"One for the Road:" Steve Goodman Week (Day 3)

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 12, 2011 10:30PM

All these years later, this is still the perfect country and western song. "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" was a huge hit for David Allan Coe (Mom used to sing this in the kitchen at the top of her lungs whenever WJJD-AM played it). John Prine co-wrote the song with Goodman, but refused a publishing credit. Goodman bought Prine a jukebox with the publishing royalties.

Here's a performance of "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" from a old Nashville Network program called Bobby Bare and Friends. The show itself ran from 1983-88, we think. Which means Goodman's performance here happened shortly before his death.