I have a question for
Tom Huber
To: Jim Chambers <jim.ch...@tek.com>
Subject: Re: I have a question for everyone
>> I LOVE Harry Chapin and I listen to him every night, but does anyone else
>> get mildly depressed when listen to his music? What I mean is, does
>> anyone else get a little down because you know the genius behind all this
>> music is dead? I get that every time I listen to his cds. Does anyone
>> else?
JC>Yes, I have that same reaction. Just a little bit of choked up feeling
>in my throat and misty eyes. I sure miss him. I keep think "'bout the
>way things might have been."
Same here. When I heard of the accident, my reaction was, "it can't be
true." Such a talent to lose...
Tom
Chuck Spafford
On 22 Oct 96 00:23:00 Tom Huber wrote in alt.music.harry-chapin:
>Same here. When I heard of the accident, my reaction was, "it can't be
>true." Such a talent to lose...
I'm relatively new to this group, so forgive me if I'm out of line,
but how did he die? The only thing I know is that was a "tragic
death" as stated in the Gold Medal Collection CD's.
I've been a big Harry Chapin fan for some time now, but never really
got into much of the history of the man. I do know of a lot of his
work for the hungry, but beyond that I don't know much.
See Ya,
Chuck Spafford - cen...@radix.net
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Chuck
>I'm relatively new to this group, so forgive me if I'm out of line,
>but how did he die? The only thing I know is that was a "tragic
>death" as stated in the Gold Medal Collection CD's.
>
>I've been a big Harry Chapin fan for some time now, but never really
>got into much of the history of the man. I do know of a lot of his
>work for the hungry, but beyond that I don't know much.
>See Ya,
>
>Chuck Spafford - cen...@radix.net
Harry died in the summer of (I believe) 1981. He was driving his VW Rabbit on
the Long Island Expressway (near NY City) and was involved with a truck. The
VW was crushed and Harry was killed. It was also found that Harry had had a
massive heart attack. I never did hear, nor do I know which came 1st, the
accident or the heart attack. But I did hear that at the time, people said
that Harry was not the most careful driver.
I, like many others was devastated. I was up all night (on midnite shift) and
in the morning wrote a song for Harry. I, like so many others still miss him.
I get really sad, even know writing about it.
If anyone has more details, I'd sure like to hear them. chuck.
--
--------------------------------------------------------
Canadians could have enjoyed:
English Government,
French Culture,
and American know-how.
Instead they ended up with:
English know-how,
French Government,
and American culture.
- John Robert Colombo
--------------------------------------------------------
Claudia Avery
Chuck,
I believe HC died in a plain crash. Can anyone set me straight or am I
actually right?
BriBieluch
Harry Chapin, Singer, Killed in Crash
By John Rockwell
The New York Times
Friday, July 17, 1981
Harry Chapin, a folk-rock composer and performer active
in many charitable causes, was killed yesterday when the car he
was driving was hit from behind by a tractor-trailer on the Long
Island Expressway in Jericho, L.I., the police said. He was 38
years old.
The Nassau County Police said that a flatbed tractor-trailer
owned by Rickles Home Center of Paramus, N.J., struck Mr.
Chapin's car at 55 miles an hour as the car shifted lanes with
its emergency lights flashing near exit 40 at Jericho Turnpike at
12:27 P.M.
The force of the crash crushed the rear of the car, a 1975
Volkswagen, to the pavement, sending off sparks that set its fuel
tank aflame, the police said. The truck driver, Robert Eggleton
of Plainfield, suffered burns on his face and arms as he cut Mr.
Chapin from his seatbelt and dragged him from the flaming
wreckage, the police said.
Detective Donald Wecklein said Mr. Chapin apparently died
from the force of the crash. He did not appear to be badly
burned, the detective said, adding that he did not know whether
Mr. Chapin's car had been disabled or why the emergency lights
were flashing. No charges were filed.
Devised 'Story Song'
Mr. Chapin was pronounced dead at Nassau County Medical
Center at 1:05 P.M. Westbound lanes of the expressway were
closed to traffic in the area for three hours.
Mr. Chapin, who was to have performed last night at a free
concert in Westbury, L.I., remained dedicated to folk music in an
electrified rock age that prized ornate arrangements and pounding
dance beats.
His principal contribution was his self-described "story
song," a narrative form that owed much to older talking blues and
similar structures. The subjects of these songs were often
common people with poignant or even melodramatic tales to tell -
tales of lost opportunities, cruel ironies and life's
hypocrisies.
Mr. Chapin organized and appeared in many benefit concerts
for causes, including a campaign against world hunger,
environmental and consumer issues and the Multiple Sclerosis
Foundation. At one time, more than half of his concerts were
benefits.
Raised Thousands for Arts
He lived in Huntington Bay, L.I., and was particularly
generous with organizations on Long Island. He raised tens of
thousands of dollars for the Performing Arts Foundation, the
principal theatrical group on Long Island, and mobilized the
business community to support the arts.
Recently he stood in the rain for half an hour at a large
benefit at Caumsett State Park in Lloyd Harbor, greeted each car
as it arrived. The benefit raised $200,000 for the arts
foundation that allowed the bankrupt group to begin working on a
fall season. He also helped persuade the New York State Council
on the Arts to support the formation of the Long Island
Philharmonic.
"I think I've had the most social and political involvement
of any singer-songwriter in America," Mr. Chapin was quoted as
having said.
Musically, Mr. Chapin worked in a rather rudimentary idiom,
allying a conversational baritone with earnest strumming on his
acoustic guitar. But his records, especially in the early 70's,
sometimes involved more complex musical textures. In recent
years Mr. Chapin continued to tour throughout the country, even
though mass sales and critical acclaim eluded him.
Father Was a Drummer
Harry Chapin was born on Dec. 7, 1942, in Greenwich Village.
His father, James Chapin, was a drummer who worked with the
bandleaders Tommy Dorsey and Woody Herman, and Harry played the
trumpet as a child before taking up the guitar.
Mr. Chapin left music while he studied at the Air Force
Academy and at Cornell, and he later worked for a while in the
film industry.
In the summer of 1964, he was reunited with his brothers Tom
and Stephen and his father, and the family group played around
Greenwich Village during the peak years of the Village folk
scene. By the early 70's, after several personnel changes, the
group became a backup for Mr. Chapin, and eventually released
several albums. Mr. Chapin's biggest hit single was "Taxi," in
1972.
He also became involved with the theater. In 1975 he
conceived a multimedia show entitled "The Night That Made America
Famous," which received two Tony nominations, and in 1977 came
"Chapin," a musical revue that played in several cities.
Mr. Chapin is survived by his wife, Sandra; five children,
Jaimie, Jono, Jason, Jenny, and Josh; his father, James of Long
Island; his mother, Elspeth Hart of Brooklyn; three brothers,
James of Queens, and Tom and Stephen, both of Brooklyn; and two
half-brothers, Jeb Hart of Brooklyn, and John Hart of Port
Jefferson, L.I.
SueL107122
Harry died from massive injuries sustained in a car crash on the Long
Island Expressway on July 16, 1981.
As for his work on hunger, in 1975 he and Bill Ayres co-founded World
Hunger Year. We are now in our 21st year. Bill serves as executive
director and James Chapin serves as chairman of the board.
Through World Hunger Year, they also created Long Island Cares; The NYC
Food & Hunger Hotline; and The Center for Food Action in New Jersey. Each
of these fine organizations operates independently.
To receive information about World Hunger Year's work now, please write to
us at:
World Hunger Year
505 8th Avenue
21 Fl
New York, NY 10018
(yes, World Hunger Year is my day job! - I moonlight for David Buskin, who
is, by the way, a WHY board member along with James Chapin, Tom Chapin,
Steve Chapin, Robin Batteau, Tom Paxton, Ken Kragen, Ann Johns Ruckert,
Jen Chapin, Jaime Chapin, Sandy Chapin, Sam Weisman, Sen. Pat Leahy, Sen
Byron Dorgan, Congressmember Ben Gilman and many more.
Sue Leventhal
Assistant to David Buskin } "ESPN, ESPN
Joe-Pye Records} You're the reason I'm single again.
215-33B Hillside Avenue} Life is for losers
Queens Village, NY 11427-1833}Sports is your friend
718-479-8299 fax: 718-479-DAVE 3283 }And who's
got more sports on
SueL1...@aol.com } Than ESPN."
Kcpjp
BriBieluch,
Thank you for posting the obituary of Harry's death. I remember reading it
now. Sad, so sad to have lost one of the best! I have all his albums and
they are about worn out. I still play them to this day.
Thanks again,
Phil
Leah Adezio
> Claudia Avery <cav...@somtel.com> writes:
> Chuck,
>
> I believe HC died in a plain crash. Can anyone set me straight or am I
> actually right?
No. He died in a car accident on the Long Island Expressway.
He'd had a massive heart attack as well, but it remains unclear as to if
the heart attack came before the collision with the truck or afterwards.
What I remember was going into my senior year in college and hearing
the news on the radio on my way home from my summer job. I pulled
over to the side of the road and cried.
Leah
David A. Paterson
In article <a1e7cc$7371d.2d8@NEWS>, slad...@nac.net says...
You may be thinking of Stan Rogers, who died in a plane crash.
Interestingly, there are many similarities between Stan and Harry. Both
were Sagittarians who died in their 30s in the early 1980s. Both were
married to older, divorced women with three children from previous
marriages; both had their brothers in their groups.
Dave
EW
Claudia Avery <cav...@somtel.com> wrote:
>Chuck,
>I believe HC died in a plain crash. Can anyone set me straight or am I
>actually right?
>Jim
>http://www.somtel.com/~cavery
No, wrong it was a car accident
Check the group for details.
EW
cen...@radix.net (Chuck Spafford) wrote:
>On 22 Oct 96 00:23:00 Tom Huber wrote in alt.music.harry-chapin:
>>Same here. When I heard of the accident, my reaction was, "it can't be
>>true." Such a talent to lose...
>I'm relatively new to this group, so forgive me if I'm out of line,
>but how did he die? The only thing I know is that was a "tragic
>death" as stated in the Gold Medal Collection CD's.
>I've been a big Harry Chapin fan for some time now, but never really
>got into much of the history of the man. I do know of a lot of his
>work for the hungry, but beyond that I don't know much.
Hi,
I live in Australia, and like most, I was devastated when I heard of
his death. As far as I know he died on his way to a concert when a
truck pulled out in front of him while he was driving his VW. That was
1980. He just bought out 'Sequal' and was 38 at the time of his death.
I could be wrong though. In any case he was/is a legend.
Regards EW
>See Ya,
>Chuck Spafford - cen...@radix.net
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