Harry Chapin

One of the kindest, gentlest singer-songwriters of the 70s.
He died young, but his music lives forever.
 

REAL NAME: Harry Chapin

BIRTH PLACE: New York, New York

BIRTH DATE: December 7, 1942

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:
    Chapin Music! (1966)
    Heads and Tales (1972)
    Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)
    Short Stories (1973)
    Verities and Balderdash (1974)
    Portrait Gallery (1975)
    Greatest Stories Live  (1976)
    On the Road to Kingdom Come (1976)
    Danceband on the Titanic (1977)
    Living Room Suite (1978)
    Legends of the Lost and Found (1979)
    Sequel (1980)

MARRIAGE: Sandy Gaston, in 1968, to whom he was married for the remainder of his life.

DEATH: July 16, 1981. He was involved in a car accident on Long Island. At approximately the same time, he suffered a major heart attack - so even now, nobody is sure if he was killed by the crash or the heart attack. 

OTHER INTRIGUING FACTS:
    The first band Harry Chapin was involved in was The Chapin Brothers, formed in 1958. They released one album together, Chapin Music! in 1966.
    He entered Cornell University twice, under two different majors. In 1960, he entered as an Architecture major; and in 1963 he re-entered as a philosophy major.
    In 1975, a musical entitled "The Night That Made America Famous" opened. It was written by, and starred, Chapin himself. It received two Tony award nominations.
    With all the album sales and shows he played, he could have been a millionaire. But he wasn't. At least half of his concerts were free. He played for charities and benefits very regularly. Every penny that came from his shows went to charities, especially to end world hunger.
    "Being a rock star is pointless. It's garbage. It's the most self-indulgent thing I can think of. I've got nothing against selling out. But let me sell out for something that counts. Not so Harry Chapin can be No. 1 with a bullet, but so I can leave here thinking I mattered."
    In 1980, he founded Long Island Cares -  an anti-hunger/food bank organization.

For more information, see www.harrychapin.com