Harry Chapin
Overview
 
Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 best known in particular for his folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...

 songs including "Taxi
Taxi (song)
"Taxi" is a song written and performed by Harry Chapin from his 1972 album Heads and Tales. Chapin debuted the song on NBC's The Tonight Show in 1972 which was followed by many calls and telegrams sent from viewers to NBC demanding that Chapin return to the show...

", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle
Cat's in the Cradle
"Cat's in the Cradle" is a 1974 folk rock song by Harry Chapin from the album Verities & Balderdash. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1974...

". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger
Presidential Commission (United States)
In the United States, a Presidential Commission is a special task force ordained by the President to complete some special research or investigation...

 in 1977. In 1987, Chapin was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his humanitarian work.
Chapin was born into a middle-class family in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, the second of four children—including future musicians Tom
Tom Chapin
Tom Chapin is a Grammy Award-winning American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter and storyteller.-Biography:Chapin attended State University of New York at Plattsburgh and graduated in 1966. From 1971-1976, he hosted a TV show called Make a Wish...

 and Steve
Steve Chapin
Stephen Chapin is an American singer. He is best known as the youngest of the four Chapin brothers, which include Harry Chapin and Tom Chapin, and is the son of drummer Jim Chapin and uncle of Jen Chapin and the Chapin Sisters. He has frequently toured and performed with both of his musician brothers...

—born to Jeanne Elspeth (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 Burke) and Jim Chapin
Jim Chapin
James Forbes "Jim" Chapin was an American jazz drummer and the author of popular texts on jazz drumming, the first two volumes of which are Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer, Vol. I, and Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer, Vol...

, who was a musician—a percussionist.
Quotations

I spent a week there one afternoon.

about the town of Watertown, New York featured in "A Better Place to Be"

I never really drove a cab, but I do have a hack license in case of emergencies – like no money."

On "Taxi" to Rolling Stone; July 6, 1972

Here’s a song that I could probably talk about for two weeks.

On "Sniper"

Frankly, this song scares me to death.

On "Cat's In The Cradle" relating to his relationship with his son, Josh. I have a little trouble getting my songs are the radio cause they’re too long, but this one snuck onto the charts for about fifteen minutes.

You see, I have no real complaints of how you've left your past behind I guess what gets me worried is you've erased him from your mind.

"I Wonder What Happened to Him"

You see, dream-lover of a lady, what shakes me to the core Is the thought as you caress me, you've done this all before I think about the future with me out and others in Will I, too, have disappeared like I've never ever been?

"I Wonder What Happened to Him"

I'm in the danceband on the Titanic Singing "Nearer my God to thee" and the iceburgs on the starboard bow Won't you dance with me?

"Danceband On the Titanic"

And I know you're frightened By my laughter But you're not afraid To hold my pain You see I'm never sure Just what you're after, Babe But it seems you only love me When it rains. How come you only love me when it rains?

It Seems You Only Love Me When It Rains

Music was his life, it was not his livelihood, And it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good. And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul. He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.

"Mr. Tanner"

Mr. Martin Tanner, a baritone, of Dayton, Ohio made his Town Hall debut last night. He came well prepared, but unfortunately his presentation was not up to contemporary professional standards. His voice lacks the range of tonal color necessary to make it consistently interesting. Full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order.

"Mr. Tanner"

 
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