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- My brother
Harry wanted to be more
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00:00:12,150 --> 00:00:13,599
than just a great
singer song writer.
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00:00:13,737 --> 00:00:15,946
He wanted to change
the world and he did.
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00:00:22,401 --> 00:00:24,438
- Harry Chapin was one
of the greatest storytellers
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00:00:24,576 --> 00:00:25,611
of all time.
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00:00:34,758 --> 00:00:37,002
- Harry was
that rare combination
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00:00:37,140 --> 00:00:41,075
of somebody with a
conscience and an ability
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00:00:41,213 --> 00:00:42,697
to write a good song.
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00:00:47,219 --> 00:00:48,289
- Not many
song writers know how
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00:00:48,427 --> 00:00:51,085
to tell a story the way he did.
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00:00:51,223 --> 00:00:52,259
Not many singers know how
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00:00:52,397 --> 00:00:55,124
to get a story across
the way he did.
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00:01:05,203 --> 00:01:07,515
- When that
song first came out,
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00:01:07,653 --> 00:01:11,968
a lot of people thought it
was a Harry Chapin song.
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00:01:12,106 --> 00:01:14,557
It used to bother me, but
doesn't bother me anymore.
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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,
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00:01:17,974 --> 00:01:21,046
Harry Chapin wrote
the best story songs.
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00:01:26,776 --> 00:01:29,468
- I do about
220 concerts a year,
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00:01:29,606 --> 00:01:31,160
about a hundred
which are benefits,
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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.
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00:01:35,509 --> 00:01:39,685
I also do about a half a
dozen a year for Ralph Nader.
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00:01:39,823 --> 00:01:41,273
I've done a couple
so far this year
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00:01:41,411 --> 00:01:43,172
for Citizens Action Fund.
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00:01:43,310 --> 00:01:45,105
I also do things for
multiple sclerosis,
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00:01:45,243 --> 00:01:47,969
muscular dystrophy, cancer
care, cystic fibrosis,
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00:01:48,108 --> 00:01:49,281
and a couple of other things.
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00:01:49,419 --> 00:01:51,180
If you get involved in things,
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00:01:51,318 --> 00:01:53,285
you ended up by getting
involved in more things.
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00:01:53,423 --> 00:01:57,186
- Harry made it
gangster to do something
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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.
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00:02:08,714 --> 00:02:09,922
- Steve Chapin.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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00:03:48,262 --> 00:03:51,852
- My mom had four boys
by the time she was 25
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00:03:51,990 --> 00:03:54,475
with my dad, the jazz
drummer, Jim Chapin.
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00:03:54,613 --> 00:03:57,685
The oldest with James, Butch
Chapin, and then Harry,
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00:03:57,823 --> 00:04:00,412
and I was next, and
then brother Steve.
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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
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00:04:03,312 --> 00:04:05,590
because dad was a jazz
drummer and he was on the road
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00:04:05,728 --> 00:04:08,731
and he loved drums and
he loved women.
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00:04:08,869 --> 00:04:10,284
It didn't work.
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00:04:15,462 --> 00:04:17,705
We lived near here, West
11th Street, in the winters.
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00:04:22,641 --> 00:04:23,918
- As a fly
ball hit out to left field,
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00:04:24,056 --> 00:04:26,196
Woodling getting under it.
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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.
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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.
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00:04:44,422 --> 00:04:46,872
Harry was number two
and I was number five.
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00:04:47,010 --> 00:04:49,565
My mother had four
Chapins in two Harts.
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00:04:49,703 --> 00:04:51,360
And she was an incredible woman
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00:04:51,498 --> 00:04:54,224
who raised us all
basically as a single mom,
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00:04:54,363 --> 00:04:59,368
because both of her husbands
were kind of not great choices.
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00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:02,198
- We had the unfortunate,
or fortunate if you want,
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00:05:02,336 --> 00:05:05,270
of having the storybook
evil stepfather.
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00:05:05,408 --> 00:05:07,376
He was well meaning, but
unfortunately he couldn't handle
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00:05:07,514 --> 00:05:11,449
four boys growing up
and it was a horror show
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00:05:11,587 --> 00:05:13,243
of beatings and
all kinds of stuff.
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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.
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00:05:22,943 --> 00:05:25,497
Grace Church was crucial to us.
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00:05:25,635 --> 00:05:28,362
It was really the foundation
of getting into music,
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00:05:28,500 --> 00:05:31,227
of Harry, Tom, and Steve
getting into music.
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00:05:31,365 --> 00:05:34,195
Big John Wallace, Bobby
Lamm, who we see in Chicago,
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00:05:34,334 --> 00:05:35,611
was in the choir.
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00:05:35,749 --> 00:05:37,647
- You know, going back to
the choir room and the piano,
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00:05:37,785 --> 00:05:40,098
it really opened up a channel
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00:05:41,513 --> 00:05:43,964
that I wouldn't
have otherwise had.
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00:05:44,102 --> 00:05:45,655
- We kind of
grew up on our own
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00:05:45,793 --> 00:05:48,658
out there in the world,
but the church and sports
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were the foundations
while my mom was trying
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00:05:51,385 --> 00:05:54,215
to be a single mom and
work and have six boys
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00:05:54,354 --> 00:05:55,527
that were all over the place.
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00:05:55,665 --> 00:05:57,426
- Well, once we moved
to Brooklyn Heights,
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it was a school yard.
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00:05:59,082 --> 00:06:00,843
The school and the school yard
were right next door to us.
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00:06:00,981 --> 00:06:04,225
Our days were like literally
eight hours of handball,
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00:06:04,364 --> 00:06:07,608
stickball,
ring-a-levio, stoop ball
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00:06:07,746 --> 00:06:11,336
and anything with a
ball, any place, anyhow,
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00:06:11,474 --> 00:06:14,408
it was just active,
active, active.
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00:06:21,001 --> 00:06:23,417
- There's more family
history probably out here
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00:06:23,555 --> 00:06:25,626
than anywhere else.
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00:06:25,764 --> 00:06:28,284
- Because it's an older
place, that's why.
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00:06:28,422 --> 00:06:30,597
Well, this is every
summer, you know,
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we were kids and it was
like, yay, it's June.
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00:06:33,116 --> 00:06:35,912
And we'd get here and then it's
barefoot, and it was tennis,
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00:06:36,050 --> 00:06:37,500
it was the Lake.
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00:06:37,638 --> 00:06:39,709
So this is my whole
life, every summer.
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00:06:39,847 --> 00:06:44,265
- Andover was a kind of
ever-shifting feast of people.
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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.
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00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:57,865
His family, while
not monetarily rich,
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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.
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00:07:21,958 --> 00:07:23,512
- I was a
rich little poor boy.
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00:07:23,650 --> 00:07:24,720
You've heard of the
poor little rich boys.
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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.
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00:07:27,550 --> 00:07:29,690
I came up with an
incredible family.
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00:07:29,828 --> 00:07:30,933
No money, but I
never went hungry.
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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.
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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
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00:07:44,636 --> 00:07:46,362
of people and experiences.
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00:07:46,500 --> 00:07:48,916
All of them creative,
most of them on the left,
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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
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00:08:00,963 --> 00:08:03,897
that you spent your life doing.
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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.
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00:08:07,901 --> 00:08:10,628
Wasn't even about
fame that so much,
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00:08:10,766 --> 00:08:12,906
but it's something that
you've put into the world
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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
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00:08:36,550 --> 00:08:38,932
and everybody loved,
was two's company,
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00:08:39,070 --> 00:08:42,694
Harry's a crowd.
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00:08:56,777 --> 00:08:58,952
- My mother's sister had the
only Hi-Fi in the valley.
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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.
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00:09:34,194 --> 00:09:35,575
If you invited one
Chapin brother,
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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
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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.
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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.
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00:09:57,079 --> 00:09:58,080
The Chapins.
180
00:09:59,081 --> 00:10:00,910
And now, Oscar Brown.
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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.
125528
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