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1. Steve Goodman is probably most famous for writing a song, not performing it. In fact, his most famous song won a posthumous Grammy award for Best Country Song. It's been covered numerous times, but the version you still hear on the radio is the one performed by Arlo Guthrie. It's about a train. What's the song that was a huge hit for Arlo in 1972 and probably got a lot of airplay in 2005?
2. Steve Goodman also wrote another song which became associated with a different artist. The version that hit it big was David Allan Coe's (in which Steve Goodman is mentioned). The story about the song is that Steve tried to include everything that had ever been in every country song he'd ever heard. What's the name of the song?
3. Steve Goodman was well known for his support of the Chicago Cubs. In the song "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request," released in 1981, he comments on how frustrating it is to be a Cub fan. One of the things he mentions is the fact that at the time, "The last time the Cubs won the National League Pennant was the year we dropped the bomb on Japan." When was that?
4. Steve Goodman was, as you might have guessed, a Chicago native. He wrote songs about Chicago baseball, a famous mayor of Chicago, and an infamous tow-truck company. Which of these songs is NOT on one of those topics?
5. Steve Goodman was a man of many nicknames. His lack of height gave him the nickname of "Chicago Shorty," which I used as the title for this quiz. Another nickname was "The Little Prince," which Steve earned for both his diminutive stature and his generosity of soul. However, Steve is on record as preferring a nickname that related to the disease that killed him. What was that nickname?
6. Steve Goodman wrote a lot of funny songs, but he wrote a lot of sweet ones, too. One of the most touching was about his father, Bud Goodman. Interestingly, his daughter covered the song in 2006, using the title of the song as the name of the album. What's the name of this two-generation song?
7. Steve Goodman often performed other people's songs, some of which he'd co-written. One of the ones that he'd worked on was "What Have You Done for Me Lately?" where he'd come up with the chorus, but needed help writing the verses. The person who wrote the rest of the song was an accomplished songwriter who also wrote "A Boy Named Sue," as well as writing two books of poetry for children and writing and illustrating a classic of children's literature. Who was this multi-talented individual?
8. Time for some more difficult questions. Steve Goodman and John Prine were good friends. Steve played and sang on John's debut album and they co-wrote some songs together. What song did they often sing as a duet?
9. One of the things that I admire about Steve Goodman was that he openly admired and appreciated other musicians with whom he worked. He frequently mentioned his appreciation in his songs and performances. Which one of Steve's songs is expressly about his admiration and relationship with one of his collaborators?
10. Several of Steve Goodman's songs relate to life on the road, either directly or indirectly. As anyone who's been alone and up late can tell you, late-night advertising can start looking pretty attractive. "Vegematic" is about a man who falls asleep with the television on and orders everything advertised. What is not a product mentioned in the song?
11. Some of Steve Goodman's songs haven't weathered so well. It's not because they're not that good, it's because they're fairly topical. The one that leaps most readily to my mind is about a family who survived a nuclear war. What's the title of this pretty dated song?
12. Steve Goodman not only wrote a song for his father, he wrote several specifically for his wife, Nancy Goodman. (Although, I'd argue that most of his love songs are about Nancy, as well.) Which of the songs listed below is the love letter to Nancy?
13. One of the great things about Steve Goodman is that he generally looked and sounded like he was having a great time. There's a song on "Jessie's Jig & Other Favorites" where that comes across loud and clear, even though he's in the studio with a bunch of other musicians. The particular thing about this song is that the words don't mean anything much - they're just intros to a solo by one member of the band. What's this song called?
14. I've decided to use one of Steve Goodman's songs as a lullaby for my daughter. The song, "Videotape," is about the advantages we'd have if our lives were on videotape, or if we all could see the future. Which one of these is NOT one of the advantages Steve lists?
15. Finally, one for the true fans. In 1994, Red Pajama Records released "No Big Surprise: The Steve Goodman Anthology." This was a two-CD set, one of which was composed of live performances. That CD captures the energy and fun of a Steve Goodman performance, but it also document's Steve's ability to improvise when he forgot the words or broke a string or otherwise ran into trouble. What song did he manage to get through without having to improvise?
Source: Author
Correspondguy
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agony before going online.
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