Inside the
Summer Issue:
Harry Chapin’s
“Ripple” of Influence
Grows Every Day
Jen Chapin Leads Us
On A Lushly-Written
Journey Into Her Life
In “Ready”
WHY Takes Holistic
Approach to Fight
Hunger & Poverty
DMC’s New Disc
Strikes Many Chords
Hard Rock Café
Serves Up Benefit CD
to Fight Hunger
When Howie Met Harry:
Catching Up With
Drummer Howard Fields
Performing Artist
Inspires Audiences
Through Prose
Celestial Cross-Pollination
Yields a Harry Chapin-
Dante Anthology of
Student Essays
Amish Farmers’ Co-op
Finds Innovation in
Simpler Ways
Still Wild About Harry
Behind the CD “Cause”
Do Something!
Click below
to read previous
issues of Circle!
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| Joe D’Urso’s new CD entitled “Cause” features audio clips of Harry Chapin speaking and D’Urso’s own version of Taxi. |
Behind the CD “Cause”
by Joe D’Urso
Cause. Harry Chapin. Garage Rock.
Not exactly three items that go together, but it’s where I find myself tonight as I finish work on my tenth record.
I started JD&SC a little more than 15 years ago with a good friend and two family members. Twenty-two countries and countless shows later, I find myself still writing, recording and performing.
I couldn’t do it without your support, simple as that. And, with it being that simple, it’s a hard line to tow as an independent artist. Sam, Greg, Lou and I recorded these songs looser and more live than the past few studio releases as I wanted to capture some of our stage dynamics in the studio.
The music biz is in a state of flux, and many aren’t sure where it’s going. Then again, who ever really knows where they’re going? But let’s go back to the title of this recording.
Cause. It’s the reason some people live and breathe. They have a Cause and nothing gets in their way. I’ve always admired those people, the ones saving lives, finding cures or trying to stop famines, war and disease. I believe those folks will get moved up in line at the Pearly Gates when St. Peter looks down at his book and says: “Hmm, you were involved in a good cause, step right up!” I’m certain it can’t get you moved back.
Harry Chapin had a Cause. His words and wisdom are on this record. You don’t have to be a saint to have a Cause.
You just want to make the world “a better place to be.” Harry once said he was a “third rate rock star.“ Not sure if that is true as he was the writer of several great songs and was an outstanding live performer. But I certainly feel safe saying he was a first-rate humanitarian. His main Cause was hunger though he lent his time and energy to others as well.
Your Cause may be trying to close down nuclear power plants in populated areas, or cleaning rivers so they can be used again, or taking care of the elderly, or visiting patients in the hospital, or donating time or money to veterans, or helping gather supplies for a local food bank, or rebuilding homes after natural disasters, or working with the handicapped, or collecting coats and blankets during the holidays, or helping raise funds when a co-worker has fallen sick, and they have no where else to turn, or maybe, and best yet, trying to supply a warm safe haven for your own family while not forgetting to look down the line to see if others have fallen between the cracks and seeing what you can do to help out.
There are plenty of Causes. Everyone has a Cause. Sometimes you need to look for it, and sometimes it comes looking for you.
Some call it doing God’s work. Some call it good Karma. Some just say it’s the right thing to do because it feels good. Whatever your reasoning is, just find something to make your world a little bit better.
Maybe you’re already there. Maybe you’ve found your Cause. If so, good on you! If not, do something.
Don’t listen to the cynics. No is easy; Yes is hard.
Harry Chapin was trying. He tried endlessly. Harry was killed in a car accident on July 16, 1981. I wasn’t introduced to the full body of his music until much later after his death; but, by chance, the first song I ever sang on stage was Harry’s great story song “Taxi.“ Many feel the musical activism of the early 1980’s was a direct result of Harry’s message and his tireless work for causes. Nearly half the shows he performed were benefits.
“Oh if a man tried to take his time on earth and prove before he died, what one man’s life could be worth, I wonder what would happen to this world.“ Those are Harry’s words engraved on his headstone. Naive? Pie in the sky? Maybe, but I’ll take my chances. After all, I have a lot of work to do before St. Peter even considers moving me up in line.
I try to sing from a true place. Wish I could sell millions of records and make more of a difference, but that’s really a cop out. Last time I checked Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Jonas Salk and countless others didn’t sell millions of records and they made a difference. They had a Cause. But these folks are the outstanding exceptions. There are many folks in our own towns and communities who make a big difference in their own way with their Cause. Find yours and move up in line.
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| Singer-songwriter Joe D’Urso, who leads the band Joe D’Urso and Stone Caravan, is a member of WHY’s Artists Against Hunger & Poverty program and a longtime WHY supporter and Hungerthon volunteer. The story above originally appeared as liner notes in D’Urso’s latest CD, entitled “Cause.” The CD features several recorded speaking segments by Harry Chapin and D’Urso’s own cover of “Taxi.” You can learn more about D’Urso and his music at www.jdcaravan.com. |
Watch for the Next Issue of Circle! on September 7