Brooklyn Heights In a new documentary, "Harry Chapin: When in Doubt, Do Something," singer Harry Belafonte describes Chapin as a pebble dropped into an ocean with the ripples reaching far and wide. Besides Mrs. Chapin and Harry's brother Tom, there were Harry's children, Jennifer, 20, who has inherited her father's voice and her parents' activism, and Josh, 18, with his father's smile that makes you smile and cavalier attitude toward formal attire. (AP; News), In the music world, there are superstars and there are supernovas. Harry wanted to bring all Long Islanders together.". You've probably heard some of his best-known songs: "Taxi," "W*O*L*D," "Cat's in the Cradle," the latter covered by Johnny Cash, Ricky Skaggs, and Judy Collins, and referenced in "Modern Family," "Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and "Blackish.". John Davidson guest hosts), April 21, 1977 Orpheum Theater, Vancouver, BC, April 22, 1977 Paramount Theater, Seattle, WA, April 24, 1977 Paramount Theater, Portland, OR, April 29, 1977 Celebrity Theater, Phoenix, AZ, April 30, 1977 New Mexico State University, University Park, NM, May 2, 1977 Merv Griffin Show, Los Angeles, CA (TV TAPING), May 5, 1977 Arlington Theater, Santa Barbara, CA, May 6-7, 1977 Circle Star, San Carlos, CA (2 shows each night), May 13, 1977 Music Hall, Omaha, NE (2 shows), May 22, 1977 Bergen Community College, Paramus, NJ, May 26, 1977 Nester Music Theater, Evansville, IN, May 27, 1977 Embassy Theater, Fort Wayne, IN, May 28, 1977 McAuley Theater, Louisville, KY (2 shows), May 29, 1977 Bridgeport Jai Lai, Bridgeport, CT, June 4, 1977 Carrowinds, Charlotte, NC (2 shows), June 5, 1977 Huntington High School Auditorium, Huntington, NY (Solo. "I wanted music in my children's lives." "And I saw a car burning on the expressway. The letters arrive at the Chapin Offices in a gray house on Green Street in Huntington. After a short stint in the Air Force Academy and studying architecture and later philosophy, at Cornell University, Harry tried his hand at film-making and found himself to be quite good at it, directing an academy award-nominated film about boxing heavyweights, Legendary Champions (1968). The singer-songwriter lived here. "But now I realize I can't spend every day fund-raising. I loved that he was a Long Islander. Today, the Long Island Cares Harry Chapin Food Bank distributes 10 million pounds of food and supplies annually to nearly 400 member agencies in Nassau and Suffolk. Cats in the Cradle (1974), Chapins only Number One hit, is about a businessman who realizes too late how he sacrificed his relationship with his son to his career. Harry was a great singer/songwriter perhaps best known for his signature songs Taxi, Cats In The Cradle and W. Unrivaled Mac notes apps for fuss-free note-taking, 6 Actionable Tips for Improving Your Websites SEO, Copyright 2023 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes. Over the course of the next 10 albums, Chapin covered a range of subjects, from Sniper, about infamous Texas tower shooter Charles Whitman, to a washed-up radio disc jockey in "W*O*L*D." His blockbuster "Cat's in the Cradle" was written, in large part, by his wife Sandy, whom he'd met while tutoring her in music in 1966. The car Chapin was driving, a 1975 . 2010 - 2022, Amazon.com, inc. or its affiliates. He was on his way to yet another benefit gig. In 1981, while on the way to another benefit, Harry's life was tragically ended in an automobile accident on the Long Island expressway. "Fans never had a chance to say goodbye. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. I was sick. HARRY CHAPIN rests on a hill overlooking Route 110 in Huntington. It was a typically sunny, scorching day that July 16, 1981, with temperatures hitting the mid-90s. Within minutes, Peter had called the Chapin home in Huntington, New York, and confirmed the tragic news. "When Harry died, the universe cracked a little bit for us," says Tom Chapin, also a musician. She organized the Harry Chapin Foundation, which distributes money to projects that were of interest to Harry like the Long Island Philharmonic and the Huntington Arts Council and projects that would have been of interest, like a recent donation of $6,000 to Ward Melville High School for a course on fighting hunger. His father, Jim Chapin, was a legendary Big Band-era percussionist. Despite sluggish album sales since 1974's "Verities & Balderdash," the self-described "third-rate folk singer" still filled concert halls and clubs. For the Childrens World Hunger Fund), September 20, 1979 Creative Arts Center, West Virgina University, Morgantown, WV (Solo), September 22, 1979 Chrysler Hall, Norfolk, VA, September 25, 1979 University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, September 26-27, 1979 Mill Run Theater, Niles, IL (2 shows on 26th), September 28, 1979 Five Flags, Dubuque, IO, September 30, 1979 Memorial Auditorium, Dayton, OH, October 2, 1979 Ferris State College, Big Rapids, MI, October 3, 1979 Center Stage, Canton, MI (2 shows), October 5, 1979 Harry A. Find a Grave, database and images ( www.findagrave.com/memorial/1819/harry-chapin : accessed ), memorial page for Harry Chapin (7 Dec 194216 Jul 1981), Find a Grave Memorial ID 1819, citing Huntington Rural Cemetery, Huntington, Suffolk County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave . Lots of things I just do. John McMenamin has performed Harry Chapin benefit concerts in Pennsylvania for years. Harry Chapin was an American singer-songwriter and a dedicated humanitarian. Bob Newhart guest hosts), August 1, 1978 San Diego State University, Open Air Theatre, San Diego, CA, August 3-6, 1978 Westbury Music Fair, Westbury, NY, August 7-8, 1978 Temple Music Festival, Ambler, PA, August 10, 1978 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL (Mississippi River Festival), August 11, 1978 Ravinia Park, Chicago, IL, August 13, 1978 Melody Fair Mustheater, North Tonawanda, NY, August 15, 1978 Performing Arts Center, Saratoga, NY, August 17, 1978 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD, August 18, 1978 Ghost Town Park, Moosic, PA (2 shows), August 19, 1978 Snowmansion Inn, Ludlow, VT, August 20, 1978 Warwick Music Theater, Warwick, RI (2 shows), August 21-22, 1978 Cape Cod Melody Tent, Hyannis, MA, August 23, 1978 Central Park, New York City, NY (Dr. Pepper Music Festival), August 26, 1978 Grand Opera House, Wilmington, DE (2 shows), August 27, 1978 Hudson Valley Winery, Highland, NY, September 4, 1978 Yale University, New Haven, CT, September 5-6, 1978 Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, September 8, 1978 Blossom Music Center, Cleveland, OH, September 9-10, 1978 Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI, September 23, 1978 De Pauw University, Greencastle, IN, September 26, 1978 Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg, MO, September 27, 1978 Hoch Auditorium, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, September 29, 1978 Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, CA (Benefit for Rep. Leon Panetta), September 30, 1978 Purdue University, Lafayette, IN, October 5, 1978 Bowling Green University, Bowling Green, OH, October 6, 1978 University Union Auditorium, Normal, IL (2 shows), October 7, 1978 Terre Haute Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN, October 14, 1978 Edinboro State College, Edinboro, PA, October 15, 1978 Slippery Rock State College, Slippery Rock, PA, October 16, 1978 University of Akron, E.J. Most of the local groups he supported still continue. Long Island Cares - The Harry Chapin Food Bank has been on a mission to feed Long Island's food insecure and stamp out the root causes of hunger since our founding by the late Harry Chapin in 1980. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. He'd take it from there. Dance Marathon benefit for Mental Retardation. After Josh arrived home, he was again taken to a car, supposedly to pick up some food. But that he'd failed more times than he'd succeeded. Posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his work as a humanitarian, Chapin is buried in Huntington Rural Cemetery under a gravestone marked by a line from his 1978 song "I Wonder What Would Happen to This World" that reads: "Oh if a man tried / To take his time on earth / And prove before he died / What one man's life could be worth / I wonder what would happen to this world. I didn't know him, but I really liked him.". There is no way to replace Harry Chapin, Tom said. The family went through the grieving process, but for fans he's like an M.I.A. Her first husband was lawyer James John Cashmore, son of longtime Borough of Brooklyn (New York) president John Cashmore. I remember crying very intensely for a few minutes.. It was Chapin's longtime manager, Ken Kragen, who became president of USA for Africa.