Harry Chapin Trivia

1. In the opening line of the song, how does the singer say the child arrived?

From Quiz Cat's in the Cradle

Answer: He came to the world in the usual way.

Harry Chapin was born December 7, 1942 and died tragically on July 16, 1981 in a horrific automobile crash while on his way to perform at a free concert. He was a champion of the fight against world hunger. The song chronologically takes the listener from the child's birth ("just the other day") to adulthood.

From Quiz Anatomy of a Song: "Bummer"

Answer: Drums

"His mama was a midnight woman His daddy was a drifter drummer One night they put it together Nine months later came the little black bummer" Ironically, Harry Chapin's father was a professional jazz drummer.

From Quiz The Harry Chapin Story: Part 3 - Sequel

Answer: Taxi

"I thought about taking a limousine Or at least a fancy car But I ended up taking a taxi "Because that's how I got this far..." The album "Sequel" was released on Boardwalk Records in October 1980. The title song picked up and concluded the story of 'Harry' and 'Sue' that was begun in "Taxi". The single reached Number 23 on the Billboard charts.

From Quiz The Harry Chapin Story: Part 2 - 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.

From Quiz The Harry Chapin Story: Part 1 - Taxi

Answer: M&M

The family lived at 352 West 11th Street in Greenwich Village. He later said: "In the 1940s, the Lower West Side of Manhattan was a schizophrenic place for growing up." [As told to Peter Morton Coan in "Taxi: The Harry Chapin Story" (Citadel Press, 2001), main source for many of these questions].

From Quiz Anatomy of a Song: "Sequel"

Answer: Eight

"I got into town a little early, Had eight hours to kill before the show" It seems, reading the lyrics, that this is Harry's own show. Eight hours to kill? Has the man never heard of soundchecks? And when will he get to eat the tub of green M&M's that his contract insists on?

From Quiz Songs by Harry Chapin

Answer: Vacancy

This song, from 'Verities and Balderdash' was the flipside of the 'Cat's in the Cradle' single.

From Quiz 30,000 Pounds Of Bananas

Answer: just after dark

Maybe he'd have had a safer trip if he'd left earlier in the day!

From Quiz Anatomy of a Song: "Cat's In The Cradle"

Answer: To be just like his dad

"He learned to walk while I was away And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad You know I'm gonna be like you" Oh oh! Big mistake kiddo! Keep singing the song, and you'll find out why.

From Quiz Anatomy of a Song: "Taxi"

Answer: San Francisco

This becomes evident in the very first line: "It was raining hard in 'Frisco I needed one more fare to make my night"

From Quiz The Story Songs of Harry Chapin

Answer: Mr. Tanner

From the LP "Short Stories", "Mr. Tanner" told the tale of a dry cleaner who dreamed of stardom as a singer. The song's chorus, originally sung in counterpoint by bassist John Wallace, contains a passage from the Christmas carol, "O Holy Night". Interesting listening, indeed.

From Quiz Harry Chapin Classic "Taxi" Lyrics

Answer: San Francisco

The initial line starts with "It was raining hard in 'Frisco", a common abbreviation for San Francisco, California, USA.

From Quiz "Taxi" -The Song

Answer: Harry Chapin & Chapin

Harry Chapin was born in Greenwich Village, New York on December 7, 1942.

From Quiz Remembering Harry Chapin

Answer: San Francisco

'It was rainin' hard in 'Frisco'...

From Quiz Cat's in the Cradle

Answer: There were planes to catch and bills to pay.

The song goes on to say that the son "grew up while I was away". "Cat's In The Cradle" reached number one on the "Billboard Hot 100" chart in December, 1974. Harry Chapin once stated that the song "scares me to death" because he didn't want the same experience with his own son Josh.

From Quiz Anatomy of a Song: "Bummer"

Answer: He was punched

"He was a laid back lump in the cradle Chewing the paint chips that fell from the ceiling Whenever he cried he got a fist in his face So he learned not to show his feelings" It is estimated that in the USA alone, more than three million children are victims of violence. Source: www.loveourchildrenusa.org

From Quiz The Harry Chapin Story: Part 3 - Sequel

Answer: $600,000

The contract was for nine albums in five years plus a $40,000 dollars advance. Columbia Records had offered an $80,000 advance, but Chapin felt that Jac Holzman, the Elektra chief, would look after his interests better. Holzman had given up producing records when he became company boss, but he returned to the sound desk for Chapin's first album. Chapin owed that to the persistence of an Elektra executive called Ann Purtill, who fought his corner vociferously and persuaded Holzman to sign Harry. In succeeding years, Chapin named Purtill in the dedications on his albums.

From Quiz The Harry Chapin Story: Part 2 - Circle

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.

From Quiz Fun With Harry's "Stories"

Answer: Fifteen Minutes

"W*O*L*D" is about a life in radio travelling around being a radio DJ. It shows a person sorry for pursuit of a career instead of paying more attention to personal relationships. He tries to convince someone he's "such a happy man." Tom Chapin, a fine singer/songwriter sings a verse in the song, "I've been making extra money doing high school sock hops, I'm a big-time guest MC. You should hear the little children, this is what they say to me. I've got a spot on the top of my head just begging for a new toupee, and a tire round my gut from sitting on my ...., but it's never going to go away." Tom also wrote the next song on the CD, "Saturday Morning."

From Quiz Songs by Harry Chapin

Answer: I Wanna Learn a Love Song

"The silence kept on building, her eyes grew much too wide, and I could hear both of our heartbeats, but there was no place to hide."

From Quiz 30,000 Pounds Of Bananas

Answer: Scranton, Pennsylvania

Hard to believe that city wanted 30,000 pounds of anything!

From Quiz Anatomy of a Song: "Taxi"

Answer: At the light

"A lady up ahead waved to flag me down She got in at the light" And the fare meter got turned on in a flash!

From Quiz Harry Chapin Classic "Taxi" Lyrics

Answer: Rain

The song begins with the atmospheric conditions and the place: "It was raining hard in 'Frisco". Also, the taxi driver laments in front of his fare, "It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain."

From Quiz "Taxi" -The Song

Answer: Harry

Chapin started singing while in high school and formed a band with his brothers Tom and Stephen.

From Quiz Remembering Harry Chapin

Answer: Sue

...and she said, 'How are ya, Harry?' I said 'How are ya, Sue'...

From Quiz Cat's in the Cradle

Answer: A ball

The boy thanked him for the ball and said "Come on let's play". Then he asked "Can you teach me to throw?" But the singer responded with "Not today. I've got a lot to do". The son said "That's ok".

From Quiz Anatomy of a Song: "Bummer"

Answer: Twice

According to US National Assessment of Adult Literacy, tests 14% of US residents "have extreme difficulty with reading and written comprehension". "These people can legally be defined as illiterate." [Source: caliteracy.org]

From Quiz The Harry Chapin Story: Part 3 - Sequel

Answer: Heads & Tales

The album was recorded in Los Angeles and was heavily hyped by Elektra, but did not reach the sales levels the company had hoped.

From Quiz The Harry Chapin Story: Part 2 - Circle

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.

From Quiz The Harry Chapin Story: Part 1 - Taxi

Answer: Drums

Jim Chapin was a jazz drummer who had played in many big bands in the 1930s and 1940s, including those of Woody Herman and Tommy Dorsey. He later wrote a book "Advanced Techniques for Modern Drummers", which became something of a standard for the instrument.

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