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Quiz about The Harry Chapin Story Part 2  Circle
Quiz about The Harry Chapin Story Part 2  Circle

The Harry Chapin Story: Part 2 - Circle Quiz


This is my second quiz about the life and music of the singer, songwriter and humanitarian, Harry Chapin. See how much you know about the man behind songs like "Taxi", "W*O*L*D" and "Cat's In The Cradle".

A multiple-choice quiz by darksplash. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
darksplash
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
306,557
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
7 / 15
Plays
266
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Question 1 of 15
1. What was the name of the kids' television show for which Harry Chapin wrote the song "Circle"? Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. After failing to make his way at two universities in the 1960s, the singer/songwriter Harry Chapin got a job editing movie shorts. He also made TV advertisements. What was the name of the airline for which he made two commercials? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. In the song "I Wanna Learn A Love Song", how much per hour did Harry Chapin say he was paid?

Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. In 1965, the singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was making a living from editing movie shorts. One of his movies was nominated for an Oscar. What sport did it depict? Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. The singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was noted for his 'story songs'. The first of these was called 'Dogtown' and was the tale of a miserable existence for those left behind when an industry died in a town. Which industry was involved? Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. What was the name of the New York club at which Harry Chapin was "discovered" by record companies? Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. Of which US town did the singer/songwriter Harry Chapin joke: "I spent a week there one afternoon"? Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. "Mister Tanner was a cleaner from a town in the Midwest" was the opening line of a well-loved Harry Chapin song. From which town in the mid west did 'Mr Tanner' come? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. The singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was also a gifted film editor. He later developed an interest in working to eradicate world hunger. Which country did Chapin visit that made him aware of the issue? Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. The singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was noted for his rapport with concert audiences. Which country singer impressed him into developing that rapport? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. What was the full-time occupation of the hero of the Harry Chapin song "What Made America Famous"?
Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. The singer/songwriter Harry Chapin always wrote the words of his songs before the melody.


Question 13 of 15
13. Which newspaper published a review that gave Harry Chapin his big break? Hint


Question 14 of 15
14. About which of these folkies did Harry Chapin write a sing called "The Parade's Still Passing By"? Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. What was the name of the British pop group that had a hit with the song "Circle" by the American singer/songwriter Harry Chapin? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What was the name of the kids' television show for which Harry Chapin wrote the song "Circle"?

Answer: Make A Wish

"All my life's a circle, sunrise and sundown
The moon rose through the nighttime
'Til the daybreak comes around..."
Chapin's brother, Tom, was chosen to host the "Sesame Street"-rival, partly on the strength of Harry's songwriting. He produced 160 songs over the show's five-year existence. Only "Circle" was ever recorded, and it became a signature tune.
2. After failing to make his way at two universities in the 1960s, the singer/songwriter Harry Chapin got a job editing movie shorts. He also made TV advertisements. What was the name of the airline for which he made two commercials?

Answer: United

It turned out he had a talent for the job and was paid $250 dollars a week. He made the commercials in California. "I had never been to LA before and it seemed as glamorous as hell to me," he said later. In fact, Chapin did not last long on the West Coast, he quit the job and drove home to New York.
3. In the song "I Wanna Learn A Love Song", how much per hour did Harry Chapin say he was paid?

Answer: $10

"I come fresh from the street,
fast on my feet, kind a lean and lazy;
not much meat on my bones, and a whole lot alone,
and more than a little bit crazy.
The old six string was all I had
to keep my belly still,
and for each full hour lesson I gave
I got a crisp ten dollar bill"
The song was, in fact, the true story of how he met his wife-to-be, Sandy Cashmore (nee Gaston). She was a bored, rich housewife eight years older than Chapin. She had advertised in newspaper for someone to teach her guitar, and Chapin answered the advert.
4. In 1965, the singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was making a living from editing movie shorts. One of his movies was nominated for an Oscar. What sport did it depict?

Answer: Boxing

Chapin's job involved taking raw footage of fights and cutting them up into smaller sections. Because of his story-telling abilities, he could lift such a task out of the mundane. Harry conceived the idea for a trilogy, "The Heavyweight Championship", but only the first part, "Legendary Champions", was made.

It covered every heavyweight title defence from 1882 to 1920 and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1968.
5. The singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was noted for his 'story songs'. The first of these was called 'Dogtown' and was the tale of a miserable existence for those left behind when an industry died in a town. Which industry was involved?

Answer: Whaling

The song was inspired by the true story of a whaling town off Cape Ann. It had been abandoned when whaling no longer became profitable and was left to a population of wild dogs and a few stray people. The subject matter, it has to be said, was a little odd. Chapin wrote it one weekend at his brother Tom's house.

Their brother, James, was there also that weekend. He later said "I hated that song".
6. What was the name of the New York club at which Harry Chapin was "discovered" by record companies?

Answer: The Village Gate

After a period playing with his brothers, Harry moved on to do other things and they formed a band "The Chapin Brothers". They had the idea of hiring the Village Gate for a period of weeks and putting on shows nightly in the hope that they would get a record deal. Harry found out and formed his own band to open for his brothers on the same stage.

The club was usually packed out with Chapin friends and family to bamboozle the music critics.
7. Of which US town did the singer/songwriter Harry Chapin joke: "I spent a week there one afternoon"?

Answer: Watertown, New York

Chapin wrote "A Better Place To Be" about a lonely night watchman who picked up a beautiful girl one night, but she left in the morning and he told his tale to a an ugly but equally lonely waitress.
8. "Mister Tanner was a cleaner from a town in the Midwest" was the opening line of a well-loved Harry Chapin song. From which town in the mid west did 'Mr Tanner' come?

Answer: Dayton, Ohio

"But music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole..."
This was the tale of a cleaner who loved singing and was persuaded by his friends to try it out professionally at a New York City concert.
It was based on a true story.
9. The singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was also a gifted film editor. He later developed an interest in working to eradicate world hunger. Which country did Chapin visit that made him aware of the issue?

Answer: Ethiopia

Chapin went to Ethiopia to make a movie for the World Bank. He was appalled at the level of poverty and hunger he saw there.
10. The singer/songwriter Harry Chapin was noted for his rapport with concert audiences. Which country singer impressed him into developing that rapport?

Answer: Kris Kristofferson

Chapin initially tried to hone his stage persona at The Bitter End, but his frantic onstage talking between songs alienated audiences. He was just too wild. Then he watched Kristofferson perform with Carly Simon and his stage presence mellowed and he became one of the best communicators on the concert circuit. [Source" "Taxi: The Harry Chapin Story" by Peter M. Coan.]
11. What was the full-time occupation of the hero of the Harry Chapin song "What Made America Famous"?

Answer: Plumber

The story of a fire in a hippie squat was based on fact. In a real incident, the local fire department took two hours to get to the scene. Chapin re-imagined it with a plumber among a crew of voluntary firefighters going alone to save the families.
12. The singer/songwriter Harry Chapin always wrote the words of his songs before the melody.

Answer: True

This often dismayed his brothers Tom and Steve, for whom he wrote songs. They complained about being given lyrics without melodies and, the fact was they claimed some of his songs were just too weird.
13. Which newspaper published a review that gave Harry Chapin his big break?

Answer: New York Times

Chapin put together a band called "Harry" to open for The Chapin Brothers at the Village Gate, Mike Jahn, music critic of the Times, saw a performance and his review attracted the attention of the music companies.
14. About which of these folkies did Harry Chapin write a sing called "The Parade's Still Passing By"?

Answer: Phil Ochs

"I got the news today that you refused to play
Because you never made number one..."
Of all the 1960s protest singers, Ochs was the one who held on to that mantle the longest. Chapin admired that and believed that Ochs "never, ever sold out" to rock and pop as some others did. Chapin was disgusted with the way that some of the 1960s counter-culture folkies went mainstream.
15. What was the name of the British pop group that had a hit with the song "Circle" by the American singer/songwriter Harry Chapin?

Answer: The New Seekers

"Circle" reached number four in the UK charts in June 1972. The New Seekers were formed in 1969 with the intention of taking over the mantle of the Australian band The Seekers. Over the next 16 years they had a number of hits, including two number 1s, "I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing" in 1971 (it was based almost verbatim on a Cocoa-Cola advertising song) and "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" in 1973. "I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing" charted at number seven in the US.
Source: Author darksplash

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