John Prine, a Jukebox, & The Perfect Country & Western Song
We all know what the perfect country & western song is, because David Allan Coe told us. He also told us why it was the perfect country & western song, and who wrote it. That would be the great Steve Goodman, and the song of course is “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.” There’s no reason to debate what the perfect country & western song is. Well, you can, and maybe will. But you’ll be wrong. At least according to David Allan Coe, and Steve Goodman.
But there was a silent partner in “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” perhaps appropriate for a song that at its heart is all about wagging a middle finger at the country music industry, and the lack of recognition for deserving artists and songwriters … along with mama, trains, trucks, prison, and getting drunk.
John Prine will be remembered for the many songs that made a mark on American music across the folk, country and rock realm—some where it was Prine himself who turned in the definitive version, and some where it was renditions from others that went on to appear on major charts and get played on the radio. But it’s a song that he refused credit for that may be one of his most lasting contributions. After all, how many other songs are people comfortable with labeling as “perfect”?
As fellow songwriters who emerged from the Chicago folk scene, John Prine and Steve Goodman were good buds, and at times, co-writers. That was the case when it came to “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.” Though the best-known version of the song appeared on David Allan Coe’s 1975 album Once Upon a Rhyme and became his first Top 10 hit, Steve Goodman included a version of the song on his 1971 self-titled album as well, though the list at the end of country cliches was slightly different. But neither version included John Prine in the writing credits.
Steve Goodman and John Prine had their own beefs with the country music industry. Though eventually Goodman’s song “City of New Orleans” (also from his self-titled 1971 album) would become a big hit for Arlo Guthrie, and later a #1 in country thanks to Willie Nelson, at the time Steve was struggling to bust into the industry, similar to David Allan Coe in 1975. That’s the reason for the sardonic mood of the song.
“You Never Even Called Me By My Name” was written in a luxury suite at the Waldorf in New York City. As budding songwriters, neither John Prine nor Steve Goodman had any business being in a Waldorf suite, but they had just been signed by the same people who were managing Paul Anka at the time, and Paul was playing a show at the Waldorf in New York on the day Prine and Goodman happened to be in the city finalizing their contracts.
“They gave Paul this grand suite that everybody that plays there gets at the Waldorf Astoria as a dressing room,” Prine explained in a 1987 interview on WNEW-FM. “So Paul didn’t need it because he resided in New York City at the time. So he said, ‘Why don’t you and Stevie use it if you want to write or something?’ ”
Goodman retired to the suite, but Prine decided he wanted to go down to The Village for a while, hitting up a couple of bars and clubs, and returned to find Goodman working on a song.
“I look over his shoulder and he’s got two lines down: ‘Well, it was all that I could do to keep from crying. Sometimes it seems so useless to remain.’ And I felt kind of goofy so I got up and started jumping up and down on the bed and started playing an imaginary fiddle. I said ‘Steve, oh you’re right, a real weeper.’ I started getting on his case. So we started laughing. And since it was a dressing room for Paul Anka, they had a full bar set up. So me and Goodman took a bunch of different liquors and poured them in the sink with the plug in the sink, and we mixed a special cocktail punch … I said to Stevie, ‘We got to make this a funny song.’ ”
As funny as it was, a sober John Prine decided later that he did not want to assign his John Hancock to the composition. “I wouldn’t put my name on it ’cause I thought it sucked,” Prine remarked in his 2016 picture and lyric book, Beyond Words. “Then it went to number one! That’s how I found out what a number one song is.”
Well, “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” didn’t quite make it to #1 (it officially hit #8 in country), but it did make Steve Goodman a healthy chunk of cash, leaving Goodman feeling guilty for not cutting Prine in. So in lieu of royalty payments, Goodman bought a top-of-the-line Wurlitzer jukebox for Prine.
An official post from John Prine in early 2017 further clarified that Prine “…didn’t want offend the country community, so he refused a writer’s credit,” speaking to the character of Prine, and his respect for the country music community that he never quite fit in perfectly as more of a folk-oriented songwriter, but still found plenty of positive reception from throughout his career.
So when putting together lists of top songs from John Prine, or listening through them to remember his legacy, don’t forget “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.” I mean, how could you? It’s perfect.
READ: John Prine Leaves Us With The Wisdom From Another World (RIP)
Corncaster
April 8, 2020 @ 10:54 am
Wonderful!
TwangBob
April 8, 2020 @ 10:57 am
That’s a classic story about this classic song that provided DAC with a Top 10 hit. I remember hearing the Coe version on country radio back then, and I knew who Steve Goodman was… as well as already being a John Prine fan, but at the time, I didn’t know Prine was a co-writer. I later learned that Prine had bowed out of the songwriting credits. Your story provides additional details – on when and where and how – it was written. Very CooL. Thanks!
P.S. And I still love the song! My band continues to get requests to play The Perfect Country and Western Song toward the end of a night, near last call.
Douglas Trapasso
April 8, 2020 @ 11:01 am
Thanks for sharing that story! I definitely have to get more familiar with John Prine’s songs. I never thought to have something really positive to say about Paul Anka, but it was cool of him to loan his suite to two unknown writers.
Dawg Fan
April 8, 2020 @ 11:59 am
I agree with Prine….the song sucked. But damn shame all he got was a jukebox.
TwangBob
April 8, 2020 @ 12:37 pm
But it was an antique jukebox! I think the price was over $10,000.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/inside-the-life-of-john-prine-the-mark-twain-of-american-songwriting-115459/
From the Rolling Stone article: In one corner of Prine’s office is a pristine 1942 Wurlitzer jukebox, stacked with old country 78s. It was a gift from his late friend and music partner Steve Goodman after they wrote “You Never Even Called Me by My Name,” a goofy satire of country music. “I thought it was a joke,” says Prine, explaining why he declined to list himself as a writer on the song. “Next thing I know, David Allan Coe does it, and it goes to Number One.” (The song actually went to Number Eight – Prine admits he tends to exaggerate.)
Kevin Smith
April 8, 2020 @ 12:31 pm
Wow! That’s a story there Trigger! And I thought I was knowledgeable on the Outlaw Era. Obviously, I have much to learn. I’m sure many here know the one about Kristofferson landing on Johnny Cashs property in a helicopter to play Goodmans City of New Orleans for the Man in Black, hoping Cash would record it. He didnt of course, and Willie did, scoring the big hit. These guys are all characters and you couldn’t script this stuff if you tried.
Another fascinating layer to the Prine mystique.
TwangBob
April 9, 2020 @ 12:10 pm
The song Kris was trying to pitch was “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down.” Here’s the excerpt:
The risk payed off, though, as Johnny Cash wound up recording the song Kristofferson was trying to get him to listen to: “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” That recording “lifted me out of obscurity,” Kristofferson admits.
https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/kris-kristofferson-army
Kevin Smith
April 9, 2020 @ 12:45 pm
Thanks Twang Bob. My source was Cash’s account which I believe I read in his autobiography, the second one. I’ve read a lot of Cash books but I’m pretty sure it’s in there. What I remember clearly was that Cash specifically stated it was City of New Orleans by Steve Goodman Kris played him on a cassette, trying to pitch it after landing in the helicopter. Cash said he deeply regretted not cutting it, seeing as Willie got a big hit out of it. So, who’s right? Kristofferson or Cash? Might be interesting to research further. If I still have the book, I’ll get you a page number. But , that is the story Cash told, and the fact he regretted not doing the song seems to put some weight to his version of the story. Thanks for sharing that.
Blackh4t
April 9, 2020 @ 5:58 pm
You heard the story of how City of New Orleans was pitched to Arlo?
Apparently Steve tried to get him to listen and Arlo told him he hated songs and didn’t even like his own songs so why would he want to listen to even more. So they hit a compromise that Steve would buy Arlo a beer and Arlo would sit there and drink it and meanwhile Steve could do whatever he wanted.
Also John Denver’s story about how he was really proud to be the first person to record a Steve Goodman song when he did City, but then a few months later Arlo released it as a single and the John version is only an album cut. Tbh, the Arlo version is better, but John reworked it later both live and on “All Aboard” and no point comparing good versions of songs.
Heyday
April 10, 2020 @ 7:18 am
Arlo (and Willie, for that matter) may have paid Goodman’s mortgage, but their versions of “City of New Orleans” suck. It is meant to be an up-tempo song (trains go fast) and they turned it, wrongly, into a funeral dirge. Goodman knew what he was doing when he wrote the song.
Luckyoldsun
April 8, 2020 @ 1:33 pm
Interesting story. Though I think Prine was playing it a bit cautious. Country songs have made fun of country songwriting since well before “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.”
Real nice of Paul Anka to give up the suite. Anka can’t be hurting. He wrote the “Tonight Show” theme instrumental that was used through Johnny Carson’s thirty-year run. And he wrote the English language lyrics to “My Way” that Sinatra and Elvis and others recorded. He also co-wrote Michael Jackson’s posthumously-released song “This Is It,” which was first credited to Jackson only, but then split down the middle with Paul.
Ron
April 8, 2020 @ 2:20 pm
Anka also wrote “You’re Having My …oops”, let’s forget that one.
Zebb
April 11, 2020 @ 9:35 am
Anka is a guy who focused on the “business” side of show business and figured out where he could build wealth. Fellow Canadian David Foster is another one.
For the Birds
April 8, 2020 @ 2:20 pm
My hometown plays this at last call every night and I’ve always loved this song.
I hope John is enjoying that smoke in The Tree of Forgiveness. I’m raising a Vodka and Ginger Ale and spinning his albums tonight in his honor.
Chris
April 8, 2020 @ 3:28 pm
I have an old Steve Goodman album framed and hanging on one of our walls.
John Prine and Jimmy Buffett are in the group picture on the cover.
Killen Thyme
April 9, 2020 @ 11:04 am
Is that the same photo from the Prine Photo Book “Beyond Words”? I always thought Jimmy Buffet was in the photo but Prine didn’t say anything about it in the book.
SetterFan
April 9, 2020 @ 11:51 am
JBs credit on that album was a non deplume Marvin Gardens.
DJ
April 9, 2020 @ 4:24 am
Damn good story
Robert Ball
April 9, 2020 @ 7:02 am
Well it was that I could do to keep from crying
I have heard this song 100s time and sang along with it most of those times. Truly, I should have known. John Prine was a part of it.
I have been a fan for four decades. RIP John it was a great run!
Woogeroo
April 9, 2020 @ 8:43 am
Well it was all, that I could do, to keep from crying…
Moondog
April 9, 2020 @ 5:28 pm
Trig…
Any details on how this fell into DAC getting to cut the song…just curious?
Trigger
April 9, 2020 @ 5:38 pm
That’s a good question.
Culling through any John Prine interviews I could find on the matter, that portion of the story didn’t come up. My guess is Steve Goodman would know. I guess we could take Coe at his word (always a flimsy proposition) and say he was just a good friend of Steve Goodman, and that’s how he knew about the song. But the reason Prine and Goodman were in New York was to sign deals that would allow their songs to be pitched to performers, so perhaps Billy Sherrill or someone else brought it to Coe. If I find an answer (or anyone else knows), I’ll share it.
Venturacountryfan
April 9, 2020 @ 5:50 pm
I’m a huge fan of Goodman and Coe. Goodman’s albums Somebody Else’s Troubles, Jesse’s Jig and Words I Can Dance To are among my favorites by any musician.
I’ve heard some Prine, but definitely planning to dig more into his work.
Blackh4t
April 9, 2020 @ 6:02 pm
I was sure I saw a live recording of John where he said something like there was a bit of a disagreement on the finished version so he let Steve have it his way with all credit and swapped it for Steve’s input on another song.
Anyone else heard of this?
It still ties with the story, and I suppose a song each is easier to manage than 2 half songs each
PaulC
April 10, 2020 @ 1:05 pm
There’s an excellent but probably out of print Steve Goodman dvd called “Live from Austin City Limits…and more!”. This dvd includes a documentary section in which Prine, Kristofferson, Arlo, Marty Stuart and others tell stories about Goodman. One of these is Prine telling the story about the Perfect Country and Music song.