Maybe it was because I grew up in the shadow of the Windy City...but I'd like to think that my love of Steve Goodman came from more than that. But, it was certainly his Chicago-centric songs and sense of humor that attracted me...and tens of thousands of others.
Maybe it was because he is one of only two contemporary musicians that performed a shout out to my hometown of Kankakee (bet only my friend Tom Teuber can name the other). But, I think it was the wry smile and the supressed giggle whenever he performed.
We lost Steve on this day 27 years ago at the age of 36. "Cool Hand Leuk" he used to call himself, mocking the disease that robbed us all of this amazing talent. Like Otis Redding, I can only imagine the songs and magic he could have created with a little more time on terra firma.
There are so many, and as the baseball season winds down, the obligatory "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" comes to mind.
But I so prefer "The Lincoln Park Pirates" for this Music Friday, which I remember playing for one of my daughters as we scoured Chicago neighborhoods for her new crib a few years ago. She chose Wicker Park...but not because of the song.
I think.
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