1. Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs.
34 Facts About Harry Chapin
1. 2.
Harry Chapin recorded a total of 11 albums from 1972 until his death in 1981.
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Harry Chapin was a key participant in the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977.
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In 1987, Harry Chapin was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his humanitarian work.
5.
Harry Forster Chapin was born on December 7,1942, in New York City, the second of four children of percussionist Jim Chapin and Jeanne Elspeth, daughter of the literary critic Kenneth Burke.
6.
The earliest Harry Chapin to come to America was Samuel Harry Chapin, who was the first deacon of Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1636.
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Harry Chapin's parents divorced in 1950, with his mother retaining custody of their four sons, as Jim spent much of his time on the road as a drummer for Big Band-era acts such as Woody Herman.
8.
Harry Chapin's mother married Films in Review magazine editor Henry Hart a few years later.
9.
Harry's younger brothers Tom and Steve were choirboys at Grace Episcopal Church in Brooklyn Heights, and through them Chapin met "Big" John Wallace, a baritone with a five-octave range, who later became his bassist, backing vocalist, and straight man onstage.
10.
Harry Chapin began performing with his brothers while a teenager, with their father occasionally joining them on drums.
11.
Harry Chapin graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1960 and was among the five inductees in the school's Alumni Hall of Fame for the year 2000.
12.
Harry Chapin briefly attended the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and was then a student at Cornell University, but did not complete a degree.
13.
Harry Chapin originally intended to be a documentary film-maker and took a job with The Big Fights, a company run by Bill Cayton that owned a large library of classic boxing films.
14.
Harry Chapin directed Legendary Champions in 1968, which was nominated for a documentary Academy Award.
15.
Harry Chapin signed a multi-million dollar recording contract with Elektra Records.
16.
The song was performed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which received so many calls that Harry Chapin returned the next night.
17.
Harry Chapin wrote the song when he listened to Connors calling his ex-wife in the WMEX studio in Boston.
18.
The song is a true story of how Harry Chapin met his wife, Sandra Harry Chapin.
19.
Harry Chapin wrote and performed a Broadway play, The Night That Made America Famous, which earned two Tony Award nominations and two Drama Desk Award nominations.
20.
Harry Chapin released his first live album, Greatest Stories Live.
21.
Harry Chapin earned an estimated $2,000,000 per year until his death in 1981, making him one of the highest-paid artists in the world.
22.
Harry Chapin signed a one-album contract with Boardwalk Records and released his ninth studio album, Sequel, which was described as his fastest-breaking album.
23.
Harry Chapin envisioned a Long Island where the arts flourished, universities expanded, and humane discourse was the norm.
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Harry Chapin co-founded the organization World Hunger Year with radio personality Bill Ayres, before returning to music with On the Road to Kingdom Come.
25.
Harry Chapin donated an estimated third of his paid concerts to charitable causes, often performing alone with his guitar to reduce costs.
26.
Harry Chapin always said, 'Money is for people,' so he gave it away.
27.
Harry Chapin's widow won a $12 million decision in a negligence lawsuit against Supermarkets General, the owners of the truck involved.
28.
Harry Chapin is buried in the Huntington Rural Cemetery in Huntington, New York.
29.
Harry Chapin's epitaph is taken from his 1978 song "I Wonder What Would Happen to This World":.
30.
The village of Croton-on-Hudson, New York, has hosted the Harry Chapin Run Against Hunger, a 10k, 5k, and fun run, since 1981.
31.
On December 7,1987, on what would have been his 45th birthday, Harry Chapin was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his campaigning on social issues, particularly his highlighting of hunger around the world and in the United States.
32.
Harry Chapin was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15,2006.
33.
Harry Chapin often remarked that he came from an artistic family.
34.
Harry Chapin's paternal grandfather, James Ormsbee Chapin, was an artist who illustrated Robert Frost's first two books of poetry; his maternal grandfather was the philosopher and rhetorician Kenneth Burke.