LEAP OF LOVE

If you grew up listening to the radio in the Chicago area, AM or FM, the name Megon McDonough will be familiar to you. A local musician, McDonough, now based in Lake Forest, had her performance breakthrough as a teenager when she won a talent contest sponsored by WLS. A recording contract with Wooden Nickel Records (also an early home to Styx), led to the release of a few albums, and a performance career, including the stage musicals “Beehive” and “Always…Patsy Cline,” that continues to this day. On February 29 (yes, you read that right, it’s a leap year), McDonough will be performing her tribute show “Leap of Love: The Burt Bacharach Songbook,” at 7:30 p.m. at Carnivale, 702 W. Fulton Market, in Chicago. McDonough generously made time to answer a few questions in advance of the concert.

Megon, at what age did you discover that you had a talent for singing?
I was 14. I was 14 going on 18 in my head. I was like, “Yeah, I know everything.” I won the WLS “Big Break” talent contest.

When did you first start writing and performing your own songs?
Around that time. We had a neighbor, my best friend Syd Barthell. Her dad played baritone ukulele. I thought that was so cool and unusual. My mom was a singer. She was a sort of a club singer, and she toured with the USO in the ‘40s. (Syd and her family) were my introduction to folk singing. Syd and I became fast and famous friends. We were over the moon for The Beatles. We created a duo, Meg and Syd. We started writing songs. Our first song was called “Leaves Do Fall.” It was not bad!

At the time of the release of your first few albums in the early to mid-1970s, regional radio was the dominant force. You mentioned WLS, and that was the place many of us heard our favorite artists being played in heavy rotation. Do you remember how it felt the first time you heard one of your songs played on a local radio station?
Oh my gosh! It was unbelievably thrilling! I had recorded my first LP. I had been living in Los Angeles and I came home for Christmas. A family friend picked me up at O’Hare. We were driving home, and my song “Guitar Picker” came on the radio. I thought I would lose my mind. It was an unbelievable experience to hear your song on the radio, a thrilling thing for an artist.

In 1993, by the time Four Bitchin’ Babes— the female quartet consisting of you, Christine Lavin, Julie Gold, and Sally Fingerett— recorded Julie Gold’s “From A Distance,” it had already been a hit for Nanci Griffith and Bette Midler. What did it mean to you to not only get the chance to sing it, but to do so with the person who wrote it?
Julie Gold is probably one of the most magnificent human beings you will ever meet. She is hysterically funny; sort of a no-nonsense New Yorker, which I adore. She’s just a glorious human being. Extremely humble and brilliant. If you ever have a chance to hear her, something she’ll speak at an ASCAP event or something, you must go. She rarely leaves New York. To sing (that song) every night—it’s a Grammy-winning hit song! It’s just an incredible honor.

Your new show “Leap of Love: The Burt Bacharach Songbook,” features songs by the legendary songwriting combo Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Was Bacharach’s passing in February 2023 the impetus for this show or was it already in the works before his death?
It was already in the works before his death. I love these songs. They’re so clever. They’re so beautifully crafted. They are the perfect marriage of melody and lyrics. In the way that Sondheim’s songs are perfect. Bacharach and David weren’t friends. They weren’t exactly pals. But I think that was a match made in heaven.

Do you think of it as a kind tribute show now that Bacharach has passed?
Absolutely. People love singing along, which I always encourage. Anytime I’m doing a tribute show, such as “An Interesting Bunch of Gals,” in which I honor about 15 of my very favorite women vocalists, I don’t have to encourage my generation to sing along; they all have at it right away.

You have a long history of living on the North Shore, including your current home in Lake Forest. What would you say are some of the most appealing aspects of North Shore living?
The first word that comes to mind is beauty. It’s simply beautiful, and beauty always inspires me. There’s an African expression, “Your heart sits down.” My heart sits down when I take Sheridan Road up north from Evanston, where I lived for six years, it’s simply breathtaking. I will have to say, in the summer it’s breathtaking! You’ve got Lake Michigan, and beautiful homes, beautiful gardens. I feel really blessed that our son got to go to New Trier. That was a lovely perk of living on the North Shore.

Are there any Lake Forest spots, such as restaurants, coffee shops, or other businesses that you frequent and would like to recommend to the readers?
Oh, gosh! We now have a Le Colonial in our midst. I have to say that Deer Path Inn will always be my number-one go-to for charm, and beauty. The vibe is so beautiful. I’ve been singing and hanging out with my dear friend and producer Steve Rashid, who with his wife (Béa), created Studio5 (in Evanston) where Fred and I have performed. Steve is the music director at my favorite church to sing at called the Community Church of Lake Forest & Lake Bluff. I grew up Catholic, and now I’m sort of a Buddhist, but it’s beautiful. During the winter months, the service is on the Lake Forest College campus in the Lily Hope Reed Chapel which is a beautiful, old, and a little goth. I like to hang out at Market Square, where Marshall Field’s was for years and frequent the different shops. The Lake Forest Bookstore is fantastic, and I can spend hours there! I have also performed at The Gorton Center, where I’ve also seen wonderful performances and films, and attended events there. Slowly but surely, I’m discovering little haunts.