From ChapinWiki
Harry Forster Chapin (December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was a American folk singer, playwright, known for his story songs. Later in his life he focused his energy on the philanthropic efforts with a special focus on world hunger with creation of World Hunger Year. He also performed benefit concerts for hundreds of other organizations during his career. Towards the end of his career, half his concerts were benefits.
Family
Harry was the second oldest of four brothers: Jim, Tom, and Steve of jazz drummer James Forbes Chapin and Elspeth (Burke) Chapin. . Harry also had other stepbrothers and stepsisters. Harry married Sandy Gaston on November 28, 1968. Harry and Sandy had two children: Josh and Jen. Harry's stepchildren from Sandy's first marriage were Jaime, Jonothon, and Jason.
Harry passed away on July 16, 1981. He died in an automobile accident with a semi-truck on the Long Island Expressway (LIE) in Long Island, New York. The official cause of death was listed as heart attack. He is buried in the Huntington Rural Cemetery in Huntington, Long Island, New York. Harry was om the way to perform another another charitable concert when he was killed.
Band
- Tom Chapin (occasional performances) - guitar, background vocals
Body of Work
For many artists this section might called the Discography. As Harry's works spanned not only music, for which has was best known, his credits also include directing/writing documentaries, soundtracks, music scores, soundtracks to movies and TV shows, writing and producing musicals.
Albums
| Year
| Album
| Category
| Label
| Format(s)
| Additional information
|
| 1966
| Chapin Music!
| Studio
| Rock-Land Records
| LP
| As part of The Chapin Brothers
|
| 1972
| Heads and Tales
| Studio
| Elektra
| LP,8-track,cassette,reel,CD
|
|
| 1972
| Sniper and Other Love Songs
| Studio
| Elektra
| LP,8-track,cassette,reel,CD
| Released on CD in 2002
|
| 1973
| Short Stories
| Studio
| Elektra
| LP,8-track,cassette,CD
|
|
| 1974
| Verities and Balderdash
| Studio
| Elektra
| LP,8-track,cassette,reel,CD
|
|
| 1975
| Portrait Gallery
| Studio
| Elektra
| LP,8-track,cassette,CD
|
|
| 1976
| Greatest Stories Live
| Live
| Elektra
| LP,8-track,cassette,CD
| 2LPs, Live (with some studio tracks)
|
| 1976
| On the Road to Kingdom Come
| Studio
| Elektra
| LP,8-track,cassette,CD
|
|
| 1977
| Dance Band on the Titanic
| Studio
| Elektra
| LP,8-track,cassette,CD
| 2 LPs
|
| 1978
| Living Room Suite
| Studio
| Elektra
| LP,8-track,cassette,CD
|
|
| 1979
| Legends of the Lost and Found
| Live
| Elektra
| LP,8-track,cassette,CD
|
|
| 1980
| Sequel
| Studio
| Boardwalk
| LP,8-track,cassette,CD
|
|
| 1982
| Cotton Patch Gospel
| Cast album
| Chapin Productions
| Cassette, LP
|
|
| 1983
| Lies and Legends
| Cast album
| Titanic Productions
| LP
| 2 LPs
|
| 1985
| Anthology of Harry Chapin
| Compilation
| Elektra
| LP,cassette
|
|
| 1987
| Remember When the Music
| Rerelease
| DCC Compact Classics
| CD
| Rerelease of Sequel
|
| 1988
| The Last Protest Singer
| Studio
| DCC Compact Classics
| CD,LP
|
|
| 1988
| The Gold Medal Collection
| Compilation
| Elektra
| CD
| 2 CD collection, with some interview clips
|
| 1990
| Tribute
| Cast
| Relativity
| CD,LP cassette
| From 1987 concert
|
| 1998
| Bottom Line Encore Collection
| Live
| Bottom Line
| CD,cassette
| 2 CD collection
|
| 1999
| Storyteller
| Rerelease
| BOA
| CD
| Rerelease of Sequel
|
| 1999
| Story of a Life
| Compilation
| Rhino
| CD
| 3 CD Box collection with Book
|
| 2000
| Onwards and Upwards
| Specialty
| Chapin Productions
| CD
| Limited Release
|
| 2001
| VH1: Behind the Music
| Compilation
| Elektra/Rhino
| CD
|
|
| 2002
| The Essentials: Harry Chapin
| Compilation
| Elektra/WEA
| CD, cassette
|
|
| 2002
| The Last Protest Singer
| Rerelease
| Harry Chapin Music
| CD
|
|
| 2002
| Songwriter
| Specialty
| Chapin Productions
| CD
|
|
| 2002
| Better Place to Be
| Compilation
| Warner Brothers
| CD
| Limited release of 5000 copies
|
| 2003
| Harry Chapin Classics
| Compilation
| Warner Special Products
| CD
| 3 CD collection
|
| 2006
| Heads and Tales and Sniper and Other Love Songs
| Rerelease
| Elektra
| CD
| With 6 bonus tracks
|
| 2006
| Introducing Harry Chapin
| Compilation
| Rhino
| CD
| UK release
|
| 2008
| Cats in the Cradle and Other Hits
| Compilation
| WEA/Rhino
| CD
|
|
Singles
Covers
Including The Chapin Family and cast recordings over 50 Harry Chapin written songs have been covered by other artists.
Various artist anthologies
Cat's in the Cradle has been included in over 50 anthologies. The following songs have also been included in anthologies:
Soundtracks
Musicals
Radio Recordings
These releases were planned for radio broadcasts and were generally distributed to radio stations (before the advent of the Internet).
Music Books
Sheet Music
Sheet Music - Compilations
| Year
| Song
| Title
| Publisher
| Additional information
|
| 1998
| W*O*L*D
| The Folk-Rock Guitar Collection
| Hal Leonard.
| 111 pp. ISBN:0793581257.
|
| 2007
| Cat's in the Cradle
| Shrek the Third
|
| 84 pp. ISBN: 160378005X
|
| unk
| Circle
| The Bottom Line Presents
|
|
|
| unk
| Cat's in the Cradle / Taxi
| Unplugged Guitar Book Xtreme
| Warner Brothers
| 360 pp.
|
| unk
| Cat's in the Cradle
| Billboards Number One Hits of the Seventies Song Book
| Creative Concepts Publishing
| 65 songs and 46 artist commentaries
|
| unk
| Cat's in the Cradle
| Now and Forever
| Creative Concepts Publishing
|
|
TV and movie credits
Video Compilations
| Song(s)
| Year
| Title
| Label
| Format(s)
| Additional information
|
| unknown
| unk
| The Midnight Special
|
| DVD
| From 1973 performance
|
Books
| Year
| Title
| Credit/Role
| Label
| Format(s)
| Additional information
|
| 1975
| Looking...Seeing
| Author
|
| PB
| Book of Poetry and Song Lyrics
|
| 1987
| Taxi
| Biography of
|
| Trade PB
| The family withdrew support for this project after Harry's death
|
Tribute Artists
Various artists perform Harry Chapin tribute concerts that feature the songs of Harry Chapin. In the spirit of Chapin's activism, these concerts are often benefits for a hunger-related charity. These artist include:
Tribute Songs
A number of songs have been written about Harry.
Philanthropic Organizations
Harry either founded these organizations or there is direct link to the charity and Harry.
Other Harry Chapin Websites
External links
