. When Jimmy Buffet dedicated the National Anthem to him before the first home game of the '84 playoffs it was the first time I'd heard his name mentioned outside David Allan Coe's superior cover of "Never Even Call Me By My Name" (see below--cheesy video, great tune).
"Lincoln Park Pirates" makes up for the songs about that Northside team.
"City of New Orleans" is simply the greatest train song ever written.
Posted by: Mike Morley at August 14, 2007 10:45 AMRaoul:
So I guess "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" isn't on your favorite songs of all time?
"He said, "You know I'll never see Wrigley Field, anymore before my eternal rest
So if you have your pencils and your score cards ready,
and I'll read you my last request
He said, "Give me a double header funeral in Wrigley Field
On some sunny weekend day (no lights)
Have the organ play the "National Anthem"
and then a little 'na, na, na, na, hey hey, hey, Goodbye'
Make six bullpen pitchers, carry my coffin
and six ground keepers clear my path
Have the umpires bark me out at every base
In all their holy wrath
Its a beautiful day for a funeral, Hey Ernie lets play two!
Somebody go get Jack Brickhouse to come back,
and conduct just one more interview
Have the Cubbies run right out into the middle of the field,
Have Keith Moreland drop a routine fly
Give everybody two bags of peanuts and a frosty malt
And I'll be ready to die
Build a big fire on home plate out of your Louisville Sluggers baseball bats,
And toss my coffin in
Let my ashes blow in a beautiful snow
From the prevailing 30 mile an hour southwest wind
When my last remains go flying over the left-field wall
Will bid the bleacher bums adieu
And I will come to my final resting place, out on Waveland Avenue."
By the way, that David Allen Coe album is a treasure. If you don't think that's country, well you can kiss my....
Posted by: Rick T. at August 14, 2007 10:54 AMHere's a better:
Posted by: oj at August 14, 2007 1:30 PM