Harry Chapin - A Man Who Tried
Created | Updated Dec 29, 2006
Harry Chapin was born on December 7th, 1942 in Greenwich Village, New York, and died on July 16th, 1981. In those 38 years of life, Harry managed to spend time as a student, a film maker, a musician and a song-writer.
Harry began his professional music career in 1965, has 18 albums to his credit, and, although his total album sales never reached record breaking levels, many will remember "Cat's In The Cradle", "Taxi", and "Circle".
Towards the latter part of his life Harry tried to use his popularity to help improve the lot of his fellow man. In 1975, he and Bill Ayres founded WHY (World Hunger Year) and, through charity concerts and by relentless lobbying, worked to reduce the impact of world hunger.
Harry never got the radio airplay many thought he deserved, largely because his songs were rarely short and, often the subject matter was far from light. However there is little doubt but that his music was best appreciated live, as there Harry could give some insight into the story behind the song. Through his live performances, he built up a devoted audience who appreciated and related to his “story-songs” and many of whom shared his views, if not his commitment.
Listening to a Harry Chapin song for the first time is often like hearing a good story, or watching a good movie: you identify with the main character and share in their triumph or despair, while at the same time having to hold back from skipping to the end to find out what is going to happen. Then, as with any really good story or song, you listen to it again and again, gaining something each time. With some songs there is humour, and with a few there is little to make you feel good, but the story is always well told, and well worth listening to.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
The majority of quotes attributed to Harry that you will find on the internet are lines from his songs, so while these are indeed his words, they don't tell you that much about the man. One way to get an idea not only of his music but his philosphy would be to listen to the greatest hits album "The Gold Medal Collection". This includes not only twenty-five of his most popular songs, but excerpts from interviews.
However here is one from an article titled "Harry Chapin - freedom of choice", by J.M.Holt, written for 'The News' - Toronto, Ontario, dated April, 1978.
"We live in a participatory democracy and we've forgotten how to participate. In the sixties I used to shoot my big mouth off about successful people not taking a more active role in the problems of society, so when I became successful I had to put up or shut up..."
And another
“Our lives are to be used and thus to be lived as fully as possible, and truly it seems that we are never so alive as when we concern ourselves with other people.”
CRITICS
Although the London Times picked "Dance Band On The Titanic" as the best album of the year, Harry was often less than well received by the critics, perhaps because his songs were considered over-long, the subject matter too serious, and/or the presentation too sentimental.
Here is one sample (from Robert Christgau)
"Heads and Tails [Elektra, 1972]
This young man takes his lost loves very seriously. Breaking up is hard to do, Neil Sedaka said that, but he didn't make a career out of it. Stash that bill in your shirt while the stashing's good, Harry. C-
Short Stories [Elektra, 1973]
Harry had a problem. He wanted to write a song about a DJ, kind of a follow-up to "Taxi," just to prove it wasn't a fluke. Harry doesn't meet many real people, so cabbies and DJs provide that touch of social realism. He wanted to set the song in Boise, Idaho, not because he had anything to say about Boise, but because "Idaho" rhymed with "late night talk show." Unfortunately, call letters that far west start with K rather than W, which messed up his rhythm. Akron, Ohio? Wrong rhythm again. Denver, Colorado? Nope. So he called it "WOLD" and hoped no one would notice. Note: this analysis is nowhere near as longwinded as Harry's stories. D+ "
However not everyone was as critical, here is one from the New York Times
"HARRY CHAPIN ...(is) still believable as the Singing Cab Driver chronicler and friend of the working man, and not just because he still tends to sing flat.
His songs continue to tell true-to-life stories in greeting-card verse, and his stage presence is still amiably folksy. There's no reason to think he'll ever change ... he's a sadistic critic's dream come to true. His songs lack harmonic ingenuity, their melodies tend to be predictably sing-song, their characterizations are one-dimensional and their morals are trite. And his band arrangements wring every last drop of sentiment out of them.
But only a sadist would stop there. It's also true that Mr. Chapin doesn't pretend to be anything more than what he is. And if his songs don't plumb the depths of the soul or dazzle the listener with their imagery, neither do they wallow in pretentious self-analysis or flowery verbal obscurtantism. Like stories overhead in bars, they're garrulous, ephemeral and diverting, and one suspects that's just what Mr. Chapin intended them to be. "
COVERS
"Cat's In The Cradle" was recorded by Ugly Kid Joe, Johnny Cash, Ricky Scaggs and Judy Collins, while The New Seekers had a hit in the U.K. with "Circle".
An album of the concert to commemorate Harry being awarded the Special Congressional Gold Medal , "Harry Chapin Tribute", includes musical contributions from Graham Nash, Richie Havens and Dolores Hall, while the contributions from Bruce Springsteen ("Remember When The Music" )and Pat Benatar ("Shooting Star") can also be found on solo albums.
GREATEST HITS
Based on the music tracks on "The Gold Medal Collection", Harry's Greatest Hits were
Taxi (1972)
Sunday Morning Sunshine (1972)
Old College Avenue (1973)
I Wanna Learn A Love Song (1974)
Cat's In The Cradle (1974)
Tangled Up Puppet (1974)
Dancing Boy (1978)
Flowers Are Red (1978)
She Sings Songs Without Words (1974)
Shooting Star (1974)
Winter Song (1965)
Story Of A Life (1980)
There Was Only One Choice (1977)
A Better Place To Be (1972)
Mail Order Annie (1973)
W*O*L*D* (1973)
Mr. Tanner (1973)
Corey's Coming (1976)
Sniper (1972)
The Rock (1975)
Danceband On The Titanic (1977)
I Wonder What Would Happen To This World (1978)
Sequel (1980)
Remember When The Music (Reprise) (1980)
Circle (1972)
EPITAPH
Harry died in a car crash on the long island expressway on July 18th, 1981, although the cause of his death was recorded as being of a heart attack, it is unclear whether this occurred before, during or after the crash. He is buried in the Huntington Rural Cemetery, Huntington, New York. On his gravestone is the chorus from "I Wonder What Would Happen to this World."
Oh if a man tried
To take his time on Earth
And prove before he died
What one man's life could be worth
I wonder what would happen
to this world
