Verities & Balderdash is the fourth studio album by the American singer/songwriter Harry Chapin

Harry Chapin

Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known in particular for his folk rock songs including "Taxi", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the...

, released in 1974. (see 1974 in music

1974 in music

-January–April:*January 3 – Bob Dylan and The Band kick off their 40-date concert tour at Chicago Stadium. It's Dylan's first time on the road since 1966.*January 17...

). "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...

" was Chapin's highest charting single, finishing at #44 for the year on the 1974 Billboard year-end Hot 100 chart. The follow-up single, "I Wanna Learn a Love Song," barely entered the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. The album was certified gold on December 17, 1974.

The album was advertised with the slogan: "As only Harry can tell it."

The album was the first and only work by Chapin to exclusively use professional studio musicians, rather than his touring band, as had been the case in previous projects.

Side One

1. "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, Chapin) – 3:44
2. "I Wanna Learn a Love Song" (Chapin) – 4:19
3. "Shooting Star" (Chapin) – 4:02
4. "30,000 Pounds of Bananas
   30,000 Pounds of Bananas
   "30,000 Pounds of Bananas", sometimes spelled "Thirty-Thousand Pounds of Bananas", is a song by Harry Chapin from his 1974 album, Verities & Balderdash. The song became more popular in its live extended recording from Chapin's 1976 concert album, Greatest Stories Live that started the phrase...
   
   " (Chapin) – 5:45
5. "She Sings Songs Without Words" (Chapin) – 3:31

Side Two

1. "What Made America Famous?" (Chapin) – 6:53
2. "Vacancy" (Chapin) – 4:00
3. "Halfway to Heaven" – 6:10
4. "Six String Orchestra" – 5:25

Personnel

Band

• Harry Chapin - guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals
• John Tropea
  John Tropea
  John Tropea is a guitarist with extensive experience in the rock, pop, and jazz genres. Tropea has written for and played with major recording artists from around the world...
  
   - acoustic guitar
  Acoustic guitar
  An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
  
  , sitar
  Sitar
  The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
  
  
• Don Payne - bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Allan Schwartzberg
  Allan Schwartzberg
  Allan Schwartzberg is a famous studio musician drummer, most of whose recordings were made in the 1970s. He has played on hits such as Gloria Gaynor's "Never Can Say Goodbye". He has played with KISS, James Brown and Peter Gabriel as well...
  
   - drums
• Don Grolnick
  Don Grolnick
  Don Grolnick was an American jazz and pop pianist and composer, most noteworthy for his work with artists such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Billy Cobham, David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Bob Mintzer, Dave Holland and Steely Dan...
  
   - piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  , electric piano
  Electric piano
  An electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
  
  , harpischord
• Ron Bacchiocchi - synthesizer
  Synthesizer
  A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
  
  
• Irving Spice - concertmaster
• George Simms - background vocals
• Frank Simms
  Frank Simms
  Frank Simms is an American singer and voice-over artist known for providing the voices behind such iconic characters as the Kool-Aid Man, the Honeycomb Craver, the bug-eyed, fuzzy mascot of Honeycomb cereal, and the Geico ringtone. He is one of the founding members and songwriters of The Simms...
  
  - background vocals
• Dave Kondziela - background vocals
• Zizi Roberts - female vocals

Production

• Ron Bacchiocchi - recording engineer
• Paul Leka - mixing
• Fred Kewley - mixing
• Glen Christensen - art direction
• Bill Hofman - illustration
• Ruth Bernal - photography
• Shiah Grumet - design