I just learned that Chicago Singer Songwriter Tom Dundee passed away in 2006 from a stroke suffered during a motorcycle ride. We were what i would call good acquaintances in the late 70's & early 80's. I hadn't spoken with him in around 25 years, & I was really surprised how much learning of his passing hurt.

He was a peer of Steve Goodman, John Prine & James Lee Stanley & one of the nicest people I've ever met. While he had no hits of his own despite releasing at least 2 LP's & 2 cd's in his lifetime, acoustic music fans may be familiar with Jim Post's recording of Back On The Streets Again, Brian Bowers' recording of Dog, or Reilly & Maloney's recording of Delicate Balance. (CD Baby says there were a total of 6 releases during his lifetime, + the recent live 2 cd set.)

Tom's lyrics were frequently both funny & uplifting & he was a hilarious performer. He's one of those guys that really should have made it. I rate him higher then any of the "peers" I mentioned above both as a writer & performer. The man really was a tremendous songwriter.

I was a fan (though I met him from my work as a college dj) & he was always very kind to me. I also used to be a professional musician myself. I went through both rock & singer songwriter phases. Tom was almost certainly the #1 influence on my style of stage patter in my acoustic period. I also used to cover Delicate Balance & Don't Give Up On Me Now.

One night I was at a club show he was doing. He was playing You're So Pretty When You Smile & he had a routine where he walked from table to table & gave every woman there a flower. He pulled me out of the audience (we already knew each other but I don't believe he had ever heard me play), handed me his guitar & had me follow him & play the song while he gave out the flowers. To a very young & star struck me that was a huge boost to my self esteem that this successful person I looked up to would trust me to play at his show (& a song i didn't know at that!). Unfortunately, I don't think I ever told him how much that meant to me.

Tom's live 2 cd set can be found here: http://cdbaby.com/cd/tomdundee4 with links to his other 2 available cd's at the bottom of the page.

I listened to tapes of his live shows constantly through the mid 80's.

If you Google him, be warned there is apparently a Thai musician with the exact same name who has allowed his name to be used on a brand of condoms. This is a totally different person, although I suspect the Tom I knew would find it amusing.

Tom, you're missed.