Chicago 1971

This is a Chicago story, and I believe it needs to be told. This happened one night on the North Side in the summer of 1971.The night Steve Goodman introduced Kris Kristofferson to John Prine.

As Prine recounts it, Kristofferson was booked to play three nights at a Chicago club called Quiet Knight, where Goodman opened. Kristofferson was impressed by Goodman’s songs, in particular “City of New Orleans.” Goodman, in turn, would play at least one Prine song each night and repeatedly encouraged Kristofferson to see Prine in person during his Chicago visit.

“The third night Kris was at the Quiet Knight, Steve really put the hammer down to get Kris to come see me,” Prine recalled, speaking from a recent vacation in Florida. “It was late on a Sunday night. I was sitting around with the waitresses and dishwashers, waiting to get paid. And Goodman calls and says, ‘ I’m bringing Kris, Paul Anka, and Samantha Eggar over. Get ready to do a show!’ ”Paul Anka and Samantha Eggar?