Fun With Harry's "Stories" Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Theme From "Godfather II"

A nice lively song comes after they get the intro right. This sets the tone for most of the rest of the album, some fun, some stories put to music, and some very serious themes here and there with Harry and his band enjoying themselves in this multi-venue recording.

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."

Answer: I never did it to Nancy, so I'll do it for her, okay?

This song is about a young musician who gives guitar lessons to get enough money to eat and the woman who wanted to learn a love song. The guitar lessons while her husband played stud poker in the den led to other things.

Answer: John Wallace

"Mr. Tanner" is a cleaner from Dayton, Ohio who enjoys singing and is encouraged by his friends to try to hit it big with a concert in New York. He is panned by the critics and goes back to Dayton and doesn't sing except late at night. "He did not know how well he sang, it just made him whole." John Wallace does the background vocals on the song in his baritone voice.

Answer: I spent a week there one afternoon.

The story is about a midnight watchman and a rotund waitress. They both are lonely for companionship. The other answers are paraphrases from a song about Toledo, Ohio on John Denver's "An Evening With John Denver."

Answer: Stephen Chapin

Stephen's part on the album piano/synthesiser. Apparently the Chapin family is quite talented and close. That comes through in these recordings.

Answer: Haldeman and Erlichman

The group seems to have more fun with this simple song than any other on the album. Practically everyone gets into the song including the audience. Harry describes himself as Mitch Miller, an old-time TV music show host of "Sing Along With Mitch". The Haldeman and Erlichman comment comes from the hearings in 1974 into the Watergate Hotel break-in of 1972. They were two of Nixon's aides who testified.

Harry asks the crowd if they've heard of Simon and Garfunkel, then says they sound a little bit like Seals and Crofts and a little like Sears and Roebuck. While they are singing Harry makes the Haldeman and Erlichman remark.

Answer: Chet Atkins

Also at the beginning of the song Harry says he tried to get the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for the song. Who else but Harry could write a song about an out-of-control banana truck on a hill in Scranton, Pennsylvania? Chet Atkins was possibly the greatest country music guitar player if you count all of his innovative guitar licks that others copied.

Answer: Harry, that sucks.

Probably the best selling T-shirt from the Harry Chapin clothing line is a yellow shirt with a half-peeled banana on it with Tom's quote on it. Stephen repeats Tom's assessment of Harry's second attempt at an ending to the song.

Answer: Twenty days

Harry was one of the first well known musicians to try to raise awareness for the starvation going on because of drought conditions in Africa. Live Aid was dedicated to him because of this. The song has a slow tempo and ends with bells ringing for the child's death.