Steve Goodman

Acclaimed American Folk Singer-Songwriter

American folk music singer/songwriter, born July 25, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois and died September 20, 1984 in Seattle, Washington. Goodman grew up listening to all genres of music and began playing guitar when he was 13. In December 1968 he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and given three years to live. While in treatment in a New York hospital he composed his first song. A train ride to see his mother-in-law in 1970 resulted in Goodman composing his most successful song, "City of New Orleans." His leukemia remained in remission for a decade before returning in 1983. Goodman continued to record and tour even as his health rapidly failed. In August 1984 he underwent a bone marrow transplant in Seattle in an attempt to slow the aggression of the leukemia in his body. Two weeks after the operation he lapsed into a coma and died on September 20, 1984. Goodman was awarded two posthumous Grammy awards.