1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:09,768 --> 00:00:12,012 - My brother Harry wanted to be more 4 00:00:12,150 --> 00:00:13,599 than just a great singer song writer. 5 00:00:13,737 --> 00:00:15,946 He wanted to change the world and he did. 6 00:00:22,401 --> 00:00:24,438 - Harry Chapin was one of the greatest storytellers 7 00:00:24,576 --> 00:00:25,611 of all time. 8 00:00:34,758 --> 00:00:37,002 - Harry was that rare combination 9 00:00:37,140 --> 00:00:41,075 of somebody with a conscience and an ability 10 00:00:41,213 --> 00:00:42,697 to write a good song. 11 00:00:47,219 --> 00:00:48,289 - Not many song writers know how 12 00:00:48,427 --> 00:00:51,085 to tell a story the way he did. 13 00:00:51,223 --> 00:00:52,259 Not many singers know how 14 00:00:52,397 --> 00:00:55,124 to get a story across the way he did. 15 00:01:05,203 --> 00:01:07,515 - When that song first came out, 16 00:01:07,653 --> 00:01:11,968 a lot of people thought it was a Harry Chapin song. 17 00:01:12,106 --> 00:01:14,557 It used to bother me, but doesn't bother me anymore. 18 00:01:14,695 --> 00:01:16,628 Now I take it as a compliment. 19 00:01:16,766 --> 00:01:17,836 Because the truth is, 20 00:01:17,974 --> 00:01:21,046 Harry Chapin wrote the best story songs. 21 00:01:26,776 --> 00:01:29,468 - I do about 220 concerts a year, 22 00:01:29,606 --> 00:01:31,160 about a hundred which are benefits, 23 00:01:31,298 --> 00:01:33,541 about 60 of whom were for World Hunger Year. 24 00:01:33,679 --> 00:01:35,371 I also do a bunch for the Performing Arts Foundation. 25 00:01:35,509 --> 00:01:39,685 I also do about a half a dozen a year for Ralph Nader. 26 00:01:39,823 --> 00:01:41,273 I've done a couple so far this year 27 00:01:41,411 --> 00:01:43,172 for Citizens Action Fund. 28 00:01:43,310 --> 00:01:45,105 I also do things for multiple sclerosis, 29 00:01:45,243 --> 00:01:47,969 muscular dystrophy, cancer care, cystic fibrosis, 30 00:01:48,108 --> 00:01:49,281 and a couple of other things. 31 00:01:49,419 --> 00:01:51,180 If you get involved in things, 32 00:01:51,318 --> 00:01:53,285 you ended up by getting involved in more things. 33 00:01:53,423 --> 00:01:57,186 - Harry made it gangster to do something 34 00:01:57,324 --> 00:02:00,741 about things that need something done for it. 35 00:02:00,879 --> 00:02:03,468 - And that was Harry's spirit indomitable spirit. 36 00:02:03,606 --> 00:02:05,159 He never gave up. 37 00:02:08,714 --> 00:02:09,922 - Steve Chapin. 38 00:02:14,168 --> 00:02:18,207 - It was like he knew that there was X amount 39 00:02:18,345 --> 00:02:22,728 of time left, because he really did burn that candle, 40 00:02:22,866 --> 00:02:24,385 bright and fast. 41 00:02:26,801 --> 00:02:28,389 - What's that great line of Bob Dylan's? 42 00:02:28,527 --> 00:02:30,495 He is not busy being born, he's busy dying. 43 00:02:30,633 --> 00:02:32,117 Luckily I'm one of these people. 44 00:02:32,255 --> 00:02:35,603 My credo was when in doubt, do something. 45 00:02:36,708 --> 00:02:39,159 You're a little early, guys. 46 00:02:44,474 --> 00:02:48,133 Okay, big climax later on, here's the story. 47 00:02:54,898 --> 00:02:57,211 My mother always told me it'd be like this. 48 00:02:59,420 --> 00:03:03,044 - To regard Harry as merely a singer composer, 49 00:03:03,183 --> 00:03:04,425 which he was, 50 00:03:04,563 --> 00:03:08,567 is like considering babe Ruth a pitcher, which he was. 51 00:03:08,705 --> 00:03:10,811 Both were that, but far more than that. 52 00:03:10,949 --> 00:03:14,780 Harry quite simply was the leading citizen artist 53 00:03:14,918 --> 00:03:16,575 of his generation. 54 00:03:29,726 --> 00:03:31,797 - Harry champion is an artist who has been with us before 55 00:03:31,935 --> 00:03:33,868 with his guitar and with his voice. 56 00:03:34,006 --> 00:03:34,731 - Please do it for us, all right? 57 00:03:34,869 --> 00:03:35,629 - Love to. 58 00:03:35,767 --> 00:03:36,664 - Harry Chapin. 59 00:03:36,802 --> 00:03:37,838 - Once again, here is Harry Chapin. 60 00:03:48,262 --> 00:03:51,852 - My mom had four boys by the time she was 25 61 00:03:51,990 --> 00:03:54,475 with my dad, the jazz drummer, Jim Chapin. 62 00:03:54,613 --> 00:03:57,685 The oldest with James, Butch Chapin, and then Harry, 63 00:03:57,823 --> 00:04:00,412 and I was next, and then brother Steve. 64 00:04:00,550 --> 00:04:01,620 But my mother and dad divorced early. 65 00:04:01,758 --> 00:04:03,173 I was three, I think, when they divorced 66 00:04:03,312 --> 00:04:05,590 because dad was a jazz drummer and he was on the road 67 00:04:05,728 --> 00:04:08,731 and he loved drums and he loved women. 68 00:04:08,869 --> 00:04:10,284 It didn't work. 69 00:04:15,462 --> 00:04:17,705 We lived near here, West 11th Street, in the winters. 70 00:04:22,641 --> 00:04:23,918 - As a fly ball hit out to left field, 71 00:04:24,056 --> 00:04:26,196 Woodling getting under it. 72 00:04:26,335 --> 00:04:27,922 And the Yankees are champions! 73 00:04:28,060 --> 00:04:31,650 And look at Berra, piggyback riding Kuzava. 74 00:04:33,859 --> 00:04:36,414 And then my stepfather came in the family. 75 00:04:36,552 --> 00:04:40,176 He bought a brownstone in Brooklyn for $16,000. 76 00:04:40,314 --> 00:04:44,284 - My mother Jean Elsbeth Burke had six sons. 77 00:04:44,422 --> 00:04:46,872 Harry was number two and I was number five. 78 00:04:47,010 --> 00:04:49,565 My mother had four Chapins in two Harts. 79 00:04:49,703 --> 00:04:51,360 And she was an incredible woman 80 00:04:51,498 --> 00:04:54,224 who raised us all basically as a single mom, 81 00:04:54,363 --> 00:04:59,368 because both of her husbands were kind of not great choices. 82 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:02,198 - We had the unfortunate, or fortunate if you want, 83 00:05:02,336 --> 00:05:05,270 of having the storybook evil stepfather. 84 00:05:05,408 --> 00:05:07,376 He was well meaning, but unfortunately he couldn't handle 85 00:05:07,514 --> 00:05:11,449 four boys growing up and it was a horror show 86 00:05:11,587 --> 00:05:13,243 of beatings and all kinds of stuff. 87 00:05:13,382 --> 00:05:15,729 It just made us really tight. 88 00:05:19,905 --> 00:05:22,805 - We grew up in the school yards and at Grace Church. 89 00:05:22,943 --> 00:05:25,497 Grace Church was crucial to us. 90 00:05:25,635 --> 00:05:28,362 It was really the foundation of getting into music, 91 00:05:28,500 --> 00:05:31,227 of Harry, Tom, and Steve getting into music. 92 00:05:31,365 --> 00:05:34,195 Big John Wallace, Bobby Lamm, who we see in Chicago, 93 00:05:34,334 --> 00:05:35,611 was in the choir. 94 00:05:35,749 --> 00:05:37,647 - You know, going back to the choir room and the piano, 95 00:05:37,785 --> 00:05:40,098 it really opened up a channel 96 00:05:41,513 --> 00:05:43,964 that I wouldn't have otherwise had. 97 00:05:44,102 --> 00:05:45,655 - We kind of grew up on our own 98 00:05:45,793 --> 00:05:48,658 out there in the world, but the church and sports 99 00:05:48,796 --> 00:05:51,247 were the foundations while my mom was trying 100 00:05:51,385 --> 00:05:54,215 to be a single mom and work and have six boys 101 00:05:54,354 --> 00:05:55,527 that were all over the place. 102 00:05:55,665 --> 00:05:57,426 - Well, once we moved to Brooklyn Heights, 103 00:05:57,564 --> 00:05:58,944 it was a school yard. 104 00:05:59,082 --> 00:06:00,843 The school and the school yard were right next door to us. 105 00:06:00,981 --> 00:06:04,225 Our days were like literally eight hours of handball, 106 00:06:04,364 --> 00:06:07,608 stickball, ring-a-levio, stoop ball 107 00:06:07,746 --> 00:06:11,336 and anything with a ball, any place, anyhow, 108 00:06:11,474 --> 00:06:14,408 it was just active, active, active. 109 00:06:21,001 --> 00:06:23,417 - There's more family history probably out here 110 00:06:23,555 --> 00:06:25,626 than anywhere else. 111 00:06:25,764 --> 00:06:28,284 - Because it's an older place, that's why. 112 00:06:28,422 --> 00:06:30,597 Well, this is every summer, you know, 113 00:06:30,735 --> 00:06:32,978 we were kids and it was like, yay, it's June. 114 00:06:33,116 --> 00:06:35,912 And we'd get here and then it's barefoot, and it was tennis, 115 00:06:36,050 --> 00:06:37,500 it was the Lake. 116 00:06:37,638 --> 00:06:39,709 So this is my whole life, every summer. 117 00:06:39,847 --> 00:06:44,265 - Andover was a kind of ever-shifting feast of people. 118 00:06:44,404 --> 00:06:45,474 First of all, there was KB 119 00:06:45,612 --> 00:06:47,786 who was the presiding patriarchal genius 120 00:06:47,924 --> 00:06:51,618 who appeared to me the most brilliant man in America. 121 00:06:51,756 --> 00:06:54,517 - Harry never thought about money growing up. 122 00:06:54,655 --> 00:06:55,622 He didn't have to. 123 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:57,865 His family, while not monetarily rich, 124 00:06:58,003 --> 00:07:01,869 they were rich in being part of the intellectual 125 00:07:02,007 --> 00:07:04,631 give and take in the country of being part 126 00:07:04,769 --> 00:07:06,529 of the American art history. 127 00:07:06,667 --> 00:07:10,878 And so Harry really never had to think about money. 128 00:07:21,958 --> 00:07:23,512 - I was a rich little poor boy. 129 00:07:23,650 --> 00:07:24,720 You've heard of the poor little rich boys. 130 00:07:24,858 --> 00:07:25,893 People with a lot of money 131 00:07:26,031 --> 00:07:27,412 and very little inspiration, very little. 132 00:07:27,550 --> 00:07:29,690 I came up with an incredible family. 133 00:07:29,828 --> 00:07:30,933 No money, but I never went hungry. 134 00:07:31,071 --> 00:07:32,866 But people who asked the right questions, 135 00:07:33,004 --> 00:07:34,005 pushed and prodded you. 136 00:07:34,143 --> 00:07:36,007 - You had a mixture of filmmakers. 137 00:07:36,145 --> 00:07:37,802 You have little Ricky, who was making films. 138 00:07:37,940 --> 00:07:40,390 You have, Jim was bringing out half of, you know, 139 00:07:40,529 --> 00:07:42,013 the Harlem left is coming out. 140 00:07:42,151 --> 00:07:44,498 It's just this constant swirl of different kinds 141 00:07:44,636 --> 00:07:46,362 of people and experiences. 142 00:07:46,500 --> 00:07:48,916 All of them creative, most of them on the left, 143 00:07:49,054 --> 00:07:50,470 one kind to another. 144 00:07:50,608 --> 00:07:52,644 - Hey, if I were Jewish then call it a mitzvah. 145 00:07:52,782 --> 00:07:56,924 For him to use his God given gifts to do good. 146 00:07:57,062 --> 00:08:00,825 - The thrust for us was to find something in the arts 147 00:08:00,963 --> 00:08:03,897 that you spent your life doing. 148 00:08:04,035 --> 00:08:05,864 It wasn't about making a living. 149 00:08:06,002 --> 00:08:07,763 It wasn't about making a lot of money. 150 00:08:07,901 --> 00:08:10,628 Wasn't even about fame that so much, 151 00:08:10,766 --> 00:08:12,906 but it's something that you've put into the world 152 00:08:13,044 --> 00:08:15,736 and put your life toward. 153 00:08:15,874 --> 00:08:17,980 - There's a kid out on my corner, 154 00:08:18,118 --> 00:08:19,533 hear him strumming like a fool. 155 00:08:19,671 --> 00:08:22,743 Shivering in his dungarees, but still he's going to school. 156 00:08:31,752 --> 00:08:33,823 - Harry was the can do. 157 00:08:33,961 --> 00:08:36,412 The family joke, which I coined at one time 158 00:08:36,550 --> 00:08:38,932 and everybody loved, was two's company, 159 00:08:39,070 --> 00:08:42,694 Harry's a crowd. 160 00:08:56,777 --> 00:08:58,952 - My mother's sister had the only Hi-Fi in the valley. 161 00:08:59,090 --> 00:09:00,298 Remember Hi-Fis? 162 00:09:00,436 --> 00:09:02,749 And she brought a recording called The Weavers 163 00:09:02,887 --> 00:09:06,028 at Carnegie Hall and played it for us. 164 00:09:07,063 --> 00:09:12,068 And that changed our world as it did the world of this place 165 00:09:12,828 --> 00:09:13,967 and The Village, 166 00:09:14,105 --> 00:09:17,971 because they were the inspiration for 167 00:09:18,109 --> 00:09:20,525 for the Kingston Trio, for the Limeliters, 168 00:09:20,663 --> 00:09:23,424 the Tom Paxton on down the line and, 169 00:09:23,563 --> 00:09:25,150 and the Chapin Brothers as well. 170 00:09:25,288 --> 00:09:27,636 We listen to that recording all summer long. 171 00:09:34,194 --> 00:09:35,575 If you invited one Chapin brother, 172 00:09:35,713 --> 00:09:37,128 the three of us would come with instruments. 173 00:09:37,266 --> 00:09:39,199 Steve first played a 10-string ukulele 174 00:09:39,337 --> 00:09:40,925 and then moved on to the bass. 175 00:09:41,063 --> 00:09:43,237 And we became the Chapin Brothers. 176 00:09:45,239 --> 00:09:47,034 - Tonight, let's sing out 177 00:09:47,172 --> 00:09:51,591 with the students of the University of 178 00:09:51,729 --> 00:09:53,834 Featuring Joanie Anderson. 179 00:09:57,079 --> 00:09:58,080 The Chapins. 180 00:09:59,081 --> 00:10:00,910 And now, Oscar Brown. 181 00:10:02,325 --> 00:10:04,707 That loud blast of assembles and the bass you heard 182 00:10:04,845 --> 00:10:07,261 came from a drum, which is new to our program. 183 00:10:07,399 --> 00:10:11,507 But is being handled by the capable Mr. Chapin. 184 00:10:11,645 --> 00:10:12,646 Mr. Steve Chapin. 185 00:10:12,784 --> 00:10:13,751 - Jim Chapin. - Jim Chapin? 186 00:10:13,889 --> 00:10:14,855 - I'm Steve. 187 00:10:14,993 --> 00:10:15,822 - You're Steve. Well, who are you? 188 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:17,099 - Tom. - That's Tom. 189 00:10:17,237 --> 00:10:17,996 Over there? 190 00:10:18,134 --> 00:10:19,239 - Harry! - Harry. 191 00:10:19,377 --> 00:10:21,172 And all together they're the Chapin Family. 192 00:10:21,310 --> 00:10:23,553 - Their father is considered one of the great drummers 193 00:10:23,692 --> 00:10:26,695 in America, and we're proud to produce the whole family. 194 00:10:26,833 --> 00:10:28,835 So here are the Chapins. 195 00:10:39,328 --> 00:10:41,157 - Harry was the least proficient musically, 196 00:10:41,295 --> 00:10:43,573 so it was kind of like everybody 197 00:10:43,712 --> 00:10:46,128 had their power in different ways. 198 00:10:51,927 --> 00:10:53,791 - Tom had a really high voice 199 00:10:53,929 --> 00:10:56,103 and could hit notes that were unattainable 200 00:10:56,241 --> 00:10:58,209 and is an excellent guitar player. 201 00:10:58,347 --> 00:11:00,176 Both of us, Tom and I, could both 202 00:11:00,314 --> 00:11:04,318 really well sing in tune and blend really well. 203 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:13,293 - Love the idea of making music 204 00:11:13,431 --> 00:11:16,710 and and Harry started writing for us as well. 205 00:11:16,848 --> 00:11:18,954 That's really sort of the genesis of the Chapin Brothers 206 00:11:19,092 --> 00:11:21,991 and the connection with folk music. 207 00:11:23,061 --> 00:11:24,338 - Harry was kind of like in charge 208 00:11:24,476 --> 00:11:26,962 and actually a lot of times they would, they would, 209 00:11:27,100 --> 00:11:28,308 you know, other people behind 210 00:11:28,446 --> 00:11:29,861 would say you guys got to do more. 211 00:11:29,999 --> 00:11:32,070 Three of us were playing with our dad in the Village Gate. 212 00:11:32,208 --> 00:11:34,314 After the first set, dad comes back to his boys and says, 213 00:11:34,452 --> 00:11:36,799 it's a little slow out there tonight. 214 00:11:36,937 --> 00:11:39,250 Steve and Tom, I want you guys to cheer up. 215 00:11:39,388 --> 00:11:41,010 Harry, cheer down. 216 00:11:55,887 --> 00:11:56,992 - We were living in Brooklyn Heights, 217 00:11:57,130 --> 00:11:59,684 not exactly the center of the folk music universe. 218 00:11:59,822 --> 00:12:03,653 But was 15 minutes by the A train to here. 219 00:12:03,792 --> 00:12:06,691 Tuesday night was hootenanny night here at the Bitter End. 220 00:12:06,829 --> 00:12:08,935 And if you came in the afternoon and you tried out for it, 221 00:12:09,073 --> 00:12:10,591 you might be able to play that night. 222 00:12:10,730 --> 00:12:12,110 And we started doing that. 223 00:12:12,248 --> 00:12:14,803 - Harry got this film offer to go to Ethiopia, 224 00:12:14,941 --> 00:12:18,254 to do a documentary about hunger in Ethiopia. 225 00:12:18,392 --> 00:12:20,084 And Harry was a grownup, you know, 226 00:12:20,222 --> 00:12:21,913 he'd been working in the documentary film world. 227 00:12:22,051 --> 00:12:23,673 In fact, one of his documentary films 228 00:12:23,812 --> 00:12:26,400 was nominated for Academy Award, "The Legendary Champions." 229 00:12:30,232 --> 00:12:31,923 - Tiny Tommy Burns is soon getting home 230 00:12:32,061 --> 00:12:35,168 with his equalizer, his booming right hand. 231 00:12:35,306 --> 00:12:36,825 Spires goes down. 232 00:12:38,136 --> 00:12:39,655 - Harry came back six months later, 233 00:12:39,793 --> 00:12:41,899 and the boys who needed the money to go to college 234 00:12:42,037 --> 00:12:43,417 had put together a new band. 235 00:12:43,555 --> 00:12:44,833 - Steve says, well, you better tell him. 236 00:12:44,971 --> 00:12:47,421 So I sat there and said, Harry, 237 00:12:48,422 --> 00:12:49,976 we're kicking you out of the band. 238 00:12:50,114 --> 00:12:51,218 What? 239 00:12:51,356 --> 00:12:51,978 - There was no way he could walk back in. 240 00:12:52,116 --> 00:12:53,220 He wasn't a singer. 241 00:12:53,358 --> 00:12:55,291 We already had two guitarists in the band. 242 00:12:55,429 --> 00:12:56,672 You know what I mean? 243 00:12:56,810 --> 00:12:58,156 At this time he didn't bring anything to the table. 244 00:12:58,294 --> 00:13:00,400 - The Chapins had a really cool rock and roll band. 245 00:13:00,538 --> 00:13:03,196 And when Harry came back, he was no longer part of it. 246 00:13:03,334 --> 00:13:04,887 I understood that. 247 00:13:05,025 --> 00:13:08,166 Cause it was, in terms of like musical judgment and judging, 248 00:13:08,304 --> 00:13:09,719 it was the right decision. 249 00:13:09,858 --> 00:13:11,583 - I mean, I come from a family 250 00:13:11,721 --> 00:13:13,344 of absolutely brilliant people. 251 00:13:13,482 --> 00:13:14,828 I've got some brothers, as you know, 252 00:13:14,966 --> 00:13:18,314 I think are more naturally talented than I am at music. 253 00:13:18,452 --> 00:13:20,730 But the only thing different between them and I 254 00:13:20,869 --> 00:13:22,698 is I'm a little bit more bullheaded and go out 255 00:13:22,836 --> 00:13:25,390 and bang my head against the the castles. 256 00:13:25,528 --> 00:13:28,117 And they they've taken a little bit more cooled out route. 257 00:13:28,255 --> 00:13:30,740 - We rented the Village Gate for $400 a week. 258 00:13:30,879 --> 00:13:34,779 And our opening act was, the first week was Harry, 259 00:13:34,917 --> 00:13:36,367 by himself. 260 00:13:36,505 --> 00:13:39,439 And he's singing these long story songs. 261 00:13:39,577 --> 00:13:43,857 It was raining hard in Frisco, and it was dead. 262 00:13:43,995 --> 00:13:45,721 He didn't know how to perform yet. 263 00:13:45,859 --> 00:13:48,275 And the songs just lay there. 264 00:13:48,413 --> 00:13:50,415 And he did four nights, four very hard nights 265 00:13:50,553 --> 00:13:52,728 opening for us, and we were pretty good band. 266 00:13:52,866 --> 00:13:55,248 So instead of being crushed by this, he says, 267 00:13:55,386 --> 00:13:56,974 hmm, I need a band. 268 00:13:57,112 --> 00:14:00,736 He calls up John Wallace, who'd been a choir boy with us, 269 00:14:00,874 --> 00:14:04,119 to play bass, found a guitar player, Ron Palmer, 270 00:14:04,257 --> 00:14:06,017 wonderful finger style guitar player. 271 00:14:06,155 --> 00:14:08,986 Put an ad in the Village Voice for a cello player, 272 00:14:09,124 --> 00:14:10,504 and got Tim Scott. 273 00:14:11,540 --> 00:14:13,853 And they started rehearsing and inventing these songs. 274 00:14:13,991 --> 00:14:17,270 - He said, listen, I don't have any money. 275 00:14:18,512 --> 00:14:23,103 He said that the most important thing to me is loyalty. 276 00:14:23,241 --> 00:14:26,969 He said if stay with me, we're all going to be partners. 277 00:14:27,107 --> 00:14:29,282 It was a handshake deal. 278 00:14:29,420 --> 00:14:34,321 And it was kept not only by Harry, but by the family. 279 00:14:34,459 --> 00:14:36,392 He knew what he wanted. 280 00:14:40,431 --> 00:14:41,328 - It would be nice, the ninth. 281 00:14:41,466 --> 00:14:44,090 There's ninth and the major seven. 282 00:14:51,373 --> 00:14:53,237 I wonder if you should hit the 4th up there. 283 00:14:56,481 --> 00:15:00,451 - Harry's songs started getting a little more adventuresome 284 00:15:00,589 --> 00:15:03,074 and a little more story-oriented, 285 00:15:03,212 --> 00:15:04,834 a little more personally oriented. 286 00:15:04,973 --> 00:15:06,491 - He was ambitious. 287 00:15:07,561 --> 00:15:09,460 He really wanted to matter. 288 00:15:09,598 --> 00:15:12,014 - What I saw was not what I expected. 289 00:15:12,152 --> 00:15:13,878 I lost it in the first number. 290 00:15:14,016 --> 00:15:16,260 I mean, I could tell what was going on. 291 00:15:16,398 --> 00:15:18,952 This was a very well integrated band, vocally. 292 00:15:19,090 --> 00:15:21,299 The instruments were wonderful, 293 00:15:21,437 --> 00:15:25,579 but I thought featuring the sincerity of the cello was magic 294 00:15:25,717 --> 00:15:27,547 because I had tried to talk artists to doing that 295 00:15:27,685 --> 00:15:31,344 in the past myself and had not succeeded. 296 00:15:31,482 --> 00:15:34,278 They were comfortable with the instruments they had. 297 00:15:34,416 --> 00:15:36,866 And I was looking for something that would give 298 00:15:37,005 --> 00:15:40,077 even folk music an underpinning. 299 00:15:40,215 --> 00:15:41,837 - There's something about a cello anyway, 300 00:15:41,975 --> 00:15:43,390 that plays in minor keys. 301 00:15:43,528 --> 00:15:46,359 And it was magical with his music 302 00:15:46,497 --> 00:15:48,361 because it was so appropriate, 303 00:15:48,499 --> 00:15:52,296 because so much was visually dramatic and emotional and sad. 304 00:15:52,434 --> 00:15:54,401 You know, so there's nothing sadder 305 00:15:54,539 --> 00:15:56,610 than somebody sitting next to you playing 306 00:15:56,748 --> 00:16:00,200 just beautiful string lines on the cello. 307 00:16:04,308 --> 00:16:05,999 - There was a couple of quirky things that Harry did 308 00:16:06,137 --> 00:16:08,174 that made him stand apart from other people. 309 00:16:08,312 --> 00:16:11,867 Also the guy who was singing falsetto. 310 00:16:12,005 --> 00:16:13,903 The guy's in the back row with a real high voice. 311 00:16:14,042 --> 00:16:15,905 Like an opera singer, almost. 312 00:16:16,044 --> 00:16:18,080 That was different too. 313 00:16:21,118 --> 00:16:23,499 - I was really kind of shocked to see John Wallace 314 00:16:23,637 --> 00:16:26,054 be part of the whole thing. 315 00:16:26,192 --> 00:16:29,540 John always had a great voice, great falsetto, 316 00:16:29,678 --> 00:16:33,544 and he always fooled around with his range, 317 00:16:33,682 --> 00:16:36,996 singing low notes, singing high notes. 318 00:16:41,655 --> 00:16:44,555 - And then Harry was, you know, telling his story. 319 00:16:44,693 --> 00:16:46,212 It made him stand out. 320 00:16:46,350 --> 00:16:49,560 - Listen to the story about Mr. Tanner. 321 00:16:59,294 --> 00:17:03,298 - I always thought of him as a troubadour. 322 00:17:12,583 --> 00:17:16,690 This is a person who, you know, I don't know, 323 00:17:16,828 --> 00:17:21,833 I mean, listen, he sang great, it was a charm that he had, 324 00:17:22,317 --> 00:17:25,596 but I think his real gift was the storytelling. 325 00:17:35,330 --> 00:17:37,297 - And so that, right in front of him, 326 00:17:37,435 --> 00:17:39,403 was this possibility of being a singer song writer. 327 00:17:39,541 --> 00:17:44,304 And two weeks later, he comes back and it's a revelation. 328 00:17:46,513 --> 00:17:51,000 - He wrapped his songs around the people who listened. 329 00:17:58,249 --> 00:17:59,285 - It was pretty thrilling. 330 00:17:59,423 --> 00:18:02,115 He's right in the middle of that triangle 331 00:18:02,253 --> 00:18:04,566 and hearing this stuff, you know. 332 00:18:04,704 --> 00:18:06,326 You knew there was something to it. 333 00:18:06,464 --> 00:18:07,224 - Sort of part and parcel of watching him do this 334 00:18:07,362 --> 00:18:10,399 and helping as much as we can. 335 00:18:10,537 --> 00:18:15,301 And being a little bit astonished, but not shocked. 336 00:18:18,338 --> 00:18:22,239 By the end of the summer, they got a great review 337 00:18:22,377 --> 00:18:24,448 in the New York times. 338 00:18:24,586 --> 00:18:26,450 And people were coming to see Harry 339 00:18:26,588 --> 00:18:27,796 at the end of the summer. 340 00:18:27,934 --> 00:18:32,076 - When he was first acknowledged at The Village Gate 341 00:18:32,214 --> 00:18:35,183 and the record company people started coming down 342 00:18:35,321 --> 00:18:37,012 and he'd called the different companies 343 00:18:37,150 --> 00:18:38,600 and talked to one of the secretaries 344 00:18:38,738 --> 00:18:40,326 and say he was somebody else 345 00:18:40,464 --> 00:18:44,019 and then do a pitch for Harry Chapin. 346 00:18:44,157 --> 00:18:46,746 Always out in front, you know, always moving forward. 347 00:18:46,884 --> 00:18:49,266 Yeah, his motto was onwards and upwards. 348 00:18:49,404 --> 00:18:52,338 - And that was the fall that Clive Davis and Jac Holzman 349 00:18:52,476 --> 00:18:54,512 at Elektra Records and Clive Davis at Columbia 350 00:18:54,650 --> 00:18:57,136 had a bidding war to get Harry. 351 00:18:57,274 --> 00:18:59,103 - The bidding war thing started, which I mean, 352 00:18:59,241 --> 00:19:02,141 it's not a time I would like to relive, 353 00:19:02,279 --> 00:19:03,728 but it made us a lot of money. 354 00:19:03,866 --> 00:19:07,215 - Clive and I had gone toe to toe on other artists. 355 00:19:07,353 --> 00:19:10,632 Delaney and Bonnie, he had tried to take Judy Collins away. 356 00:19:10,770 --> 00:19:13,531 We were used to scrapping with each other. 357 00:19:13,669 --> 00:19:15,602 - As his brother, it was really exciting to watch 358 00:19:15,740 --> 00:19:17,225 this whole thing happen. 359 00:19:17,363 --> 00:19:18,536 - That's when the trigger went off, 360 00:19:18,674 --> 00:19:20,262 this is the band I can work with. 361 00:19:27,304 --> 00:19:28,650 We made an offer. 362 00:19:29,685 --> 00:19:31,342 Atlantic made an offer. 363 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:33,102 Clive made an offer. 364 00:19:33,241 --> 00:19:35,726 The numbers were going back and forth. 365 00:19:50,568 --> 00:19:53,226 The band had come to my house up in the country 366 00:19:53,364 --> 00:19:55,608 because I liked to prerecord my records. 367 00:19:55,746 --> 00:19:57,541 I couldn't find Harry. 368 00:19:57,679 --> 00:19:59,128 Nobody could get ahold of them. 369 00:19:59,267 --> 00:20:01,372 Finally, I got a call back from Harry. 370 00:20:01,510 --> 00:20:03,443 I said, well, I'm on my way to California, 371 00:20:03,581 --> 00:20:06,135 then I said, we'll meet you at the airport. 372 00:20:06,274 --> 00:20:10,381 So he met us and he said, we're gonna go with Columbia. 373 00:20:10,519 --> 00:20:14,213 I was pissed off because I thought we 374 00:20:14,351 --> 00:20:16,663 had shaken hands on the deal. 375 00:20:16,801 --> 00:20:18,320 Stayed the week in California, 376 00:20:18,458 --> 00:20:21,289 I found out that the Colombia numbers were, 377 00:20:21,427 --> 00:20:23,152 shall we say, less than accurate, 378 00:20:23,291 --> 00:20:26,190 because I got the real numbers. 379 00:20:26,328 --> 00:20:28,019 But I never used them. 380 00:20:29,780 --> 00:20:31,678 Banged on the door at six o'clock in the morning, 381 00:20:31,816 --> 00:20:36,787 they knew I was coming and said, I'm not leaving here. 382 00:20:36,925 --> 00:20:38,513 Get a couch or something, 383 00:20:38,651 --> 00:20:42,241 I'm not leaving here until we have a deal. 384 00:20:51,664 --> 00:20:54,183 - Harry had his, sort of had the act together 385 00:20:54,322 --> 00:20:55,426 in its own way. 386 00:20:55,564 --> 00:20:57,497 They had this, it started off with this trick 387 00:20:57,635 --> 00:21:01,674 with the lights and Taxi was more than just a song. 388 00:21:01,812 --> 00:21:04,815 - In 72 I remember hearing the taxi on the radio 389 00:21:04,953 --> 00:21:07,542 and then thinking, this is something different. 390 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:09,337 This is a folk song. 391 00:21:09,475 --> 00:21:10,579 Who is this guy? 392 00:21:10,717 --> 00:21:13,375 - Taxi's about 60% true. 393 00:21:13,513 --> 00:21:17,483 And so I use realities I know about to set me going. 394 00:21:17,621 --> 00:21:21,590 And then I try to make the song true to itself. 395 00:21:35,535 --> 00:21:36,709 The songs have to mean something to somebody 396 00:21:36,847 --> 00:21:40,195 if they're going to buy them or keep playing. 397 00:21:40,333 --> 00:21:41,300 - And Yours do. 398 00:21:41,438 --> 00:21:42,956 See, I think that that can be the trap 399 00:21:43,094 --> 00:21:45,890 that years mean an awful lot to a lot of people. 400 00:21:46,028 --> 00:21:50,343 - The writing there was so smart and simple at the same time 401 00:21:50,481 --> 00:21:51,931 that I thought this was special. 402 00:21:56,729 --> 00:21:58,213 - Great song. 403 00:21:58,351 --> 00:22:01,216 She said, let's get together, 404 00:22:01,354 --> 00:22:03,391 but I knew it'd never be arranged, 405 00:22:03,529 --> 00:22:06,911 And she handed me twenty dollars for a two fifty fare, 406 00:22:07,049 --> 00:22:09,500 she said Harry, keep the change. 407 00:22:09,638 --> 00:22:12,261 And that's such a cool line 408 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,299 that the hair stands up on my arm. 409 00:22:15,437 --> 00:22:17,301 Well, another man might've been angry, 410 00:22:17,439 --> 00:22:18,682 another man might have been hurt, 411 00:22:18,820 --> 00:22:20,718 but another man would never would have let her go, 412 00:22:20,856 --> 00:22:23,238 I stuffed the bill on my shirt. 413 00:22:23,376 --> 00:22:25,965 I mean, that's, you know, real life. 414 00:22:26,103 --> 00:22:27,725 That's really what happened. 415 00:22:27,863 --> 00:22:30,590 Whether it did or not, in my mind, that happened. 416 00:22:30,728 --> 00:22:32,351 I could picture the whole thing. 417 00:22:32,489 --> 00:22:33,938 And the guy at the end getting stoned, 418 00:22:34,076 --> 00:22:36,458 and I fly so high when I'm stoned. 419 00:22:36,596 --> 00:22:38,909 You didn't hear that on the radio, that was pretty risque. 420 00:22:39,047 --> 00:22:41,498 - We didn't start on AM radio. 421 00:22:41,636 --> 00:22:43,776 We started on FM radio, which I knew was going 422 00:22:43,914 --> 00:22:45,364 to be more friendly to him. 423 00:22:45,502 --> 00:22:47,504 And Harry went to all the key stations 424 00:22:47,642 --> 00:22:49,747 and he told wonderful stories. 425 00:22:49,885 --> 00:22:54,269 And his personality, even if you weren't seeing him live, 426 00:22:54,407 --> 00:22:56,996 you could hear it through the interview. 427 00:22:57,134 --> 00:22:59,930 He was always there, no matter what he did, 428 00:23:00,068 --> 00:23:01,725 whether he was doing it for a charity 429 00:23:01,863 --> 00:23:06,868 or in the studio for himself, he was 100% all the time. 430 00:23:07,006 --> 00:23:09,767 - We were playing in the Kiel Opera House 431 00:23:09,905 --> 00:23:10,906 in St. Louis. 432 00:23:11,976 --> 00:23:15,394 And I was opening up for Harry Chapin. 433 00:23:22,055 --> 00:23:23,436 We got a great reception from his audience. 434 00:23:23,574 --> 00:23:26,370 I didn't know how we're gonna go over with his crowd. 435 00:23:26,508 --> 00:23:29,856 But they were very receptive, very warm audience. 436 00:23:29,994 --> 00:23:32,790 And he even talked about me to the audience 437 00:23:32,928 --> 00:23:34,205 in his own show. 438 00:23:35,206 --> 00:23:37,381 He was the headliner, but he said something, 439 00:23:37,519 --> 00:23:38,934 how about that, Billy Joel? 440 00:23:39,072 --> 00:23:40,349 And I thought that was really nice. 441 00:23:40,488 --> 00:23:41,523 He didn't have to do that. 442 00:23:41,661 --> 00:23:45,009 But he plugged me to his own audience. 443 00:23:45,147 --> 00:23:46,942 And I never forgot that. 444 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,359 I thought that was a very gentlemanly thing to do. 445 00:23:50,498 --> 00:23:53,466 Especially in the music business where it's all dog-eat-dog 446 00:23:53,604 --> 00:23:56,849 and claws are out in the music business. 447 00:24:11,035 --> 00:24:13,693 - I went out to Long Island to play a club, 448 00:24:13,831 --> 00:24:16,316 just not even a club, like a pub, it was like bar 449 00:24:16,455 --> 00:24:18,940 and Harry was in the bar. 450 00:24:19,078 --> 00:24:21,390 He wasn't drinking, he was drinking a club soda. 451 00:24:21,529 --> 00:24:24,463 My favorite recollection of him, this stays with me always, 452 00:24:24,601 --> 00:24:26,706 that he looked like he just literally rolled out of bed. 453 00:24:26,844 --> 00:24:28,536 His hair was all over the place. 454 00:24:28,674 --> 00:24:30,089 He had like some wrinkled t-shirts and jeans 455 00:24:30,227 --> 00:24:32,678 that were hanging so loose. 456 00:24:32,816 --> 00:24:34,818 And he was just sitting there, talking to a guy. 457 00:24:34,956 --> 00:24:37,855 And when I started this, when I was singing, 458 00:24:37,993 --> 00:24:40,927 he came over and he said, "Hey," he goes like, 459 00:24:41,065 --> 00:24:42,032 "What's your name, and what are you doing?" 460 00:24:42,170 --> 00:24:43,412 And all this stuff. 461 00:24:43,551 --> 00:24:47,037 And I told him, and that's when he told me, he goes, 462 00:24:47,175 --> 00:24:49,695 "Well, you know, I'm doing this thing down the street." 463 00:24:49,833 --> 00:24:52,801 He goes, "You should come and audition for this 464 00:24:52,939 --> 00:24:55,494 "because I think that you would be great for this. 465 00:24:55,632 --> 00:24:56,736 "It'd be fun for you." 466 00:24:56,874 --> 00:24:59,946 And, I was, "Okay." 467 00:25:00,084 --> 00:25:01,361 You know what I mean? 468 00:25:01,500 --> 00:25:03,743 Like, this is Harry Chapin, no problem, I'm coming. 469 00:25:08,955 --> 00:25:10,681 He was very selfless. 470 00:25:10,819 --> 00:25:13,753 You know, this was genuine, this was authentic. 471 00:25:13,891 --> 00:25:15,962 And so everything that anybody ever reads about him 472 00:25:16,100 --> 00:25:18,793 or hears about him, the stories are true. 473 00:25:18,931 --> 00:25:19,897 It's true. 474 00:25:20,035 --> 00:25:21,692 You know, he was just, he was a dude. 475 00:25:21,830 --> 00:25:23,832 I mean, the best part, the rest of that story 476 00:25:23,970 --> 00:25:25,938 is that he didn't have any money. 477 00:25:26,076 --> 00:25:27,456 He was going in every pocket. 478 00:25:27,595 --> 00:25:29,562 I was like, watching him do this. 479 00:25:29,700 --> 00:25:33,083 And I said to him, do you need money? 480 00:25:33,221 --> 00:25:35,430 Which was just like absolutely ridiculous. 481 00:25:35,568 --> 00:25:36,673 You know what I mean? 482 00:25:36,811 --> 00:25:37,846 I said, "Do you need any money?" 483 00:25:37,984 --> 00:25:39,227 And he goes, "I don't have any money." 484 00:25:39,365 --> 00:25:43,093 So I gave him $5 to pay for the, whatever, club soda, 485 00:25:43,231 --> 00:25:45,578 water, I don't know what he's drinking, 486 00:25:45,716 --> 00:25:46,993 it was clear and it wasn't alcohol, I know that. 487 00:25:47,131 --> 00:25:48,581 But whether it was a 7Up, whatever, you know, 488 00:25:48,719 --> 00:25:49,720 but I gave him five bucks. 489 00:25:49,858 --> 00:25:51,170 He had no money on him. 490 00:25:51,308 --> 00:25:55,070 And he was just, you know, kinda like Colombo. 491 00:25:55,208 --> 00:25:58,557 Kind of like the musical version of Colombo. 492 00:25:58,695 --> 00:26:00,800 - First album, we were at Fillmore East 493 00:26:00,938 --> 00:26:04,597 and Harry showed up in the wings and he was very sweet. 494 00:26:04,735 --> 00:26:06,703 You know, it was great surprise to see him. 495 00:26:06,841 --> 00:26:08,877 He was very enthusiastic. 496 00:26:10,085 --> 00:26:11,846 The thing about Harry was 497 00:26:11,984 --> 00:26:16,989 that he's probably the most charming kid you'd ever know. 498 00:26:17,127 --> 00:26:18,784 - I was just like little, you know, 499 00:26:18,922 --> 00:26:20,199 a girl just singing in a bar. 500 00:26:20,337 --> 00:26:23,098 But he treated me with such respect and dignity. 501 00:26:23,236 --> 00:26:26,067 And I didn't forget that ever. 502 00:26:26,205 --> 00:26:29,933 - With '70s rock radio, especially the storytellers, 503 00:26:30,071 --> 00:26:32,867 Jim Croce, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell. 504 00:26:33,005 --> 00:26:37,975 But it was this one song called "Cat's in the Cradle," 505 00:26:38,113 --> 00:26:40,909 that I don't relate to, 'cause I'm a kid. 506 00:26:41,047 --> 00:26:43,256 So it was a nursery rhyme, 507 00:26:43,394 --> 00:26:45,880 but it was just the sound of the record. 508 00:26:46,018 --> 00:26:47,191 You know what I'm saying? 509 00:26:47,329 --> 00:26:49,193 That was so captivating. 510 00:26:49,331 --> 00:26:51,057 - The most original and talented young songwriter 511 00:26:51,195 --> 00:26:53,819 and performer, was nominated for a Grammy Award 512 00:26:53,957 --> 00:26:56,131 as the Best New Artist of 1972. 513 00:26:56,269 --> 00:26:58,927 Would you please welcome, Harry Chapin. 514 00:27:28,267 --> 00:27:30,441 - Two, three, four. 515 00:27:46,009 --> 00:27:47,320 - It's you girl, 516 00:27:47,458 --> 00:27:50,116 you've put Rose colored glasses on my eyes 517 00:27:50,254 --> 00:27:52,636 and made the world a game. 518 00:27:52,774 --> 00:27:56,985 And everything I thought I knew, will never be the same. 519 00:27:57,123 --> 00:27:59,988 - This is a song about how I met my wife. 520 00:28:00,126 --> 00:28:02,577 I was giving guitar lessons back in the days 521 00:28:02,715 --> 00:28:04,027 where I used that as a social means 522 00:28:04,165 --> 00:28:05,856 to get girls into my room. 523 00:28:05,994 --> 00:28:08,203 And this one turned out a little more serious 524 00:28:08,341 --> 00:28:10,343 than I thought it would. 525 00:28:12,380 --> 00:28:14,347 - Out of the blue, actually, he called up 526 00:28:14,485 --> 00:28:18,904 and he said, "I hear you wanna take guitar lessons." 527 00:28:26,394 --> 00:28:28,189 - My wife had three kids when I've met her 528 00:28:28,327 --> 00:28:32,089 and we've had two sons by the normal methods. 529 00:28:32,227 --> 00:28:34,298 - They would share poems when they first met. 530 00:28:34,436 --> 00:28:36,231 It was supposedly for guitar lessons, 531 00:28:36,369 --> 00:28:38,820 but I think it moved to other things over the years. 532 00:28:44,274 --> 00:28:46,276 - Sometimes he called and said he was busy. 533 00:28:46,414 --> 00:28:51,005 Sometimes he just didn't show up and sometimes he did. 534 00:28:58,012 --> 00:28:59,116 We had a hot date. 535 00:28:59,254 --> 00:29:03,914 We went to Flame Steaks, for $1.99. 536 00:29:04,052 --> 00:29:08,298 - And he became on the scene more and more over time. 537 00:29:08,436 --> 00:29:11,750 It was a slow process of liking Harry. 538 00:29:12,923 --> 00:29:15,270 It took me a while to warm up to him. 539 00:29:15,408 --> 00:29:17,272 And I can remember the first time when I finally was, 540 00:29:17,410 --> 00:29:20,897 ah, you know, this person is in my life. 541 00:29:21,035 --> 00:29:24,107 He had this energy of a very, very young person. 542 00:29:24,245 --> 00:29:26,350 So for us, it was like just having another fun person 543 00:29:26,488 --> 00:29:28,180 around the house. 544 00:29:38,190 --> 00:29:41,227 - She made her wedding gown and it had one of those, 545 00:29:41,365 --> 00:29:42,953 I guess it was a Mandarin collar. 546 00:29:43,091 --> 00:29:46,267 She, in seed pearls, sewed I love Harry 547 00:29:47,268 --> 00:29:49,788 across the collar of her wedding dress. 548 00:29:58,866 --> 00:30:00,108 - They were a wonderful couple 549 00:30:00,246 --> 00:30:03,111 in that they were kind of yin and yang to each other. 550 00:30:03,249 --> 00:30:06,666 That he had the energy and he needed the attention, 551 00:30:06,805 --> 00:30:09,221 and he loved to be out in front. 552 00:30:09,359 --> 00:30:11,016 And mom was the idea person. 553 00:30:11,154 --> 00:30:13,432 She was really the thinker and the one 554 00:30:13,570 --> 00:30:15,675 that would come up with the ideas 555 00:30:15,814 --> 00:30:17,712 and throw some stuff out there. 556 00:30:17,850 --> 00:30:20,991 And then Harry would take that, grab it, and move with it. 557 00:30:21,129 --> 00:30:24,857 - Sandy, well, her influence on the music 558 00:30:24,995 --> 00:30:29,137 and on world hunger, she was 100% supportive. 559 00:30:31,174 --> 00:30:34,349 Probably more than supportive, she was encouraging. 560 00:30:34,487 --> 00:30:35,523 What a pair. 561 00:30:38,457 --> 00:30:40,769 - In terms of my wife, she's getting a PhD in education 562 00:30:40,908 --> 00:30:42,875 at Columbia, got her master's at Harvard 563 00:30:43,013 --> 00:30:45,844 and has the ability, I seem to go from tree to tree 564 00:30:45,982 --> 00:30:47,984 and she sees the forest. 565 00:30:53,230 --> 00:30:55,025 A recording of his own song, "Cat's in the Cradle," 566 00:30:55,163 --> 00:30:57,269 sold over 1 million copies as a single. 567 00:30:57,407 --> 00:30:58,857 - This is, as I said, a song that Harry 568 00:30:58,995 --> 00:31:01,825 and his wife Sandy collaborated on. 569 00:31:01,963 --> 00:31:04,345 - "Cat's in the Cradle," was a poem that my mom wrote, 570 00:31:04,483 --> 00:31:06,347 showed it to Harry as kind of, 571 00:31:06,485 --> 00:31:08,004 this is a lesson to be learned, 572 00:31:08,142 --> 00:31:09,419 and then he turned it into song. 573 00:31:09,557 --> 00:31:10,523 And they did that a lot. 574 00:31:10,661 --> 00:31:12,422 They shared things back and forth. 575 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:15,494 - The first time we heard "Cat's in the Cradle," 576 00:31:15,632 --> 00:31:16,978 I remember that time. - Yeah. 577 00:31:17,116 --> 00:31:19,187 - Yeah, we were in the dressing room, 578 00:31:19,325 --> 00:31:21,534 he pulls up this wooden chair, sticks his foot on it. 579 00:31:21,672 --> 00:31:24,192 You know, "I got this song guys, 580 00:31:24,330 --> 00:31:25,780 "I think it's gonna be a hit." 581 00:31:25,918 --> 00:31:27,506 He started playing it, and it was like, Whoa. 582 00:31:27,644 --> 00:31:30,785 Everybody kind of said, yeah, that's, that's nice. 583 00:31:30,923 --> 00:31:33,892 That's, you know, something could happen with this. 584 00:31:34,030 --> 00:31:37,309 It was sort of number one there for a while. 585 00:31:37,447 --> 00:31:39,173 - I have some people around me that not only 586 00:31:39,311 --> 00:31:42,038 will give me criticism, but come up with very strong ideas. 587 00:31:42,176 --> 00:31:44,799 And the most one is, the most important one in my life 588 00:31:44,937 --> 00:31:47,836 is my wife who really came up with the basic concept 589 00:31:47,975 --> 00:31:50,943 and many of the key lines of this song. 590 00:31:51,081 --> 00:31:53,290 As Stravinsky once said, great artists steal, 591 00:31:53,428 --> 00:31:54,567 bad artists borrow. 592 00:31:54,705 --> 00:31:56,224 I'm desperately trying to be great artist 593 00:31:56,362 --> 00:31:58,330 so I stole this from my wife. 594 00:31:58,468 --> 00:31:59,848 It's called "Cats in the Cradle," 595 00:31:59,987 --> 00:32:01,333 and it's about my boy, Josh. 596 00:32:01,471 --> 00:32:04,439 - Yeah, He had a whole shtick in concert where he would, 597 00:32:04,577 --> 00:32:09,099 he would say it was about me and lie about its origins. 598 00:32:09,237 --> 00:32:12,689 - And frankly, the song scares me to death. 599 00:32:15,036 --> 00:32:19,558 - We don't know life's lessons until too late. 600 00:32:22,319 --> 00:32:24,425 - It became about, about all of us, 601 00:32:24,563 --> 00:32:25,667 I guess, in a way. 602 00:32:25,805 --> 00:32:27,117 - This is the tree house that Harry built, 603 00:32:27,255 --> 00:32:30,293 and the address of our tree house was 5J Locust Lane, 604 00:32:30,431 --> 00:32:31,846 hence the five Js. 605 00:32:53,178 --> 00:32:54,455 - He tried very hard to be at home 606 00:32:54,593 --> 00:32:55,732 as much as he could, 607 00:32:55,870 --> 00:32:58,977 but he also was on the road a tremendous amount. 608 00:32:59,115 --> 00:33:01,496 - Lusted to take advantage of whatever opportunities 609 00:33:01,634 --> 00:33:03,222 were out there and to make the most 610 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:05,155 of every opportunity he got. 611 00:33:11,541 --> 00:33:14,061 - My dad was a fantastic dad. 612 00:33:14,199 --> 00:33:16,028 He was an action dad. 613 00:33:27,315 --> 00:33:31,699 - So many instances of the way that he touched people, 614 00:33:32,734 --> 00:33:36,014 we hear in all sorts of stories that come back. 615 00:33:41,295 --> 00:33:42,503 - And he would come home and say, okay, 616 00:33:42,641 --> 00:33:45,506 we're going to do this and you're gonna enjoy it 617 00:33:45,644 --> 00:33:47,301 and you're gonna thank me for it. 618 00:33:47,439 --> 00:33:48,923 He was like the ringleader. 619 00:33:51,581 --> 00:33:53,203 - I become a category. 620 00:33:53,341 --> 00:33:55,447 I mean, when they say a Chapin song, 621 00:33:55,585 --> 00:33:57,104 people know what you're talking about. 622 00:33:57,242 --> 00:33:59,106 - You really weren't cat's in the cradle-ing me back there? 623 00:33:59,244 --> 00:34:00,107 - Of course not. 624 00:34:24,165 --> 00:34:25,684 - I should have golfed with you sooner, dad. 625 00:34:25,822 --> 00:34:27,306 - I've never made the time. 626 00:34:27,444 --> 00:34:28,307 - Luke! 627 00:34:29,308 --> 00:34:30,689 - I need to call my son. 628 00:34:30,827 --> 00:34:32,277 - Where do you go home to? 629 00:34:32,415 --> 00:34:34,451 Where do you go and rest retreat? 630 00:34:34,589 --> 00:34:38,076 - Well, I go home to my home, my wife and five kids. 631 00:34:38,214 --> 00:34:41,562 I also go home to motel rooms, my writing pad. 632 00:34:41,700 --> 00:34:45,566 I also go home to airplanes and I also go home 633 00:34:45,704 --> 00:34:49,017 to rent-a-cars, and I also go home to Washington, 634 00:34:49,156 --> 00:34:50,605 World Hunger Year. 635 00:34:57,612 --> 00:35:00,512 - She's 22, she's gonna go off, do whatever she does. 636 00:35:00,650 --> 00:35:03,618 And then you see her at holidays for a few hours here. 637 00:35:03,756 --> 00:35:06,759 Maybe you steal a Saturday once in a while. 638 00:35:06,897 --> 00:35:10,763 Reminded me of the Harry Chapin song, "Cat's in the Cradle," 639 00:35:10,901 --> 00:35:14,422 which was a great old song from a great, great man. 640 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:16,010 Great New Yorker too. 641 00:35:16,148 --> 00:35:17,425 - Hey, what's "Cat's in the Cradle?" 642 00:35:17,563 --> 00:35:20,221 That a song from the '70s, you've heard it. 643 00:35:28,850 --> 00:35:31,508 - Why don't you just play your "Cat's in the Cradle," video? 644 00:35:31,646 --> 00:35:34,235 - Oh, hey, son of a bitch, I love that song. 645 00:35:34,373 --> 00:35:35,340 That's got that nice message in it. 646 00:35:35,478 --> 00:35:36,272 - How are we doing? 647 00:35:36,410 --> 00:35:37,618 - Cat's in the Cradle. 648 00:35:37,756 --> 00:35:38,791 - Whoa, whoa, where are you going? 649 00:35:38,929 --> 00:35:40,207 - I'm gonna go play catch with my son 650 00:35:40,345 --> 00:35:43,106 before it gets too late like "Cat's in the Cradle." 651 00:35:43,244 --> 00:35:44,314 - That's all very "Cat's in the Cradle," 652 00:35:44,452 --> 00:35:45,626 I don't wanna get into it. 653 00:35:56,671 --> 00:36:00,744 - Here's this song that captivated me as a little kid. 654 00:36:00,882 --> 00:36:03,437 It stayed a current theme in my life 655 00:36:03,575 --> 00:36:05,335 hearing the early hip hop guys 656 00:36:05,473 --> 00:36:07,958 that were even impressed by it. 657 00:36:37,643 --> 00:36:38,989 - Now here's what comes 658 00:36:39,127 --> 00:36:43,891 that I call the exodus part of the song. 659 00:36:52,658 --> 00:36:54,108 You get these visions of Sal Mineo 660 00:36:54,246 --> 00:36:55,592 coming through the bull rings. 661 00:37:09,606 --> 00:37:10,780 - Donkey! 662 00:37:24,311 --> 00:37:28,694 - We knew, he was kind of on a mission. 663 00:37:37,565 --> 00:37:40,154 - Before I met Harry I met Tom 664 00:37:40,292 --> 00:37:41,914 and I did a radio show with him, 665 00:37:42,052 --> 00:37:43,606 I was doing a show called On this Rock 666 00:37:43,744 --> 00:37:45,435 for the ABC Radio Network. 667 00:37:45,573 --> 00:37:47,230 - I think the initial thing actually 668 00:37:47,368 --> 00:37:49,784 was Bill Ayres meeting Harry. 669 00:37:49,922 --> 00:37:51,234 - I was a Catholic priest at the time, 670 00:37:51,372 --> 00:37:53,271 which was a little strange to be doing rock roll show, 671 00:37:53,409 --> 00:37:56,377 but I thought it was a good idea. 672 00:37:58,655 --> 00:38:00,623 At the end of the show, Tom said to me, 673 00:38:00,761 --> 00:38:01,555 that was really good. 674 00:38:01,693 --> 00:38:02,866 He said, you ask good questions. 675 00:38:03,004 --> 00:38:04,696 You outta talk to my brother, he loves to talk. 676 00:38:04,834 --> 00:38:06,214 Good morning and welcome On this Rock. 677 00:38:06,353 --> 00:38:08,251 And we do have somebody who makes it happen. 678 00:38:08,389 --> 00:38:11,772 Not only musically, but in a whole lot of other ways. 679 00:38:11,910 --> 00:38:13,498 It's a great pleasure for me to do a show 680 00:38:13,636 --> 00:38:15,638 with a guy that I have tremendous respect for, 681 00:38:15,776 --> 00:38:17,364 but also a real love for. 682 00:38:17,502 --> 00:38:19,883 A great friend, Harry Chapin. 683 00:38:20,021 --> 00:38:21,782 - Well Bill, we talked so many times 684 00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:23,887 in a non-recorded situation. 685 00:38:24,025 --> 00:38:25,510 It's gonna be interesting to be here, 686 00:38:25,648 --> 00:38:27,408 captured on tape today. 687 00:38:35,658 --> 00:38:37,694 - He came on the show and he was great. 688 00:38:37,832 --> 00:38:41,767 And at the end of it, he said to me, that was really good. 689 00:38:41,905 --> 00:38:46,531 He said, you should come to my house for dinner. 690 00:38:56,713 --> 00:39:00,476 - I remember he said to me, even if I have to end up 691 00:39:00,614 --> 00:39:03,513 doing hand carvings in the tip of a toothpick, 692 00:39:03,651 --> 00:39:06,516 it has to be something nobody else has ever done. 693 00:39:15,007 --> 00:39:16,250 - If Harry was an inspiration to me, 694 00:39:16,388 --> 00:39:17,907 Bill was an inspiration to Harry. 695 00:39:24,396 --> 00:39:25,777 - The amazing thing about Why Hunger 696 00:39:25,915 --> 00:39:29,746 and about Bill and Harry is that sense of we. 697 00:39:39,929 --> 00:39:42,932 - So right away, they had that spirit, you know, 698 00:39:43,070 --> 00:39:44,796 that wanting to change things and make things better. 699 00:39:44,934 --> 00:39:47,661 That was a big part of his life. 700 00:39:52,459 --> 00:39:56,532 - The dreams, let's talk about our dreams. 701 00:40:12,996 --> 00:40:15,585 - We had a gathering of friends at our house. 702 00:40:15,723 --> 00:40:18,588 They were talking about what they've been doing in the '60s. 703 00:40:18,726 --> 00:40:21,695 And some had marched on Washington. 704 00:40:39,678 --> 00:40:41,818 - When we met for dinner, we started talking 705 00:40:41,956 --> 00:40:43,544 and I had an idea. 706 00:40:43,682 --> 00:40:45,822 I had come from the civil rights movement. 707 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:47,375 I had marched with Dr. King. 708 00:40:47,514 --> 00:40:51,172 I believed that hunger and poverty were wrong. 709 00:40:54,659 --> 00:40:56,695 - One March on Washington doesn't change the world 710 00:40:56,833 --> 00:40:58,628 and how can you change the world? 711 00:40:58,766 --> 00:41:02,356 And then the subject came up that if you're going 712 00:41:02,494 --> 00:41:05,635 to make a difference, you pick something 713 00:41:05,773 --> 00:41:08,638 that's important enough to dedicate a lifetime. 714 00:41:22,687 --> 00:41:24,896 - I would say that my prime goal in life 715 00:41:25,034 --> 00:41:26,449 is to have an impact in that area. 716 00:41:26,587 --> 00:41:27,519 Why? 717 00:41:27,657 --> 00:41:29,417 Because it is the most basic area. 718 00:41:29,556 --> 00:41:31,730 The fact is hunger also involves ecology. 719 00:41:31,868 --> 00:41:33,042 It also involves energy. 720 00:41:33,180 --> 00:41:35,044 It also involves women's rights and about economics 721 00:41:35,182 --> 00:41:36,148 and about politics. 722 00:41:36,286 --> 00:41:39,807 It involves the future of our own kind. 723 00:41:39,945 --> 00:41:43,052 - So Harry was right, as he was right about so many things. 724 00:41:43,190 --> 00:41:44,847 There's no need for hunger. 725 00:41:44,985 --> 00:41:48,609 It's an abnormality in the human economic 726 00:41:48,747 --> 00:41:50,024 and political condition. 727 00:41:50,162 --> 00:41:51,267 It's a farce. 728 00:41:52,717 --> 00:41:55,858 - What they did was they knew something about people, 729 00:41:55,996 --> 00:41:58,170 they knew who they wanted to help. 730 00:41:58,308 --> 00:42:00,828 - They made a commitment over the years to spend the rest 731 00:42:00,966 --> 00:42:02,865 of our lives fighting poverty. 732 00:42:03,003 --> 00:42:04,936 - His philosophy about stuff, his feelings 733 00:42:05,074 --> 00:42:09,457 about the importance of solving these core issues, 734 00:42:09,596 --> 00:42:11,149 were really amazing. 735 00:42:19,295 --> 00:42:20,779 - The two of them had taken on the world. 736 00:42:20,917 --> 00:42:23,402 - Harry and I both recognized, right from the beginning, 737 00:42:23,541 --> 00:42:25,404 that if you want to solve hunger, 738 00:42:25,543 --> 00:42:26,164 you can't just feed people. 739 00:42:26,302 --> 00:42:27,717 That's the first step. 740 00:42:27,855 --> 00:42:30,444 And at the time that movement was just beginning, 741 00:42:30,582 --> 00:42:31,583 emergency food. 742 00:42:31,721 --> 00:42:33,102 And so we got into that. 743 00:42:33,240 --> 00:42:35,104 - You know, and it was right around the time 744 00:42:35,242 --> 00:42:36,657 of the Bangladesh concert. 745 00:42:36,795 --> 00:42:38,763 And I think they decided we could 746 00:42:38,901 --> 00:42:42,145 do a Bangladesh type concert for hunger. 747 00:42:49,981 --> 00:42:51,638 - Bill and Harry talking 748 00:42:51,776 --> 00:42:53,640 about the concert in Bangladesh. 749 00:42:53,778 --> 00:42:55,987 - So I said to Harry, why don't we do a 750 00:42:56,125 --> 00:42:58,921 kind of Bangladesh type concert, but make it for Africa. 751 00:42:59,059 --> 00:43:00,992 He said, "Great idea, I love it." 752 00:43:01,130 --> 00:43:03,132 So we went to the UN. 753 00:43:03,270 --> 00:43:04,754 He knew a guy at the UN, 754 00:43:04,892 --> 00:43:06,480 and the guy said, "Yeah, it's a great idea." 755 00:43:06,618 --> 00:43:08,724 - Bill, and I guess Harry, who I really didn't, 756 00:43:08,862 --> 00:43:10,864 it might even have been the first time I met Harry. 757 00:43:11,002 --> 00:43:13,591 And they explained to us that they 758 00:43:13,729 --> 00:43:15,558 were gonna do this concert. 759 00:43:15,696 --> 00:43:17,629 - And we had several, several meetings, 760 00:43:17,767 --> 00:43:20,218 but it never worked out. 761 00:43:32,230 --> 00:43:35,785 - They began to realize a couple of things. 762 00:43:35,923 --> 00:43:38,236 First of all, this is a world that can feed itself. 763 00:43:38,374 --> 00:43:42,689 And second of all, that a concert wasn't gonna do it. 764 00:43:42,827 --> 00:43:46,831 Something had to be here today, next week, 765 00:43:46,969 --> 00:43:51,076 a month from now, a year from now, 10 years from now. 766 00:43:51,214 --> 00:43:52,802 And in the course of that, 767 00:43:52,940 --> 00:43:54,597 they decided we really need an organization 768 00:43:54,735 --> 00:43:56,772 that is just working on this. 769 00:43:56,910 --> 00:43:59,637 And Bill and Harry said, we could do this. 770 00:44:10,233 --> 00:44:13,236 - We've had some fantastic bombs, 771 00:44:13,374 --> 00:44:15,929 in terms of some concerts that we tried to plan 772 00:44:16,067 --> 00:44:17,137 that didn't come off. 773 00:44:17,275 --> 00:44:19,035 But we've done, how many, about 50 concerts? 774 00:44:19,173 --> 00:44:22,694 - Yeah, Yeah, well, the thing, Bill, is as you have said, 775 00:44:22,832 --> 00:44:24,938 and I, I mean, it's a thing that I believe in strongly 776 00:44:25,076 --> 00:44:28,148 that if you're serious about something you're not looking 777 00:44:28,286 --> 00:44:30,081 for the one march, the one concert. 778 00:44:30,219 --> 00:44:33,671 That you're involved on a day to day basis, 779 00:44:33,809 --> 00:44:35,534 you here today, tomorrow, next week, next month, 780 00:44:35,673 --> 00:44:37,640 next year, 10 years from now. 781 00:44:37,778 --> 00:44:40,160 - I didn't know Bill enough or Harry, 782 00:44:40,298 --> 00:44:42,231 to know that that's what they did. 783 00:44:42,369 --> 00:44:43,335 They did the impossible. 784 00:44:43,473 --> 00:44:45,717 - He was in a hurry to do everything, 785 00:44:45,855 --> 00:44:49,756 make everything he could happen, you know. 786 00:44:49,894 --> 00:44:53,656 And literally believed that through his efforts 787 00:44:53,794 --> 00:44:56,866 and the efforts, if he could get the politicians involved, 788 00:44:57,004 --> 00:44:59,213 he could eliminate these issues of hunger 789 00:44:59,351 --> 00:45:01,215 and homelessness and poverty. 790 00:45:01,353 --> 00:45:02,872 - Let's talk about our dreams here. 791 00:45:03,010 --> 00:45:04,218 - Well, it's an interesting time. 792 00:45:04,356 --> 00:45:06,186 I hope they don't forget the fact 793 00:45:06,324 --> 00:45:08,671 that what America truly stands for is not B1 Bombers. 794 00:45:08,809 --> 00:45:11,087 What makes us unique is human rights, 795 00:45:11,225 --> 00:45:13,572 human needs and human dignity. 796 00:45:13,711 --> 00:45:14,746 - Not so bad. 797 00:45:16,368 --> 00:45:17,922 - Wow, looks great! 798 00:45:18,060 --> 00:45:21,822 It's interesting to look back to the 1970s 799 00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:24,791 into the friendship that Bill and Harry had 800 00:45:24,929 --> 00:45:27,000 and the vision that they shared, 801 00:45:27,138 --> 00:45:30,797 and how active they were in Washington, DC. 802 00:45:37,527 --> 00:45:39,253 - He's really looking for commonality. 803 00:45:39,391 --> 00:45:41,635 He was trying to figure out what the biggest issues were, 804 00:45:41,773 --> 00:45:43,257 who wanted to be involved in the biggest issues, 805 00:45:43,395 --> 00:45:46,191 and how they could work together for a solution. 806 00:45:46,329 --> 00:45:50,368 - I loved when Bill and Harry would come in. 807 00:45:50,506 --> 00:45:53,267 One would be the crashing surf, 808 00:45:54,130 --> 00:45:56,684 the other would be the gentle stream. 809 00:45:56,823 --> 00:45:59,722 But both delivered the message. 810 00:45:59,860 --> 00:46:01,724 - And I think when he and Bill met, 811 00:46:01,862 --> 00:46:03,277 they were both very positive people 812 00:46:03,415 --> 00:46:05,901 who believed in the power of possibility. 813 00:46:06,039 --> 00:46:09,421 And neither of them, not just wouldn't take no 814 00:46:09,559 --> 00:46:11,734 for an answer, they didn't think that no really existed 815 00:46:11,872 --> 00:46:13,046 in the hearts of other people, 816 00:46:13,184 --> 00:46:15,324 because the two of them were such yes people. 817 00:46:15,462 --> 00:46:17,326 And in that sense sometimes I think Sandy 818 00:46:17,464 --> 00:46:20,225 and I both married a preacher. 819 00:46:20,363 --> 00:46:22,538 - His political sensibility 820 00:46:23,470 --> 00:46:27,163 was also kind of prophetic and timeless. 821 00:46:33,135 --> 00:46:34,930 - So we started knocking on doors. 822 00:46:35,068 --> 00:46:36,207 And Harry was very persuasive. 823 00:46:36,345 --> 00:46:37,415 He walked in like this and say, 824 00:46:37,553 --> 00:46:40,142 I got this presidential commission, why 825 00:46:40,280 --> 00:46:43,110 - He had entree on a lot of different levels 826 00:46:43,248 --> 00:46:44,491 and he would use them. 827 00:46:44,629 --> 00:46:46,907 And it's not as if he would say hello and greet them. 828 00:46:47,045 --> 00:46:51,084 He would say, hello, and say, what are you doing? 829 00:46:51,222 --> 00:46:55,088 - Well we thought 52, I guess we had 52, 53. 830 00:46:55,226 --> 00:46:58,022 - And we have a number of people who have not signed it, 831 00:46:58,160 --> 00:47:00,403 who have said that if it comes to a vote, 832 00:47:00,541 --> 00:47:02,060 they'll vote for it. 833 00:47:02,198 --> 00:47:04,407 And they also will not do anything to stop it 834 00:47:04,545 --> 00:47:06,375 from going up on the unanimous consent. 835 00:47:06,513 --> 00:47:09,378 - Well we got, I think just I this morning from Chicago, 836 00:47:09,516 --> 00:47:11,173 called a bunch of senators. 837 00:47:11,311 --> 00:47:13,934 - But Baker said that he wouldn't. 838 00:47:14,072 --> 00:47:17,006 - We're gonna share some songs here for a little while. 839 00:47:17,144 --> 00:47:18,905 - Do you know who he is? 840 00:47:19,043 --> 00:47:20,044 This is my brother, Harry Chapin. 841 00:47:25,428 --> 00:47:26,464 - I think if there was some way 842 00:47:26,602 --> 00:47:29,916 that we could harness Harry's energy, 843 00:47:31,089 --> 00:47:34,437 we could solve all the problems in the world: 844 00:47:34,575 --> 00:47:39,511 energy problem, world food problems and everything else. 845 00:47:39,649 --> 00:47:42,342 Harry and I have become quite friendly, 846 00:47:42,480 --> 00:47:45,828 worked very closely together on the whole question 847 00:47:45,966 --> 00:47:47,347 of world food. 848 00:47:47,485 --> 00:47:50,315 He's been in my office nearly daily 849 00:47:51,385 --> 00:47:53,146 and then he's off to somewhere like California 850 00:47:53,284 --> 00:47:54,457 for the afternoon or evening, 851 00:47:54,595 --> 00:47:56,459 and is back again later in the same day. 852 00:47:56,597 --> 00:47:59,290 - I bought what Henry Kissinger said in 1974 853 00:47:59,428 --> 00:48:01,119 at the World Food Conference, and he said, 854 00:48:01,257 --> 00:48:03,535 I think it indicate the focus that Harry 855 00:48:03,673 --> 00:48:06,953 and others want to place on the resolution. 856 00:48:07,091 --> 00:48:09,403 Now, passing a resolution itself does nothing. 857 00:48:09,541 --> 00:48:11,543 - About the commission, because it's asked 858 00:48:11,681 --> 00:48:13,269 to answer difficult questions 859 00:48:13,407 --> 00:48:16,203 about the United States policies affecting hunger. 860 00:48:16,341 --> 00:48:17,895 We're asking, what are we doing? 861 00:48:18,033 --> 00:48:19,310 Can we do it better? 862 00:48:19,448 --> 00:48:21,346 And can we do more? 863 00:48:40,538 --> 00:48:43,127 - We actually were able to get a majority 864 00:48:43,265 --> 00:48:47,234 of congressmen to sign on to this and vote to say yes. 865 00:48:47,372 --> 00:48:49,788 And then named Harry as one of the members 866 00:48:49,927 --> 00:48:50,997 of the commission. 867 00:48:51,135 --> 00:48:52,895 - What is unique about this person? 868 00:48:53,033 --> 00:48:54,862 What is it that when they walk in the room, 869 00:48:55,001 --> 00:48:56,485 they dominate the room? 870 00:48:56,623 --> 00:48:59,488 Everything changes, there's a whole different energy 871 00:48:59,626 --> 00:49:02,180 in the room and dynamic and karma 872 00:49:02,318 --> 00:49:03,941 or whatever you wanna call it. 873 00:49:04,079 --> 00:49:06,081 And Harry was one of those people. 874 00:49:06,219 --> 00:49:08,911 And I saw that the first moment I met with him. 875 00:49:14,261 --> 00:49:17,333 - You guys don't do bad after you're pushed a little. 876 00:49:17,471 --> 00:49:19,611 Same way by Congress, I tell you, same thing. 877 00:49:19,749 --> 00:49:22,235 - What a lovely man and how right was he? 878 00:49:22,373 --> 00:49:24,927 But he lobbied to nicely in Congress. 879 00:49:25,065 --> 00:49:28,241 You know, those fuckers are up for election every two years, 880 00:49:28,379 --> 00:49:29,552 take them out. 881 00:49:30,691 --> 00:49:32,866 They're so vulnerable. 882 00:49:33,004 --> 00:49:34,385 - He called me one day and he said, 883 00:49:34,523 --> 00:49:35,903 "We're going to the White House." 884 00:49:36,042 --> 00:49:40,046 Carter had invited a whole bunch of record company people. 885 00:49:40,184 --> 00:49:42,980 They got the idea that we had about doing a concert. 886 00:49:43,118 --> 00:49:44,464 So Harry said, "You gotta get dressed up." 887 00:49:44,602 --> 00:49:46,293 I said, "Me get dressed up? 888 00:49:46,431 --> 00:49:47,501 "You got to get dressed up." 889 00:49:47,639 --> 00:49:48,847 "Oh no, wait until you see it," he said, 890 00:49:48,986 --> 00:49:50,194 "Sandy bought me a new suit." 891 00:49:50,332 --> 00:49:51,333 Oh, okay. 892 00:49:51,471 --> 00:49:52,437 - I walk in the white house, right? 893 00:49:52,575 --> 00:49:54,060 I dropped a piece of paper. 894 00:49:54,198 --> 00:49:56,614 I leaned down, I go, 895 00:49:56,752 --> 00:50:00,376 My pants are ripped from here all the way through to here. 896 00:50:00,514 --> 00:50:02,516 So for the rest of the day, I'm going like. 897 00:50:02,654 --> 00:50:04,242 Can you imagine the secret service men watching me, 898 00:50:04,380 --> 00:50:05,554 I'm going like this. 899 00:50:07,556 --> 00:50:08,626 Incredible. 900 00:50:09,627 --> 00:50:10,938 - Meeting was not going too well 901 00:50:11,077 --> 00:50:12,871 and these record company guys are going, buh, buh, buh. 902 00:50:13,010 --> 00:50:14,114 Harry stands up and he says, 903 00:50:14,252 --> 00:50:16,358 "I've been pedaling my rear end for hunger 904 00:50:16,496 --> 00:50:17,704 "for all these years." 905 00:50:17,842 --> 00:50:20,017 And he turns around and he shows them. 906 00:50:20,155 --> 00:50:21,811 - I met Harry in 1978. 907 00:50:23,054 --> 00:50:24,297 I was in the studio. 908 00:50:24,435 --> 00:50:27,472 He was making a record in another studio. 909 00:50:27,610 --> 00:50:31,304 And he came smiling up to me and started talking to me. 910 00:50:31,442 --> 00:50:35,170 And 20 minutes went by, 30 minutes went by. 911 00:50:36,447 --> 00:50:39,553 We talked about everything, politics, music. 912 00:50:39,691 --> 00:50:41,038 Yeah, he's a nice guy. 913 00:50:41,176 --> 00:50:42,694 - This was true about Harry, he loved to talk. 914 00:50:42,832 --> 00:50:45,111 - Not only would he leave the room in the middle 915 00:50:45,249 --> 00:50:46,698 of one of your sentences, he'd leave the room 916 00:50:46,836 --> 00:50:48,528 in the middle of one of his sentences. 917 00:50:48,666 --> 00:50:52,980 His mind was always two minutes ahead of what was going on. 918 00:50:53,119 --> 00:50:56,018 - He'd be walking along and you'd be running. 919 00:50:56,156 --> 00:50:58,193 - I couldn't keep up with Harry Chapin. 920 00:50:58,331 --> 00:51:00,954 Harry Chapman was in a hurry about everything in his life. 921 00:51:01,092 --> 00:51:01,989 - Whose pencil did I steal here? 922 00:51:02,128 --> 00:51:03,439 - He had a kind of leadership 923 00:51:03,577 --> 00:51:05,614 that I always called the Pied Piper. 924 00:51:05,752 --> 00:51:07,478 - Mr. Chapin, you said something in your concert 925 00:51:07,616 --> 00:51:11,482 about world hunger, about you helping with that. 926 00:51:11,620 --> 00:51:13,484 And I don't think that's much of a problem 927 00:51:13,622 --> 00:51:16,590 because I feel if we can just improve agriculture 928 00:51:16,728 --> 00:51:18,282 in the underdeveloped countries, 929 00:51:18,420 --> 00:51:20,560 that ought to be sufficient to help it. 930 00:51:20,698 --> 00:51:22,493 - Well, it's interesting, you know, 931 00:51:22,631 --> 00:51:24,736 one of the things we're trying to make people aware of 932 00:51:24,874 --> 00:51:27,222 both for World Hunger Year, which we founded five years ago 933 00:51:27,360 --> 00:51:28,982 on the president's commission on world hunger, 934 00:51:29,120 --> 00:51:30,363 which I'm a member of, is the fact 935 00:51:30,501 --> 00:51:32,641 that there's so many myths about hunger. 936 00:51:32,779 --> 00:51:34,298 And one of them is that we got too many people 937 00:51:34,436 --> 00:51:35,678 and not enough food. 938 00:51:35,816 --> 00:51:37,163 And if we just grow enough food 939 00:51:37,301 --> 00:51:40,373 and stop the population expansion that we 940 00:51:40,511 --> 00:51:43,514 But this is belied very clearly by a country that you may 941 00:51:43,652 --> 00:51:45,412 have heard of called the United States of America. 942 00:51:45,550 --> 00:51:47,345 - I live in the Bronx. 943 00:51:47,483 --> 00:51:50,624 The Bronx, out of 62 counties in New York state, 944 00:51:50,762 --> 00:51:54,421 the Bronx ranks 62 as the most unhealthiest. 945 00:51:54,559 --> 00:51:55,767 Yeah, so this is the garden of happiness 946 00:51:55,905 --> 00:51:58,218 and this is the 30th year. 947 00:51:58,356 --> 00:52:00,496 So I tell people that if you were sad, 948 00:52:00,634 --> 00:52:04,707 not feeling well, when you come in here, you'll see, 949 00:52:04,845 --> 00:52:06,226 you'll feel happy. 950 00:52:06,364 --> 00:52:08,228 So that's why we call it the garden of happiness. 951 00:52:08,366 --> 00:52:10,161 It's a valley of love for me. 952 00:52:10,299 --> 00:52:11,576 I enjoy the people here. 953 00:52:11,714 --> 00:52:14,614 I enjoy waking up in the morning to hear the birds sing. 954 00:52:14,752 --> 00:52:16,167 I enjoy nature. 955 00:52:16,926 --> 00:52:21,414 And most of all, I enjoy the people and the children. 956 00:52:22,760 --> 00:52:24,486 - I mean, the fact is we've had hunger 957 00:52:24,624 --> 00:52:26,281 all the way through human history and there's some things 958 00:52:26,419 --> 00:52:27,558 that we're gonna have to do about it. 959 00:52:27,696 --> 00:52:29,007 - Some basic changes. 960 00:52:29,146 --> 00:52:30,457 - Right? 961 00:52:30,595 --> 00:52:31,941 - And some of those are political and economic. 962 00:52:32,079 --> 00:52:34,323 - And people have to be aware of what they can do 963 00:52:34,461 --> 00:52:36,222 or how these things could caused. 964 00:52:36,360 --> 00:52:38,293 Many of the economic dislocations in this country 965 00:52:38,431 --> 00:52:40,053 right now, they're causing hardship for some people 966 00:52:40,191 --> 00:52:41,710 have a basis in the same thing 967 00:52:41,848 --> 00:52:43,505 that are making people starve in other countries. 968 00:52:43,643 --> 00:52:47,474 - And so this is quote unquote, a low income neighborhood. 969 00:52:47,612 --> 00:52:50,753 But for me, it's not about being about low income, 970 00:52:50,891 --> 00:52:52,583 marginalized or poor. 971 00:52:52,721 --> 00:52:54,688 It's about changing the lens of those 972 00:52:54,826 --> 00:52:59,383 that have been the victim of politics, of racism, 973 00:52:59,521 --> 00:53:01,937 in terms of hunger and poverty. 974 00:53:16,538 --> 00:53:18,195 - You can fool people for a amount of time, 975 00:53:18,333 --> 00:53:21,267 but in the long run, if you wanted to know where America was 976 00:53:21,405 --> 00:53:24,684 in the '60s, you have to listen to Dylan, to the Beatles, 977 00:53:24,822 --> 00:53:27,445 to Paul Simon, to Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. 978 00:53:27,583 --> 00:53:30,483 You do not need, look at the top 20 albums, 979 00:53:30,621 --> 00:53:32,139 you do not need listen to those albums 980 00:53:32,278 --> 00:53:33,313 to know where America-- 981 00:53:33,451 --> 00:53:34,521 - With a couple of exceptions. 982 00:53:34,659 --> 00:53:35,350 - Okay, well I think one of them, 983 00:53:35,488 --> 00:53:36,627 you were about to mention. 984 00:53:36,765 --> 00:53:37,766 - Yeah, absolutely, Bruce Springsteen, 985 00:53:37,904 --> 00:53:39,043 I think is a very good example of that. 986 00:53:39,181 --> 00:53:41,321 - I wouldn't say Bruce necessarily missed meals, 987 00:53:41,459 --> 00:53:45,463 but I think it was part of a thin margin. 988 00:53:45,601 --> 00:53:49,087 - Next night I came in, Harry comes bounding up smiling, 989 00:53:49,226 --> 00:53:51,538 and he starts talking to me. 990 00:53:51,676 --> 00:53:54,334 30 minutes goes by, so finally, 991 00:53:55,508 --> 00:53:58,027 I used to try to hide from him. 992 00:53:59,960 --> 00:54:01,514 I'd come in and I'd ask the secretary 993 00:54:01,652 --> 00:54:04,310 if Harry was in the lobby. 994 00:54:04,448 --> 00:54:06,829 Then I'd sneak in the studio. 995 00:54:06,967 --> 00:54:08,659 - I guess I've been known for the last three 996 00:54:08,797 --> 00:54:09,901 or four years of the most politically 997 00:54:10,039 --> 00:54:13,836 and socially active performer in America. 998 00:54:13,974 --> 00:54:15,873 I found a lot of music critics are wishing I'd spend 999 00:54:16,011 --> 00:54:17,737 more time in politics and a lot of politicians 1000 00:54:17,875 --> 00:54:19,739 that wished that I was spending more time in music. 1001 00:54:19,877 --> 00:54:22,259 But anyway, or at least suggesting that I do. 1002 00:54:22,397 --> 00:54:26,124 - He chose what he chose, and the day that he chose it, 1003 00:54:26,263 --> 00:54:28,437 he threw down everything he had. 1004 00:54:28,575 --> 00:54:30,750 - That's also part of the Harry and Bill thing, 1005 00:54:30,888 --> 00:54:32,648 which is they're interested in the work. 1006 00:54:32,786 --> 00:54:34,685 And we said, how do we get this done? 1007 00:54:34,823 --> 00:54:36,203 How do we help? 1008 00:54:36,342 --> 00:54:37,722 And how do we make this move forward 1009 00:54:37,860 --> 00:54:40,207 and move this increment, you know, really, 1010 00:54:40,346 --> 00:54:41,899 really help this situation. 1011 00:54:42,037 --> 00:54:44,522 - Is the idea of a participatory democracy outmoded? 1012 00:54:44,660 --> 00:54:47,284 Is the American dream outmoded? 1013 00:54:48,354 --> 00:54:50,942 - As far as his sense of citizenship, 1014 00:54:51,080 --> 00:54:55,430 his sense of patriotism, you look at words he said, 1015 00:54:55,568 --> 00:54:57,949 words he wrote 30-odd years ago 1016 00:54:58,087 --> 00:55:01,090 and they ring out beautifully today. 1017 00:55:02,506 --> 00:55:06,233 - I think the thing that makes all of us want to be alive, 1018 00:55:06,372 --> 00:55:07,718 it's to matter. 1019 00:55:07,856 --> 00:55:09,478 And the way you matter is to care enough about something 1020 00:55:09,616 --> 00:55:10,721 so you keep doing it. 1021 00:55:10,859 --> 00:55:12,516 - Harry and Bill were ahead of their time 1022 00:55:12,654 --> 00:55:14,518 because really what happened 1023 00:55:14,656 --> 00:55:15,829 when they started the organization, 1024 00:55:15,967 --> 00:55:17,935 there was like a hundred soup kitchens and pantries 1025 00:55:18,073 --> 00:55:20,455 in New York city, now there's 1300. 1026 00:55:20,593 --> 00:55:22,215 There's no less hunger. 1027 00:55:22,353 --> 00:55:25,322 So they always had a root cause approach 1028 00:55:25,460 --> 00:55:29,843 to look at the systems and structures that 1029 00:55:29,981 --> 00:55:32,536 What is at that intersection? 1030 00:55:32,674 --> 00:55:35,435 which we, at Why Hunger, define as social justice. 1031 00:55:35,573 --> 00:55:38,611 You have to solve hunger by looking at poverty, 1032 00:55:38,749 --> 00:55:41,372 by looking at a social justice. 1033 00:55:41,510 --> 00:55:45,687 And when you do that, there are plenty of people out there, 1034 00:55:45,825 --> 00:55:47,792 and this is what makes me hopeful, 1035 00:55:47,930 --> 00:55:52,590 that we can live the vision that Bill and Harry charted 1036 00:55:52,728 --> 00:55:54,143 so many years ago. 1037 00:55:55,731 --> 00:55:57,699 - Harry's pumping the crowds, "Are you ready?" 1038 00:55:57,837 --> 00:55:59,908 You know, "Are you ready?" 1039 00:56:00,046 --> 00:56:01,288 - Are you ready? 1040 00:56:01,427 --> 00:56:04,671 - Since it's halftime and Harry's in the toilet, 1041 00:56:04,809 --> 00:56:08,295 you know, in the dumper and here's them come in. 1042 00:56:08,434 --> 00:56:09,538 And hears them talking about him. 1043 00:56:09,676 --> 00:56:10,677 And it's Wallace, and says, 1044 00:56:10,815 --> 00:56:12,472 "If I hear one more freaking time." 1045 00:56:12,610 --> 00:56:13,646 - "Are you ready?" 1046 00:56:13,784 --> 00:56:14,854 - "Are you ready?" 1047 00:56:14,992 --> 00:56:15,751 Are you ready? 1048 00:56:15,889 --> 00:56:16,649 - "Are you ready?" 1049 00:56:16,787 --> 00:56:17,788 - For every song. 1050 00:56:17,926 --> 00:56:19,514 - Are you ready? 1051 00:56:19,652 --> 00:56:22,689 - Back in the cheap seats, they're ready. 1052 00:56:22,827 --> 00:56:24,381 - Barking at halftime or whatever, 1053 00:56:24,519 --> 00:56:26,003 I'm mumbling and cursing under my breath. 1054 00:56:26,141 --> 00:56:27,694 You know? 1055 00:56:27,832 --> 00:56:29,558 And I thought I heard a little rustle in the stall 1056 00:56:29,696 --> 00:56:32,389 or something, but you know, took a leak or whatever, 1057 00:56:32,527 --> 00:56:34,908 I'm still cursing and mumbling, that son of a bitch 1058 00:56:35,046 --> 00:56:37,463 and are you ready and other bullshit. 1059 00:56:37,601 --> 00:56:39,396 - I say the funniest thing about Harry, 1060 00:56:39,534 --> 00:56:40,466 so Harry, what'd you do? 1061 00:56:40,604 --> 00:56:41,812 He says, "I pulled my legs up." 1062 00:56:41,950 --> 00:56:43,434 Which is the funniest thing I've ever heard. 1063 00:56:43,572 --> 00:56:45,816 Anybody else would've said, "I can hear you, Big John." 1064 00:56:45,954 --> 00:56:46,989 You know, it'd be like that. 1065 00:56:47,127 --> 00:56:48,508 But instead, I pulled my legs up. 1066 00:56:48,646 --> 00:56:50,303 I said, that's what a man. 1067 00:56:50,441 --> 00:56:51,787 - He never said a word until-- 1068 00:56:51,925 --> 00:56:52,995 - Never said a word. 1069 00:56:53,133 --> 00:56:54,549 The second half he's doing the same shit. 1070 00:56:54,687 --> 00:56:55,722 Are you ready? 1071 00:56:55,860 --> 00:56:57,068 Are you ready? 1072 00:56:57,206 --> 00:56:58,587 At one point, he turns around with this big smile 1073 00:56:58,725 --> 00:57:03,592 on his face, "Are you ready Big John?." 1074 00:57:03,730 --> 00:57:05,629 - So we went out to California to mix. 1075 00:57:05,767 --> 00:57:10,323 I'm standing on this balcony, third floor of this motel. 1076 00:57:10,461 --> 00:57:12,877 And I hear, "Hey, hey." 1077 00:57:13,015 --> 00:57:15,501 I looked down and there's Harry. 1078 00:57:16,674 --> 00:57:18,365 And he starts talking to me. 1079 00:57:19,781 --> 00:57:22,024 - Talks to me for that 40 minutes, 1080 00:57:22,162 --> 00:57:24,855 standing down there looking up. 1081 00:57:24,993 --> 00:57:26,753 He was trying to get me to do something. 1082 00:57:26,891 --> 00:57:31,620 - Ralph Nader had called Jann Wenner and said, you know, 1083 00:57:31,758 --> 00:57:34,761 this guy, Harry Chapin is like the most effective person 1084 00:57:34,899 --> 00:57:37,108 I've ever seen on Capitol Hill. 1085 00:57:37,246 --> 00:57:38,869 - They should say to me what music can be 1086 00:57:39,007 --> 00:57:43,667 is that synthesis of magic and meaning that, well, 1087 00:57:43,805 --> 00:57:47,118 no other art form, I think, does so well. 1088 00:57:58,164 --> 00:58:00,718 - I love that song, and it was a very appropriate 1089 00:58:00,856 --> 00:58:04,584 entry here at this point, because just at this very moment 1090 00:58:04,722 --> 00:58:07,863 in walks brother Tom, who plays lead guitar on that. 1091 00:58:08,001 --> 00:58:08,968 How you doing Tom? 1092 00:58:09,106 --> 00:58:10,625 - Good, Bill, good to see you. 1093 00:58:10,763 --> 00:58:11,936 - And not only good plays lead guitar, 1094 00:58:12,074 --> 00:58:14,560 but also has helped enormously in this venture 1095 00:58:14,698 --> 00:58:16,113 that Harry and I just been talking about, 1096 00:58:16,251 --> 00:58:17,459 the World Hunger stuff. 1097 00:58:17,597 --> 00:58:19,047 You have bailed us out any number of times. 1098 00:58:19,185 --> 00:58:21,118 - My band calls Tom the benefit band, 1099 00:58:21,256 --> 00:58:23,603 because every time I need somebody to do 1100 00:58:23,741 --> 00:58:24,708 Tom is out there with me. 1101 00:58:24,846 --> 00:58:26,572 - Yeah, that's great. 1102 00:58:26,710 --> 00:58:28,401 - It's part of what he wanted to do. 1103 00:58:28,539 --> 00:58:29,885 He was trying to raise as much as he could. 1104 00:58:30,023 --> 00:58:33,855 - From daddy's speech on volunteerism, 1105 00:58:33,993 --> 00:58:36,167 we must all go that extra mile. 1106 00:58:36,305 --> 00:58:39,516 We must be aggressive in the sense of challenging others 1107 00:58:39,654 --> 00:58:43,071 and making them realize that the American dream implies 1108 00:58:43,209 --> 00:58:46,695 that all of us must be actively involved. 1109 00:58:47,731 --> 00:58:49,595 We all have the potential to move the world 1110 00:58:49,733 --> 00:58:52,494 and the world is ready to be moved. 1111 00:58:52,632 --> 00:58:55,670 - And I really do think that people like Pete Seeger 1112 00:58:55,808 --> 00:58:59,156 inspired him and you know, obviously my mother, 1113 00:58:59,294 --> 00:59:00,744 and Bill and others. 1114 00:59:00,882 --> 00:59:05,542 And I think that anybody who is able to accomplish something 1115 00:59:05,680 --> 00:59:07,958 hopes that it doesn't end and that it continues, 1116 00:59:08,096 --> 00:59:11,030 but that relies on other people to also be inspired, 1117 00:59:11,168 --> 00:59:13,584 to be passionate, to be committed. 1118 00:59:13,722 --> 00:59:15,482 - What we wanna talk about tonight 1119 00:59:15,621 --> 00:59:18,002 is this whole business of changing the world. 1120 00:59:18,140 --> 00:59:19,486 We got into that last week. 1121 00:59:19,625 --> 00:59:21,454 I take small topics like that, you know me, right? 1122 00:59:21,592 --> 00:59:24,146 The topic that we'd like to get into 1123 00:59:24,284 --> 00:59:28,599 is not only hunger, but your attitude towards society 1124 00:59:28,737 --> 00:59:30,463 and your role within it. 1125 00:59:30,601 --> 00:59:32,707 Whether you think you have any possibility 1126 00:59:32,845 --> 00:59:34,225 of changing anything, 1127 00:59:34,363 --> 00:59:35,882 maybe you've gotten a little bit cynical. 1128 00:59:36,020 --> 00:59:36,883 Do you think so? 1129 00:59:37,021 --> 00:59:38,471 Do you think that the two of us 1130 00:59:38,609 --> 00:59:39,714 are absolutely out of our minds? 1131 00:59:39,852 --> 00:59:41,819 I mean, some of our friends think we are. 1132 00:59:41,957 --> 00:59:43,718 - Yeah, some of our friends are probably right. 1133 00:59:52,071 --> 00:59:53,693 - One of my favorite stories about Harry 1134 00:59:53,831 --> 00:59:56,765 is taking him to a Laker game in 1980 on election night. 1135 00:59:56,903 --> 00:59:59,216 - I was in a limo with Ken Kragen and Harry 1136 00:59:59,354 --> 01:00:02,633 outside the Forum in Inglewood, California, 1137 01:00:02,771 --> 01:00:04,497 and I was really excited, 1138 01:00:04,635 --> 01:00:06,188 being a New York Knicks fan all life 1139 01:00:06,326 --> 01:00:08,121 to sit courtside at the Lakers. 1140 01:00:08,259 --> 01:00:10,123 We get to the game, and it's a little surreal, 1141 01:00:10,261 --> 01:00:11,918 because we're down to the courtside 1142 01:00:12,056 --> 01:00:13,023 and Jack Nicholson's there, 1143 01:00:13,161 --> 01:00:14,645 and it's the Lakers in the Forum. 1144 01:00:14,783 --> 01:00:17,061 It's kind of fun, but there's this ominous feeling. 1145 01:00:17,199 --> 01:00:19,546 - Right now Jimmy Carter's preparing 1146 01:00:19,685 --> 01:00:22,066 to get into the presidential limousine. 1147 01:00:22,204 --> 01:00:24,724 He will be making his concession speech. 1148 01:00:24,862 --> 01:00:28,141 - And I'm sitting with Harry during the game. 1149 01:00:28,279 --> 01:00:31,766 We have been in the back room watching television 1150 01:00:31,904 --> 01:00:34,872 and what was happening in the election. 1151 01:00:35,010 --> 01:00:38,151 - I promised you four years ago 1152 01:00:38,289 --> 01:00:41,292 that I would never lie to you. 1153 01:00:41,430 --> 01:00:45,745 So I can't stand here tonight and say it doesn't hurt. 1154 01:00:45,883 --> 01:00:47,885 - And suddenly he said to me, you know what? 1155 01:00:48,023 --> 01:00:50,923 I've lost most of the Democrats that were my supporters 1156 01:00:51,061 --> 01:00:54,098 on stuff I was trying to get done on the issues 1157 01:00:54,236 --> 01:00:56,722 of hunger and homelessness and poverty. 1158 01:00:56,860 --> 01:01:00,864 - The president pledged the utmost in cooperation 1159 01:01:01,002 --> 01:01:03,694 in the transition that will take place. 1160 01:01:03,832 --> 01:01:05,178 - I'm gonna have to leave right now, 1161 01:01:05,316 --> 01:01:06,593 I'm going to fly to Washington immediately. 1162 01:01:06,732 --> 01:01:09,320 And they ran on an anti-crime platform. 1163 01:01:09,458 --> 01:01:12,738 I'm going to show them how the reduction in those issues 1164 01:01:12,876 --> 01:01:16,776 can really affect what they want to accomplish. 1165 01:01:18,882 --> 01:01:21,194 - Reagan wasn't interested in any of this. 1166 01:01:27,269 --> 01:01:31,618 Harry and I sat in his house just a few miles from here. 1167 01:01:31,757 --> 01:01:34,069 And we went in tears saying, you know, 1168 01:01:34,207 --> 01:01:37,003 a couple of years of our lives doing this stuff. 1169 01:01:37,141 --> 01:01:39,868 And then we said, okay, we're not gonna stop there. 1170 01:01:40,006 --> 01:01:41,974 We're gonna keep going. 1171 01:02:04,479 --> 01:02:06,032 - In your life, do you wanna be one cover 1172 01:02:06,170 --> 01:02:07,516 on Hit Parade Magazine, 1173 01:02:07,654 --> 01:02:11,382 or would you like to get the Nobel Peace Prize? 1174 01:02:11,520 --> 01:02:12,867 - What was his answer? 1175 01:02:13,005 --> 01:02:14,385 - The Nobel peace prize. 1176 01:02:14,523 --> 01:02:17,388 - So, I mean, the fact is that the news about Harry Chapin 1177 01:02:17,526 --> 01:02:18,942 right now is there's no news. 1178 01:02:19,080 --> 01:02:20,115 I've been doing this for nine years, 1179 01:02:20,253 --> 01:02:21,392 half my concerts are benefits. 1180 01:02:21,530 --> 01:02:23,187 I'm mostly socially and politically involved 1181 01:02:23,325 --> 01:02:25,845 performing in America, I'm going to continue be. 1182 01:02:25,983 --> 01:02:26,950 I'm not gonna get bullied. 1183 01:02:27,088 --> 01:02:28,986 - Ken Kragen had tried to manage Harry. 1184 01:02:29,124 --> 01:02:31,023 He was just, he was the manager of Harry, 1185 01:02:31,161 --> 01:02:32,024 if you could manage him. 1186 01:02:32,162 --> 01:02:33,680 - One of my problems with Harry, 1187 01:02:33,819 --> 01:02:36,131 trying to get Harry to focus on his own career. 1188 01:02:36,269 --> 01:02:38,409 Harry would go do the barbecue in your backyard 1189 01:02:38,547 --> 01:02:40,929 and raise a thousand dollars for some charity. 1190 01:02:41,067 --> 01:02:44,381 Kenny Rogers was very interested in those issues 1191 01:02:44,519 --> 01:02:45,762 and that kind of thing. 1192 01:02:45,900 --> 01:02:47,108 But he would go out 1193 01:02:47,246 --> 01:02:49,317 and raise a hundred thousand dollars in a show. 1194 01:02:49,455 --> 01:02:51,975 - He may have been the single most unselfish person 1195 01:02:52,113 --> 01:02:53,390 I've ever met in my life. 1196 01:02:53,528 --> 01:02:56,876 When he was really involved in this hunger project, 1197 01:02:57,014 --> 01:03:00,328 he would do 150 shows a year for hunger. 1198 01:03:01,225 --> 01:03:03,883 And he would donate, he would make three or $4,000 a night 1199 01:03:04,021 --> 01:03:05,160 and he could donate all this money 1200 01:03:05,298 --> 01:03:07,818 to the hunger projects that he had. 1201 01:03:07,956 --> 01:03:09,751 - What Kenny raised in one show was more 1202 01:03:09,889 --> 01:03:12,789 than what Harry raised in a year shows. 1203 01:03:12,927 --> 01:03:13,859 But he loved it. 1204 01:03:13,997 --> 01:03:16,275 He loved the interaction with the public. 1205 01:03:16,413 --> 01:03:18,277 He loved just talking to them. 1206 01:03:18,415 --> 01:03:20,382 He was such a people person, 1207 01:03:20,520 --> 01:03:24,041 and was making money signing merchandise. 1208 01:03:25,871 --> 01:03:27,734 He felt that was terrific. 1209 01:03:30,910 --> 01:03:32,394 - I'll be out in the lobby, but I forgot to mention that, 1210 01:03:32,532 --> 01:03:35,190 signing anything you want me to sign. 1211 01:03:35,328 --> 01:03:38,400 - He would come to the Huntington Arts Festival, 1212 01:03:38,538 --> 01:03:41,403 which was in back of the YMCA. 1213 01:03:41,541 --> 01:03:43,198 He was there to attract people, 1214 01:03:43,336 --> 01:03:46,408 but he get there and take tickets, he'd collect money. 1215 01:03:46,546 --> 01:03:48,963 He'd be all around the place. 1216 01:03:49,101 --> 01:03:51,034 He'd be singing to people individually, 1217 01:03:51,172 --> 01:03:52,345 he'd be performing. 1218 01:03:52,483 --> 01:03:56,108 - I got up this morning at 5:00 in Hampton Beach, 1219 01:03:56,246 --> 01:04:00,146 New Hampshire to get a limousine driven 1220 01:04:00,284 --> 01:04:03,460 by a rather interesting old gentlemen down to Logan airport 1221 01:04:03,598 --> 01:04:05,289 in Boston and flew down here. 1222 01:04:05,427 --> 01:04:07,188 And I'm impressed, everybody's here ready to go. 1223 01:04:07,326 --> 01:04:10,156 I'm just barely ready myself. 1224 01:04:10,294 --> 01:04:14,333 - What happened is that this frenetic energy 1225 01:04:14,471 --> 01:04:19,510 started to take the focus off of kind of concrete planning 1226 01:04:19,925 --> 01:04:24,343 and maintenance of, I know that's a word 1227 01:04:24,481 --> 01:04:27,760 maintenance, but of the career, 1228 01:04:27,898 --> 01:04:29,313 which is what leverages it all. 1229 01:04:29,451 --> 01:04:32,213 - Every time he was asked to help people, he did it. 1230 01:04:32,351 --> 01:04:36,148 - So cooperative and willing to do anything 1231 01:04:36,286 --> 01:04:38,081 and everything that we ask of him, 1232 01:04:38,219 --> 01:04:40,842 to the point of the guitar and the pencil out of the cable 1233 01:04:40,980 --> 01:04:42,154 and the whole thing. 1234 01:04:42,292 --> 01:04:43,810 - And he said one thing that I always remembered, 1235 01:04:43,949 --> 01:04:46,020 he said, gee, you know, I play one night for me 1236 01:04:46,158 --> 01:04:48,539 and one night for the other guy. 1237 01:04:48,677 --> 01:04:51,128 And later on when I was trying to put my music 1238 01:04:51,266 --> 01:04:55,201 to some pragmatic piece, I remember what he said. 1239 01:04:55,339 --> 01:04:57,859 Not being bent to extremism, 1240 01:04:57,997 --> 01:05:01,104 I wasn't as generous as he was, but. 1241 01:05:01,242 --> 01:05:03,969 - It was a bone of contention, you know, 1242 01:05:04,107 --> 01:05:06,178 I mean, with various people. 1243 01:05:06,316 --> 01:05:09,353 The band didn't think he should be doing that many shows. 1244 01:05:09,491 --> 01:05:13,047 I mean, sometimes he would do a show, you know, 1245 01:05:13,185 --> 01:05:16,429 50 miles from Columbus, Ohio a month before we 1246 01:05:16,567 --> 01:05:19,570 were actually doing municipal arena. 1247 01:05:20,571 --> 01:05:22,332 - I do about 200 concerts a year, 1248 01:05:22,470 --> 01:05:23,436 about 100 which are benefits. 1249 01:05:23,574 --> 01:05:24,955 Mostly with the group, 1250 01:05:25,093 --> 01:05:26,405 but tonight it's gonna be a little bit different. 1251 01:05:26,543 --> 01:05:27,889 - Really wanted to make people happy. 1252 01:05:28,027 --> 01:05:30,202 So he didn't want to go around pissing people off 1253 01:05:30,340 --> 01:05:31,824 or frustrating them. 1254 01:05:31,962 --> 01:05:33,515 It's just tough to stop the train, you know? 1255 01:05:33,653 --> 01:05:36,518 And he certainly couldn't get off. 1256 01:05:36,656 --> 01:05:37,934 - I wrote this song 1257 01:05:38,072 --> 01:05:40,074 about the same time I wrote "Cat's in the Cradle." 1258 01:05:40,212 --> 01:05:41,868 - Well, he wasn't going to be talked out of it. 1259 01:05:42,007 --> 01:05:43,077 - He could drive you crazy, 1260 01:05:43,215 --> 01:05:45,527 and he was completely unscrupulous about 1261 01:05:45,665 --> 01:05:47,598 It was always for the greater good, 1262 01:05:47,736 --> 01:05:49,600 and often it actually was. 1263 01:05:55,158 --> 01:05:58,264 - It was inspiring, how motivated he was 1264 01:05:58,402 --> 01:05:59,541 to try to help others. 1265 01:05:59,679 --> 01:06:01,474 You couldn't help but see that. 1266 01:06:01,612 --> 01:06:03,200 He was like a saint. 1267 01:06:03,338 --> 01:06:06,307 And to the point of being a martyr. 1268 01:06:08,481 --> 01:06:12,347 - This is as far back as September 16th, 1976. 1269 01:06:13,314 --> 01:06:16,351 And he's making promises of how his life 1270 01:06:16,489 --> 01:06:19,113 is gonna look in November, 1976. 1271 01:06:19,251 --> 01:06:21,218 This one didn't take or really, 1272 01:06:21,356 --> 01:06:24,773 you can see how difficult it was gonna be 1273 01:06:26,189 --> 01:06:28,915 for him to adhere to this over a long period of time, 1274 01:06:29,054 --> 01:06:30,331 because there was just too much to do. 1275 01:06:30,469 --> 01:06:32,919 At this time you got two really powerful people. 1276 01:06:33,058 --> 01:06:35,336 Sandy is a powerful person. 1277 01:06:37,062 --> 01:06:38,960 Harry's an incredibly powerful person. 1278 01:06:39,098 --> 01:06:43,723 And Harry is racing toward whatever destiny he envisioned 1279 01:06:45,001 --> 01:06:47,348 and worrying, getting it done. 1280 01:06:47,486 --> 01:06:50,144 And Sandy had been through all this stuff. 1281 01:06:50,282 --> 01:06:53,216 The marriage was really rocky right then. 1282 01:06:53,354 --> 01:06:54,907 - As you go through your life, you get a little older, 1283 01:06:55,045 --> 01:06:56,115 you run a couple of years under your belt. 1284 01:06:56,253 --> 01:06:58,428 You start realizing that the story of your life 1285 01:06:58,566 --> 01:07:01,534 is not always those golden dreams you're chasing, 1286 01:07:01,672 --> 01:07:04,434 but the people that you end up spending your time with. 1287 01:07:04,572 --> 01:07:07,713 And usually, hopefully, it's a spouse. 1288 01:07:08,610 --> 01:07:11,337 And so this is a song of a guy whose spent some time 1289 01:07:11,475 --> 01:07:14,927 and suddenly is seeing his life flashed back in front of him 1290 01:07:15,065 --> 01:07:16,687 and reassessing everything. 1291 01:07:16,825 --> 01:07:20,519 - Okay, Mr. Harry Chapin, "Story of a Life." 1292 01:08:04,632 --> 01:08:05,529 - I have an agenda, I'm not-- 1293 01:08:05,667 --> 01:08:07,117 - What is your agenda? 1294 01:08:07,255 --> 01:08:09,119 - Well, I want to matter. 1295 01:08:09,257 --> 01:08:10,500 Every human being wants to matter. 1296 01:08:10,638 --> 01:08:12,536 Gene McCarthy said it brilliantly about football. 1297 01:08:12,674 --> 01:08:14,987 He said, you gotta be smart enough to play the game 1298 01:08:15,125 --> 01:08:16,161 and dumb enough to think it matters. 1299 01:08:16,299 --> 01:08:18,232 Well in terms of pop music, 1300 01:08:18,370 --> 01:08:20,475 I'm not quite dumb enough to think it matters. 1301 01:08:20,613 --> 01:08:22,477 I'm just smart enough to play the game. 1302 01:08:22,615 --> 01:08:24,134 So I put it in the context. 1303 01:08:24,272 --> 01:08:26,309 I'm a man who generates about two and a half million dollars 1304 01:08:26,447 --> 01:08:27,482 every year, and I'm broke. 1305 01:08:27,620 --> 01:08:29,001 I mean my net worth right now, 1306 01:08:29,139 --> 01:08:30,382 my accountant told me it's zero. 1307 01:08:30,520 --> 01:08:33,592 It goes through me and I feel that that's my security. 1308 01:08:33,730 --> 01:08:35,456 My security is to be on the edge. 1309 01:08:35,594 --> 01:08:36,388 - What are you gonna do? 1310 01:08:36,526 --> 01:08:37,630 And what are you not gonna do? 1311 01:08:37,768 --> 01:08:39,563 And he had no idea. 1312 01:08:39,701 --> 01:08:42,048 You're traveling on the edge. 1313 01:08:42,187 --> 01:08:43,533 You know, you're always racing. 1314 01:08:43,671 --> 01:08:44,913 You're late. 1315 01:08:45,051 --> 01:08:47,295 You're traveling five times as much as anybody else. 1316 01:08:47,433 --> 01:08:49,746 You're just upping the odds. 1317 01:09:05,210 --> 01:09:07,039 - I would hate to be 75 years old, 1318 01:09:07,177 --> 01:09:09,628 it's one of the things that arms me, 1319 01:09:09,766 --> 01:09:11,802 and say, if only I had, I wish I had, 1320 01:09:11,940 --> 01:09:14,219 I wonder what my life meant. 1321 01:09:14,357 --> 01:09:17,222 My credo, which might be interesting for 1322 01:09:17,360 --> 01:09:20,190 is when in doubt, do something. 1323 01:09:20,328 --> 01:09:22,606 Because in the long run, we're not sure about a prior life 1324 01:09:22,744 --> 01:09:23,711 or an afterlife. 1325 01:09:23,849 --> 01:09:24,988 We're all hoping for that. 1326 01:09:25,126 --> 01:09:27,266 But what we can do is maximize what we have 1327 01:09:27,404 --> 01:09:30,304 in his brief flicker of time, in the infinity, 1328 01:09:30,442 --> 01:09:32,651 and try to milk that. 1329 01:09:32,789 --> 01:09:35,481 Let's say there was an imaginary automobile company 1330 01:09:35,619 --> 01:09:37,242 that built automobiles, 1331 01:09:37,380 --> 01:09:41,315 that when hit from behind burst into flame. 1332 01:09:41,453 --> 01:09:43,109 Now nothing like that would ever happened in the real world, 1333 01:09:43,248 --> 01:09:44,490 you know that. 1334 01:09:44,628 --> 01:09:46,768 - Ballad writer and singer Harry Chapin died today 1335 01:09:46,906 --> 01:09:48,598 in a car crash in Long Island. 1336 01:09:48,736 --> 01:09:50,634 - His death came suddenly in a fiery collision 1337 01:09:50,772 --> 01:09:53,258 with a tractor trailer truck on a Long Island highway. 1338 01:09:53,396 --> 01:09:55,156 - Harry was to have given a concert last night 1339 01:09:55,294 --> 01:09:58,366 on Long Island, as usual, it would have been free. 1340 01:10:08,445 --> 01:10:10,758 - In the insecurity that we have about a prior life 1341 01:10:10,896 --> 01:10:12,863 or an afterlife with God, I hope there is a God. 1342 01:10:13,001 --> 01:10:14,831 If he does exist, he's got a rather weird 1343 01:10:14,969 --> 01:10:17,005 sense of humor, however. 1344 01:10:18,352 --> 01:10:20,285 But if there's a process that will allow us 1345 01:10:20,423 --> 01:10:23,115 to live our days, that will allow us that degree 1346 01:10:23,253 --> 01:10:25,393 of equanimity towards the end, 1347 01:10:25,531 --> 01:10:28,431 looking at that black implacable wall of death, 1348 01:10:28,569 --> 01:10:30,364 to allow us that degree of peace, 1349 01:10:30,502 --> 01:10:33,401 that degree of non-fear, I want in. 1350 01:10:52,489 --> 01:10:53,697 - I lived in a loft right below 1351 01:10:53,835 --> 01:10:56,597 with management loft was Jeb and Bob Hinkle. 1352 01:10:56,735 --> 01:10:58,184 And there was a new secretary and she comes down 1353 01:10:58,323 --> 01:10:59,324 and knocks on the door. 1354 01:10:59,462 --> 01:11:00,601 And Jeb and Bob are waiting for Harry 1355 01:11:00,739 --> 01:11:03,466 in the city here to talk about booking 1356 01:11:03,604 --> 01:11:06,192 and try to convince him not to do so many benefits. 1357 01:11:06,331 --> 01:11:10,266 - On July 15th, the day before Harry was killed, 1358 01:11:10,404 --> 01:11:14,270 there was a meeting scheduled at ICM with the great agent, 1359 01:11:14,408 --> 01:11:18,515 Shelley Schultz, who ran the department for ICM. 1360 01:11:18,653 --> 01:11:22,933 And this was a meeting to really go over some specifics 1361 01:11:23,071 --> 01:11:26,178 about how we have to, it's like a come to Jesus. 1362 01:11:26,316 --> 01:11:28,422 We've really got to focus on the career. 1363 01:11:28,560 --> 01:11:30,596 What we're doing here is diminishing returns. 1364 01:11:30,734 --> 01:11:31,839 You're hurting yourself. 1365 01:11:31,977 --> 01:11:34,290 And it was to try to come up with an agreement 1366 01:11:34,428 --> 01:11:37,293 that would help Harry, A, help his career, 1367 01:11:37,431 --> 01:11:41,538 and help him make more money for the charities. 1368 01:11:45,542 --> 01:11:47,889 And on July 15th, Harry didn't show for that meeting. 1369 01:11:48,027 --> 01:11:49,235 I was really pissed. 1370 01:11:49,374 --> 01:11:51,962 I think I even called my mother. 1371 01:11:55,069 --> 01:11:57,554 So the next day it was rescheduled. 1372 01:11:57,692 --> 01:11:58,900 So he said, I'll come tomorrow, 1373 01:11:59,038 --> 01:12:00,212 I'm sorry, I'll just do it tomorrow. 1374 01:12:00,350 --> 01:12:02,248 So we scheduled it for the next day. 1375 01:12:02,387 --> 01:12:03,629 When we were at the meeting the next day, 1376 01:12:03,767 --> 01:12:07,357 and the time started to pass and Harry wasn't there, 1377 01:12:07,495 --> 01:12:10,602 I did kind of have a little bad feeling 1378 01:12:10,740 --> 01:12:12,535 because I had made such a big stink, 1379 01:12:12,673 --> 01:12:14,640 Harry had been so sheepish about it, 1380 01:12:14,778 --> 01:12:15,952 and we had set it up. 1381 01:12:16,090 --> 01:12:18,748 I just couldn't imagine him not showing for that. 1382 01:12:18,886 --> 01:12:20,577 - I got on the phone and it was a cop. 1383 01:12:20,715 --> 01:12:25,651 And he says, what relation are you to the deceased? 1384 01:12:25,789 --> 01:12:27,515 And I go, what? 1385 01:12:27,653 --> 01:12:31,726 He says, and turns out someone had died on the expressway. 1386 01:12:31,864 --> 01:12:34,557 And they didn't know who it was, 1387 01:12:35,661 --> 01:12:37,422 because his wallet had burned up. 1388 01:12:37,560 --> 01:12:40,356 He was rear ended on the expressway 1389 01:12:40,494 --> 01:12:43,980 and died principally because that the seatbelt 1390 01:12:44,118 --> 01:12:45,637 that was in the Volkswagen Rabbit 1391 01:12:45,775 --> 01:12:47,708 was really a one-point seatbelt, 1392 01:12:47,846 --> 01:12:50,400 over the top of the shoulder. 1393 01:12:50,538 --> 01:12:52,747 It wasn't across his waist. 1394 01:12:52,885 --> 01:12:55,543 The driver got, busted the window, cut his thing, 1395 01:12:55,681 --> 01:12:56,544 pulled him out. 1396 01:12:56,682 --> 01:12:58,339 So he was partly burned his hands. 1397 01:12:58,477 --> 01:13:00,962 The way I recognized him was that he had a watch, 1398 01:13:01,100 --> 01:13:02,481 a pocket watch on him. 1399 01:13:02,619 --> 01:13:04,794 It said from Michael Moore. 1400 01:13:05,795 --> 01:13:07,452 Harry had done benefits. 1401 01:13:07,590 --> 01:13:11,421 I told Michael Moore this recently, he went, oh my gosh. 1402 01:13:11,559 --> 01:13:13,492 Harry had done three or four benefits for Michael Moore 1403 01:13:13,630 --> 01:13:15,287 to start the Flint Voice 1404 01:13:15,425 --> 01:13:17,047 and then the Michigan Voice early on. 1405 01:13:17,185 --> 01:13:19,533 As Michael Moore says, no Harry, no Michael Moore. 1406 01:13:19,671 --> 01:13:22,570 - He was such a generous individual, giving. 1407 01:13:22,708 --> 01:13:26,954 He didn't know me from Adam, and he said, sure, 1408 01:13:27,092 --> 01:13:28,818 I'll come to Flint and help you out. 1409 01:13:28,956 --> 01:13:31,337 And they gave him a watch that said, from the Flint Voice 1410 01:13:31,476 --> 01:13:34,824 to a great American, or something, Harry Chapin 1411 01:13:34,962 --> 01:13:36,377 from Michael Moore. 1412 01:13:36,515 --> 01:13:37,827 And I said, dad, that's Harry. 1413 01:13:37,965 --> 01:13:39,553 That's the Michael Moore watch. 1414 01:13:39,691 --> 01:13:41,417 - I was in a meeting with the city at the time. 1415 01:13:41,555 --> 01:13:43,315 And I got a call from Tom. 1416 01:13:43,453 --> 01:13:45,351 The fact he's getting through means it's bad. 1417 01:13:45,490 --> 01:13:46,836 Because it was a big, big deal meeting, 1418 01:13:46,974 --> 01:13:48,665 had like, top guys from the city. 1419 01:13:48,803 --> 01:13:52,289 I said, Tom, it's Harry I says, is it bad? 1420 01:13:52,428 --> 01:13:53,014 He says yes, it's real bad. 1421 01:13:53,152 --> 01:13:53,981 I said, is he dead? 1422 01:13:54,119 --> 01:13:55,431 He says, Yeah, he's dead. 1423 01:14:09,617 --> 01:14:11,308 - I could have been in that car. 1424 01:14:11,447 --> 01:14:14,070 I've thought about this many times. 1425 01:14:14,208 --> 01:14:16,866 And in a way my wife saved my life 1426 01:14:17,004 --> 01:14:18,695 because she asked me to go up to Massachusetts 1427 01:14:18,833 --> 01:14:21,111 to visit her cousin. 1428 01:14:21,249 --> 01:14:22,941 So I said to Harry, I can't make this. 1429 01:14:23,079 --> 01:14:25,875 - We had been in Hawaii for one of our family vacations 1430 01:14:26,013 --> 01:14:26,979 for two weeks. 1431 01:14:27,117 --> 01:14:28,602 And the rest of the family flew back. 1432 01:14:28,740 --> 01:14:30,638 I stayed because I had friends in Hawaii 1433 01:14:30,776 --> 01:14:34,435 and I was expected to come back, I don't know, 1434 01:14:34,573 --> 01:14:35,954 about a week later or something. 1435 01:14:36,092 --> 01:14:39,371 And I had called the house and no one wanted to talk to me. 1436 01:14:39,509 --> 01:14:41,787 They said they would call me back, which I thought was odd. 1437 01:14:41,925 --> 01:14:43,824 - I remember a conversation between him 1438 01:14:43,962 --> 01:14:46,033 and my mom when he was leaving that morning. 1439 01:14:46,171 --> 01:14:47,966 And there was a question 1440 01:14:48,104 --> 01:14:49,243 as to whether I was gonna go with him. 1441 01:14:49,381 --> 01:14:51,452 Which is one of those crazy sorta, you know, 1442 01:14:51,590 --> 01:14:53,558 I missed the plane that crashed or whatever. 1443 01:14:53,696 --> 01:14:57,078 But so I feel like that's part of my memory 1444 01:14:57,216 --> 01:15:00,012 is that I was sort of kind of excited 1445 01:15:00,150 --> 01:15:02,463 and like, Oh, I'm gonna have to spend the day with my dad. 1446 01:15:02,601 --> 01:15:04,603 And it was just sorta like, no, it doesn't make sense, 1447 01:15:04,741 --> 01:15:06,571 you'll see him later. 1448 01:15:14,924 --> 01:15:16,960 - I was on the beach, so I had no idea. 1449 01:15:17,098 --> 01:15:20,826 I remember it was dark by the time we got back. 1450 01:15:20,964 --> 01:15:24,002 Our friend came out to the car and she said, 1451 01:15:24,140 --> 01:15:26,004 did you hear what happened? 1452 01:15:26,142 --> 01:15:30,180 It's a horrible thing, Harry Chapin died on the expressway. 1453 01:15:30,318 --> 01:15:32,113 And she didn't know I was in the car. 1454 01:15:32,251 --> 01:15:34,288 So that's how I heard it. 1455 01:15:54,135 --> 01:15:55,999 - I was home on long Island 1456 01:15:56,137 --> 01:15:57,898 and there were all these different stories. 1457 01:15:58,036 --> 01:15:59,969 Oh, this happened, or it was a crash 1458 01:16:00,107 --> 01:16:01,177 or it was a this or it was that. 1459 01:16:01,315 --> 01:16:03,524 It was just totally unexpected. 1460 01:16:03,662 --> 01:16:07,459 Because he was, he was such a vital guy. 1461 01:16:07,597 --> 01:16:09,565 He was so alive, Harry. 1462 01:16:09,703 --> 01:16:12,464 You just can't imagine him the sick 1463 01:16:12,602 --> 01:16:14,466 or something like that happening to him. 1464 01:16:14,604 --> 01:16:16,019 It's just, no, that wouldn't happen to Harry. 1465 01:16:16,157 --> 01:16:17,089 It wouldn't happen to him. 1466 01:16:17,227 --> 01:16:18,643 And it did. 1467 01:16:18,781 --> 01:16:21,577 - We were in New York, Spyder and I, and in my apartment. 1468 01:16:21,715 --> 01:16:23,130 And I had WNEW on. 1469 01:16:26,651 --> 01:16:30,068 And I don't even know what was playing before or whatever, 1470 01:16:30,206 --> 01:16:32,726 but it was like a news flash. 1471 01:16:33,727 --> 01:16:34,900 We were in shock. 1472 01:16:35,038 --> 01:16:36,626 I mean, there was no other thing to say. 1473 01:16:36,764 --> 01:16:40,009 And then just the supreme sadness of it. 1474 01:16:41,217 --> 01:16:45,324 Of knowing that that light had gone out, you know, 1475 01:16:46,325 --> 01:16:48,742 just, it was hurtful. 1476 01:16:48,880 --> 01:16:49,570 - I remember crying. 1477 01:16:49,708 --> 01:16:51,710 I cried a lot, you know. 1478 01:16:55,024 --> 01:16:57,164 And my first instinct is what my first instinct 1479 01:16:57,302 --> 01:17:01,237 has been before that and since then, it's not fair. 1480 01:17:01,375 --> 01:17:04,205 This is the last guy you'd expect to die young. 1481 01:17:04,343 --> 01:17:06,380 Absolutely the last guy. 1482 01:17:08,796 --> 01:17:13,042 - I maybe wondered whether there was a God up there. 1483 01:17:14,043 --> 01:17:15,251 - When Harry died, I considered 1484 01:17:15,389 --> 01:17:16,839 it the biggest loss of my life. 1485 01:17:16,977 --> 01:17:19,151 - And the universe cracked. 1486 01:17:55,153 --> 01:17:57,776 - My name is Bill Ayers, and if I can hold myself together 1487 01:17:57,914 --> 01:17:59,916 for the next couple hours here, 1488 01:18:00,054 --> 01:18:02,263 I'm supposed to lead us through this memorial service 1489 01:18:02,401 --> 01:18:04,749 for our friend and brother Harry Chapin. 1490 01:18:04,887 --> 01:18:07,096 - I'll never see, never think of Harry 1491 01:18:07,234 --> 01:18:09,892 without big grin on his face in a hurry, 1492 01:18:10,030 --> 01:18:13,309 arriving just in time to go on stage 1493 01:18:13,447 --> 01:18:16,312 and dashing off right afterwards because he had 1494 01:18:16,450 --> 01:18:18,038 to be somewhere else an hour later. 1495 01:18:41,855 --> 01:18:45,341 - Now Harry's wonderful, and very loving wife, Sandy, 1496 01:18:45,479 --> 01:18:47,343 came up with the idea 1497 01:18:48,275 --> 01:18:49,966 of a Presidential Commission, World Hunger. 1498 01:18:50,104 --> 01:18:52,141 She gave the formidable task to Harry. 1499 01:18:52,279 --> 01:18:53,798 I could have told her it was impossible 1500 01:18:53,936 --> 01:18:57,767 if she'd ever asked me, but Sandy knew better. 1501 01:18:59,148 --> 01:19:01,598 And all of us in Washington told Harry that the President's 1502 01:19:01,737 --> 01:19:02,910 opposed to any more commissions. 1503 01:19:03,048 --> 01:19:04,291 It'd be impossible. 1504 01:19:04,429 --> 01:19:05,982 There were logistical, there were partisan reasons. 1505 01:19:06,120 --> 01:19:08,019 There were all these reasons why it couldn't be done. 1506 01:19:08,157 --> 01:19:10,331 Harry said, that's nice, and now here's how we're going 1507 01:19:10,469 --> 01:19:12,333 to go about doing it. 1508 01:19:27,521 --> 01:19:29,765 - I think we're also both believers in the udge factor, 1509 01:19:29,903 --> 01:19:32,802 which is the combination of all those little things 1510 01:19:32,940 --> 01:19:34,079 that people do in many different areas 1511 01:19:34,217 --> 01:19:36,081 that end up by making a great big udge 1512 01:19:36,219 --> 01:19:38,359 that tends to move things. 1513 01:19:42,467 --> 01:19:45,953 - Door is open, we're ushered in to see the precedent. 1514 01:19:46,091 --> 01:19:50,337 Even at that meeting, even after Harry beat him down 1515 01:19:51,407 --> 01:19:53,961 and President Carter agreed to go along 1516 01:19:54,099 --> 01:19:57,793 with the World Hunger Commission, Harry wouldn't stop. 1517 01:19:57,931 --> 01:19:59,449 He continued to hammer into the president 1518 01:19:59,587 --> 01:20:01,935 the reasons why we had to have this. 1519 01:20:02,073 --> 01:20:05,076 The president sat there, he said, tried to say, you know, 1520 01:20:05,214 --> 01:20:07,906 I've agreed with you, I've agreed with you. 1521 01:20:08,044 --> 01:20:09,114 He did agree. 1522 01:20:11,220 --> 01:20:13,360 Harry wasn't gonna let him off that easy. 1523 01:20:13,498 --> 01:20:15,880 Not just by agreeing. 1524 01:20:16,018 --> 01:20:21,023 He wanted not only to agree, he wanted him to be committed, 1525 01:20:21,402 --> 01:20:23,922 wanted to be committed. 1526 01:20:24,060 --> 01:20:27,374 Now that's the difference between Harry Chapin 1527 01:20:27,512 --> 01:20:32,379 and those who simply give lip service to our cause. 1528 01:20:45,150 --> 01:20:46,876 - Tom, I think, once said that being brother to Harry 1529 01:20:47,014 --> 01:20:48,913 was like being brother to a steam engine. 1530 01:20:49,051 --> 01:20:50,224 And there's some truth to that, I mean, that's what he was. 1531 01:20:50,362 --> 01:20:52,502 He was a source of energy, you know, in a world, 1532 01:20:52,640 --> 01:20:54,815 unfortunately, that's all too short of energy. 1533 01:21:00,994 --> 01:21:04,342 - And this is a song from his last album, 1534 01:21:05,239 --> 01:21:09,381 which I thought was one of the best he ever wrote. 1535 01:21:39,032 --> 01:21:44,071 what we dreamed of for 1536 01:21:57,291 --> 01:22:00,916 - Harry had a good insight about how people 1537 01:22:01,054 --> 01:22:05,472 should be treated, that everybody deserves compassion. 1538 01:22:08,130 --> 01:22:11,098 - Harry really didn't care about doing any of these things 1539 01:22:11,236 --> 01:22:12,617 to get to heaven. 1540 01:22:12,755 --> 01:22:15,551 He always figured, that would sort of take care of itself. 1541 01:22:15,689 --> 01:22:19,175 He was doing things because of this life. 1542 01:22:30,704 --> 01:22:33,120 - I had dreams about Harry. 1543 01:22:45,512 --> 01:22:47,169 - Well, all of us have had dreams about Harry, 1544 01:22:47,307 --> 01:22:48,377 I think that close to him. 1545 01:22:48,515 --> 01:22:49,999 This is one I had. 1546 01:22:50,137 --> 01:22:53,002 So I call this the very best place to be. 1547 01:22:53,140 --> 01:22:57,248 In my dreams, I saw him, alive and well once more. 1548 01:22:59,422 --> 01:23:02,632 He was ready to greet me on a far distant shore. 1549 01:23:02,770 --> 01:23:04,496 His smile lit up like the morning sun 1550 01:23:04,634 --> 01:23:06,982 and I could feel my spirit soar. 1551 01:23:07,120 --> 01:23:08,914 And he said, welcome my brother 1552 01:23:09,053 --> 01:23:12,194 to the treasures we have in store. 1553 01:23:26,242 --> 01:23:29,452 - I really got involved in the issues of hunger 1554 01:23:29,590 --> 01:23:31,592 and homelessness due to Harry. 1555 01:23:37,702 --> 01:23:42,672 Literally felt, physically felt Harry Chapin crawl inside me 1556 01:23:43,846 --> 01:23:45,675 and I felt he was orchestrating everything. 1557 01:23:57,584 --> 01:23:59,379 Harry was truly the inspiration 1558 01:23:59,517 --> 01:24:01,933 for all the good works I did since his death. 1559 01:24:02,071 --> 01:24:04,384 Things like we are the world and the song, 1560 01:24:04,522 --> 01:24:07,525 and which is still going strong to this day. 1561 01:24:07,663 --> 01:24:10,148 And hand across America, five and a half million people 1562 01:24:10,286 --> 01:24:14,118 holding hands in one continuous line from New York to LA 1563 01:24:14,256 --> 01:24:16,396 all for the purpose of raising awareness 1564 01:24:16,534 --> 01:24:19,502 about hunger and homelessness in America. 1565 01:24:19,640 --> 01:24:22,402 Inspired greatly by Harry Chapin and his beliefs. 1566 01:24:22,540 --> 01:24:25,474 - Harry Chapin died five years ago. 1567 01:24:27,303 --> 01:24:30,513 It was a cruel death and a great loss. 1568 01:24:30,651 --> 01:24:35,622 But he'd thrown a pebble into a pond and I saw the ripples. 1569 01:24:38,280 --> 01:24:42,422 Reached Geldoff, reached me, reached Willie Nelson, 1570 01:24:43,526 --> 01:24:46,219 reached millions of people around the world. 1571 01:24:46,357 --> 01:24:48,669 When Harry Belafonte called me, 1572 01:24:48,807 --> 01:24:52,397 I was exactly in the frame of mind to build a lobby further 1573 01:24:52,535 --> 01:24:54,399 for USA for Africa. 1574 01:24:54,537 --> 01:24:58,576 Once we have those two, we could extend this idea 1575 01:24:59,715 --> 01:25:01,889 to the planet, so Live Aid. 1576 01:25:04,892 --> 01:25:07,309 - Guys like Harry was very inspirational 1577 01:25:07,447 --> 01:25:10,657 to what the whole purpose of hip hop was for. 1578 01:25:10,795 --> 01:25:14,730 To get off your butt and do something about the conditions. 1579 01:25:14,868 --> 01:25:19,010 - Welcome in, welcome in to the lost and forsaken. 1580 01:25:19,148 --> 01:25:23,670 This is a better place to be, the very best place to be. 1581 01:25:34,888 --> 01:25:38,995 - An incredibly generous older brother, you know. 1582 01:25:39,134 --> 01:25:40,549 He was, as he was as a man. 1583 01:25:40,687 --> 01:25:43,448 So you got me emotional now. 1584 01:25:43,586 --> 01:25:46,727 - He really wanted to change the world, and he did. 1585 01:25:46,865 --> 01:25:48,522 - Harry Chapman was posthumously 1586 01:25:48,660 --> 01:25:51,629 given the highest civilian honor the United States 1587 01:25:51,767 --> 01:25:55,805 can bestow, the special Congressional Gold Medal 1588 01:25:55,943 --> 01:25:58,670 was awarded a Harry for his devotion to the issue 1589 01:25:58,808 --> 01:26:01,501 of hunger around the world. 1590 01:26:01,639 --> 01:26:06,471 This medal has been given by Congress to only 114 citizens 1591 01:26:06,609 --> 01:26:10,095 in the more than 200 years since the country was founded. 1592 01:26:10,234 --> 01:26:13,823 Only four other songwriters have received the medal. 1593 01:26:13,961 --> 01:26:18,276 George and Ira Gershwin, George M. Cohan, and Irving Berlin. 1594 01:26:18,414 --> 01:26:21,417 Other recipients include George Washington, 1595 01:26:21,555 --> 01:26:26,181 Robert F. Kennedy, Thomas Edison, and now Harry Chapin. 1596 01:26:38,434 --> 01:26:42,162 - Oh if a man tried to take his time on earth 1597 01:26:42,300 --> 01:26:45,372 and prove before he died, what one man's life 1598 01:26:45,510 --> 01:26:50,308 could be worth, I wonder what would happen to this world? 1599 01:26:53,000 --> 01:26:55,865 - COVID-19 is brought out the best in people. 1600 01:26:56,003 --> 01:26:58,213 We can't forget that 40 years ago, 1601 01:26:58,351 --> 01:27:00,215 there was one person and one person only 1602 01:27:00,353 --> 01:27:03,252 who spoke about the issue of food insecurity 1603 01:27:03,390 --> 01:27:04,598 and hunger in this country. 1604 01:27:09,707 --> 01:27:14,125 And if Harry were alive today, what would he be doing? 1605 01:27:14,263 --> 01:27:16,679 He would be doing exactly what he did 40 years ago, 1606 01:27:16,817 --> 01:27:19,855 and that's speaking out and creating a response. 1607 01:27:19,993 --> 01:27:21,857 He saw hunger as a shame of America, 1608 01:27:21,995 --> 01:27:23,617 and he did something about it 1609 01:27:23,755 --> 01:27:27,172 by establishing Long Island Cares and Why Hunger. 1610 01:27:27,311 --> 01:27:28,691 How grateful should we be as a nation 1611 01:27:28,829 --> 01:27:30,590 that's 40 years after he's gone, 1612 01:27:30,728 --> 01:27:34,732 this man's legacy continues stronger than ever? 1613 01:27:39,323 --> 01:27:42,222 - We certainly have helped millions of people, 1614 01:27:42,360 --> 01:27:44,845 hundreds of thousands of kids in the summer, 1615 01:27:44,983 --> 01:27:46,537 every year annually. 1616 01:27:46,675 --> 01:27:50,403 We help hundreds of thousands of callers 1617 01:27:50,541 --> 01:27:52,405 that reach out to our hotline. 1618 01:27:52,543 --> 01:27:54,372 And through our direct partnerships 1619 01:27:54,510 --> 01:27:58,618 with grassroots organizations who are feeding people, 1620 01:27:58,756 --> 01:28:02,449 serving food, we have been able to build their capacity 1621 01:28:02,587 --> 01:28:04,831 to serve millions of people. 1622 01:28:19,811 --> 01:28:22,400 - We take care of people's fundamental wellbeing. 1623 01:28:22,538 --> 01:28:25,369 We don't ask questions about income. 1624 01:28:25,507 --> 01:28:28,337 We don't ask questions about immigration status. 1625 01:28:28,475 --> 01:28:30,684 We don't ask about people's resources. 1626 01:28:30,822 --> 01:28:34,378 All we know is that people are struggling. 1627 01:28:39,900 --> 01:28:41,212 - Yes, I'm hopeful. 1628 01:28:41,350 --> 01:28:44,526 I'm out there each and every day trying to bring 1629 01:28:44,664 --> 01:28:48,564 to the conversation of why is there hunger and poverty? 1630 01:28:48,702 --> 01:28:51,636 And I think both Bill and Harry would be happy 1631 01:28:51,774 --> 01:28:53,983 to the fact to see that the organization, Why Hunger, 1632 01:28:54,121 --> 01:28:57,987 has not only tackled that question locally, 1633 01:28:58,125 --> 01:29:01,474 but has really tackled that question globally. 1634 01:29:11,069 --> 01:29:15,557 - First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, 1635 01:29:15,695 --> 01:29:18,560 then they fight you, then you win. 1636 01:29:23,358 --> 01:29:24,393 He few things right. 1637 01:29:24,531 --> 01:29:26,740 - But I think Harry instinctively knew 1638 01:29:26,878 --> 01:29:29,985 that it was gonna take a lot more than just love to survive, 1639 01:29:30,123 --> 01:29:33,506 that it was gonna take a strong sense of purpose, 1640 01:29:33,644 --> 01:29:38,614 a duty, and a good clear eye on the dirty ways of the world. 1641 01:29:42,791 --> 01:29:46,139 And so in keeping his promise to himself, 1642 01:29:47,140 --> 01:29:50,626 he reminds us of our promise to ourselves. 1643 01:29:50,764 --> 01:29:53,664 And then tonight, alongside Harry, 1644 01:29:55,528 --> 01:30:00,015 it's that promise that his spirit would have us remember 1645 01:30:02,431 --> 01:30:04,191 and honor and recommit, 1646 01:30:06,573 --> 01:30:07,850 so do something. 1647 01:30:09,714 --> 01:30:12,476 And may his song be song. 1648 01:30:34,946 --> 01:30:37,293 - Life is not a neat entity. 1649 01:30:37,432 --> 01:30:39,641 It's a Grade C movie. 1650 01:30:39,779 --> 01:30:40,814 It's not a Grade a movie 1651 01:30:40,952 --> 01:30:42,851 where everything neatly fits into place. 1652 01:30:42,989 --> 01:30:44,335 It's sloppy. 1653 01:30:44,473 --> 01:30:47,856 But the final analysis it's terribly, terribly exciting 1654 01:30:47,994 --> 01:30:50,652 and to, in a sense, immerse yourself into it 1655 01:30:50,790 --> 01:30:55,070 and all those complexities rather than hide from it. 1656 01:31:15,918 --> 01:31:17,541 I believe in believers. 1657 01:31:17,679 --> 01:31:20,371 At a time when there's gigantic questions, 1658 01:31:20,509 --> 01:31:21,890 engagement is the answer. 1659 01:31:22,028 --> 01:31:23,685 I love, however, when you find some kind 1660 01:31:23,823 --> 01:31:26,826 of perverse patterns, and that's what circles to me are. 1661 01:31:26,964 --> 01:31:29,104 Hey, Tom Chapin, come on out here 1662 01:31:29,242 --> 01:31:32,452 and help us do something, come on. 1663 01:31:32,590 --> 01:31:35,731 I wrote this thing for you, here we go. 1664 01:31:38,872 --> 01:31:41,944 - Everybody learning and growing and sharing 1665 01:31:42,082 --> 01:31:45,500 and moving, because otherwise it's a dead end. 1666 01:32:32,236 --> 01:32:34,169 - Think you've really made a difference. 1667 01:32:34,307 --> 01:32:36,723 - I don't know, but I've been involved with the good people 1668 01:32:36,861 --> 01:32:40,796 with alive hearts, alive heads, and alive acts. 1669 01:33:02,369 --> 01:33:05,787 - I miss him, and I miss what he missed. 1670 01:33:07,685 --> 01:33:08,893 Here we are talking about him. 1671 01:33:09,031 --> 01:33:11,516 Harry, you're still here, baby. 1672 01:33:11,655 --> 01:33:15,106 - Let's put your hands together and have a great big ending! 1673 01:33:33,918 --> 01:33:36,024 - You guys are outrageous. 1674 01:33:36,162 --> 01:33:39,579 Steve Chapin, Big John Wallace, Howard Fields, 1675 01:33:39,717 --> 01:33:42,858 Doug Walker, Yvonne Cable, Tom Chapin.