A close friend of Steve Goodman and John Prine, Tom Dundee was also a prominent figure on the local Chicago folk music scene in the 1970s and 1980s frequently appearing at the Old Town School of Folk Music and receiving air time on WFMT-FM.  His signature song is "A Delicate Balance".  He recorded songs with Rita Coolidge and Bonnie Koloc

Dundee, whose real name was Tom Callinan, was born in Rogers Park and attended Saint George High School (now defunct) in Evanston, Illinois where he was in my freshman year home room.  I remember Tom as a quiet, somewhat introverted but very polite kid and a really nice guy. 

In his late teens he got into the motorcycle scene and toured the country and assuming his stage name when he rode through the village of Dundee, Illinois on the way to a gig.  I never attended any of his shows but had the luck and pleasure of bumping into him behind our two flat as I was taking out the trash one summer day in the early 1980s.  We had a pleasant conversation and it was hard to believe that he hadn't changed a bit since I knew him in high school. 

I was shocked and saddened to hear of his premature death due to a motorcycle accident a few years back.  He died at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois.  I'll remember him always as that nice, quiet young kid from the neighborhood back in the day.

Peace and love,

Flakey