The Worcester music scene has lost another great rock 'n' roll legend.

Steve Going, aka “Wilbur” in Wilbur and The Dukes, died Monday afternoon because of complications from open heart surgery he had in January, according to his daughter Caitlin Shea Going. He was 66.

When she was little, Caitlin’s dad would regularly bring her onstage and dedicate Jimi Hendrix’ “Little Wing” to her. She said she has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from fans of her dad.

“It’s interesting because I have all these people who have contacted me in the last couple days about him,” Ms. Going said. “He was a rock star to so many people but he was just my dad to me, not that he wasn’t a rock star. When he was singing me lullabies, turns out that was a concert that people would have paid for.”

While she knew her dad was a pretty popular guy, Ms. Going said she didn’t realize how much he personally affected on so many lives.

“It’s been very, very overwhelming in a positive way the amount of people who have reached out to me that I never talked to before or met before just to tell me the role that my dad played in their life and to see all these sides of him and how much he has affected people,” Ms. Going said. "I remember in third grade, my teacher in class said, ‘Caitlin, I need you to stay after.’ And I was so afraid because I thought I was in trouble. And, she was like, ‘I just want to know when your dad’s band is playing.’"

In August 1985, Going, who had toured with Bo Diddley and played locally with the Bobby Mason Band and High Street, started Wilbur and The Dukes with guitarist Doug Moore (of Tornado Alley fame) and then 16-year-old drummer Craig MacIntyre (of The Noisy Boyz and The Dialtones).

“I am thankful that we hooked up way back in the day and we had that tremendous experience of Wilbur and the Dukes, brick by brick, piece by piece,” Moore said. “I just remember being so impressed with Steve’s bass playing and how he played bass with authority and attitude. The guy was an amazing musician and performer and we had so much fun.”

“I almost think of being in Wilbur and The Dukes as my college years … Duke University,” MacIntyre added. “Steve was probably 16 years older than me. I was a kid and these guys have already been around the block a few times … I learned the maturity of being a musician through the outlet of that band. It really gave me freedom to grow as a player … It absolutely changed my life or, at least, gave me a head start.”













Moore left Wilbur and The Dukes in 1991 to concentrate his energies on his other band, Big Dawg, and was replaced by Marc Barnicle, a former guitar teacher at Kurlan Music, who gave his first public performance just two years prior to joining The Dukes.

MacIntyre left four years later and now plays for the multi-platinum rock band the Goo Goo Dolls.

“Steve was encouraging and wanted me to move on. He wasn’t territorial and that’s very rare to find,” MacIntyre said. “Our friendship was great. It became so much more than just playing in a band.”

Throughout the years, Wilbur and The Dukes would become a rhythm and blues juggernaut that, at times, swelled to 15 members, complete with horns, percussion players and backing vocalists.

With a red hot repertoire that ranged from James Brown and Wilson Pickett to Albert Collins and Mitch Ryder, The Dukes were the top local draw in town in the ‘90s, invariably packing Ralph's, Greendale’s and Tammany Hall on nights when other good bands draw slim crowds, as well as packing them in clubs in Boston and Rhode Island.

In 1996, the lineup for the band reads like a who's who of Worcester's R&B hotshots, including Billy MacGillvary on drums, Wolf Ginandes on bass, George McCann and Cliff Goodwin on guitar, the “Hurricane Horns” of Peter Levesque on alto sax, Derek Dyer on tenor sax and Sean Devlin on trumpet, and the “Dames” vocal unit of Lisa and Selena Wilson (of She’s Busy) and Leslie Buck.

“When you were dealing with Wilbur, it was exciting. It was not going to be boring. I could tell you that for sure,” Goodwin said.

In recent years, Wilbur and The Dukes featured drummer Dave Nelson, keyboardist Jim Heffernan, keyboardist Dave Ossoff, bassist Nicole Sutka, harmonica player "Shakey" Steve Prunier and guitarists Mike Gianfriddo, Dwight Perry and Mike Lynch.

"When it comes to a bandleader, Steve was the best. He wasn’t the best bass player. He wasn’t the best singer. But, as far as bringing people together and putting on a show, his energy was so electric," Lynch said. "I’m old as the band is. I’m 33. Steve was a true mentor to me and he called me about five, six years ago about being a part of it. Of course, I was honored by that and I had no idea that it would not only foster this musical relationship but also our friendship that developed, like family."

Other notable Wilbur and The Dukes alum through the years include tenor saxophonist Mike Abbott, trumpeters Bill Myers and Steve Lefebvre, saxophonist T.T. Hubert, keyboardists Mitch Mischitelli, Jeff Caldor and Sandy MacDonald, percussionist Michael Allard-Madaus, guitarist Tomo Fujita, bassist Dave Buda, and many, many others.

In 2006, Going estimated that there has been upward of 250 musicians who have sat in with Wilbur and The Dukes for at least a night. But he has always been the driving force and sole constant in the band.

In addition to playing with Wilbur and The Dukes, Going was a regular judge for the $1,000 Singer-Songwriter Competition at Padavano's Place, a role that cast him in a mentor role for a new generation of local musicians.

"He’d spend hours talking to the young singers afterwards giving them advice," said restaurant owner Angela Padavano. "They would look up to him in awe."

Singer-songwriter Kevin Kvein, who says he's competed in the competition six or seven times, echoes that assessment.

"He was actually very helpful," says Kvein. "Every time I competed, he took extra time after the show to give pointers and advice about the music industry … he definitely went the extra mile to teach … He challenged me to write a little more upbeat, which is what I’m doing right now. I think about what he said every now and again. He really inspired me to become better as musician and sharpen up. He was a little hard — which I needed, to be honest ... He told me, 'Kevin, you need to take this more seriously. This is all our time here.'"

Calling hours are set for 4-7 p.m. May 18 at Miles-Sterling Funeral Home and Tribute Center, 100 Worcester Road, Sterling. A funeral service is scheduled for noon May 19 at the funeral home.