Harry Chapin Biography
7 December 1942, New York City, New York, USA, d. 16 July 1981, New York, USA. The son of a big band drummer, Chapin played in the Brooklyn Heights Boys' Choir and during his teens formed a group with his brothers, Tom and Stephen. Immensely talented as a writer and film maker, he directed the Oscar-nominated Legendary Champions in 1968, after which he returned to music. In 1971, he formed a group with John Wallace (bass), Ron Palmer (guitar) and Tim Scott (cello) and played in various clubs in New York. The following year, he was signed to Elektra Records and his debut Heads And Tales and the six-minute single "Taxi" enjoyed minor success in the US charts. Chapin's strength as a writer was already emerging in the form of fascinating narrative songs, which often had a twist in the tale. "W-O-L-D", an acute observation of the life of a local disc jockey, went on to become something of an FM radio classic. In 1974, Chapin secured the US Christmas number 1 single with the evocative "Cat's In The Cradle", a moral warning on the dangers of placing careerism above family life. In the song, the neglectful father realizes too late that he has no relationship with his son, who abandons him in his old age. Despite the quality of the recording, it made surprisingly little headway in the UK, failing even to reach the Top 40.
With a series of albums, strongly narrative in tone, it was clear that Chapin was capable of extending himself and in 1975 he wrote the Broadway musical revue, The Night That Made America Famous. That same year, he also won an Emmy award for his musical work on the children's television series, Make A Wish. By 1976, Chapin was still enjoying immense success in his homeland and his double live album Greatest Stories - Live received a gold record award. During the late 70s, he became increasingly involved in politics and was a delegate at the 1976 Democratic Convention. He also played many benefit concerts, raising millions of dollars in the process. In 1980, he switched labels to the small Boardwalk. The title track to his album Sequel, which was a story sequel to his first hit "Taxi", gave him his final US Top 30 entry. On 16 July, while travelling to a benefit concert, his car was hit by a truck in Jericho, New York, and the singer was killed. A Harry Chapin Memorial Fund was subsequently launched in honour of his memory.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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