3 Famous Songs Written by the Fairly Unfamous Steve Goodman

The best songwriters of all time are often not the ones who step into the limelight on the regular. They keep to themselves and write songs not for the fame or the fortune, but for the sake of the craft. One prime example of someone who lived this type of life was one of the best songwriters of the 20th century, Steve Goodman.

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If you are unfamiliar with Goodman, one of his many claims to fame is being a friend and collaborator of John Prine. However, outside of his relationship with Prine, Goodman was a generational songwriting talent, but the majority of the world just didn’t know it. That being said, here are three songs written but not made famous by Steve Goodman.

“City Of New Orleans”

Steve Goodman wrote this song in 1970 and released it in 1971. His version of the song never became an enormous hit. However, when Arlo Guthrie covered the song in 1972, it became a massive hit as it charted at no. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In addition to Guthrie’s cover, other acclaimed artists to cover Goodman’s masterful single are Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, John Denver, Jerry Reed, and Judy Collins. To this day, it is one of the most infamous contemporary folk songs of all time, and its all thanks to Goodman’s magical touch.

“Go Cubs Go”

If you are a fan of the Chicago Cubs or just a general sports fan, you are probably well aware of one of the most infamous team anthems in all of sports. Well, the world of sports and the Chicago Cubs fanbase would have never had such an iconic tune if it weren’t for the Chicago native and staunch Cubs fan, Steve Goodman.

In 1984, Goodman originally wrote the song as a jingle for the local Chicago radio station, WGN Radio. However, the song took on a different life, as following its release it became the unoffical anthem of the Chicago Cubs, and to this day it remains that.

“You Never Even Called Me By My Name”

The most famous John Prine and Steve Goodman story is when the two wrote the hit country song “You Never Even Called Me By My Name”. Goodman released the single under his name, but it became a bona fide country classic when David Allan Coe covered the song in 1975.

When Coe released the song in 1975, the single peaked at no. 8 on the Billboard country singles charts and remained there for a total of 17 consecutive weeks. It is Coe’s biggest hit and Steve Goodman’s second biggest behind “City Of New Orleans”.

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