All Goode Things Must End

The first time I met Maurie Goode I thought how fitting his name was - he seemed like such a good guy. My opinion of him only solidified over time.
It was 1975. I was working at one of my all-time favorite jobs - office manager of Lariam Associates Recording Studio. One of the reasons it was a favorite job was because it was a one-person (at that time we said "one-gal") office. I loved being in charge of the bookkeeping, secretarial work, scheduling, shipping, receiving, dealing with the public, answering the phones, even getting the boss his coffee.
Radio commercials, voice-overs for TV spots and recording books for the blind were the recording mainstays. If the client didn't already have a particular 'voice' in mind, we might send a voice demo tape to them to listen to and select from. Or, which was more common, the client might just say: "I want a man who sounds country", which is how I met Maurie.
That tall, slim, guy with the salt and pepper hair and laugh lines etched in his face sure looked country when he strode into the office in his plaid shirt and blue jeans. And when he introduced himself, he really sounded country. And nice. Very nice. Friendly; somehow trustworthy. My boss had already told me that Maurie had his own country-western band, Maurie Goode and the Country Gentlemen. Ah, gentleman, that was the word to describe Mr. Goode. He suggested I should come and hear them play sometime.
The Holiday Inn South at Gray's Lake was a happening place in the 70's. Maurie's band had a standing gig there every Thursday night for thirteen years - until the inn was sold. I remember going there alone one night. Some guy asked me to dance and then asked me to join his table of friends. During one of the band's breaks, Maurie came over to say hello to me and then quietly cautioned me against the fellow. Good advice as it turned out. But that is the kind of man Maurie was, and I'm sure has always been.
Now, according to the article in this morning's online edition of the DM Register, Maurie Goode and the Country Gentlemen will be performing for the last time tonight after nearly 50 years together. They'll play their last dance in Maurie's hometown of Indianola. I'm sure the place will be packed.

(In the picture, Maurie is the goode guy in the white hat standing.)