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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| Photo of Harry Chapin by Steve Stout |
Harry Chapin’s “Ripple” of Influence Grows Every Day
by Bill Hornung
Harry Chapin’s influence on the world was perhaps best summed up when Harry Belafonte described Chapin’s commitment as “ripples” that were felt by others who were motivated to make a difference.
Now 25 years since his passing, Harry’s legacy seems to be as strong as ever. Legions of fans attend tribute shows each year. Harry’s commitment continues to inspire countless organizations around the country. His influence on other artists, politicians and folks of all walks of life is expanding in unforeseen ways.
Sometimes the influence comes in large ways such as Hard Rock Café’s recent launch of Serve, a CD featuring Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith and many other performers contributing songs to raise funds for World Hunger Year. In other cases, Harry’s passion comes through countless “troubadours” who volunteer for charities everydayÉ relatively unnoticed, but no less important.
So, what has been Harry’s greatest “ripple” in the world? Below are five possibilities proposed by Circle! editors and Bill Ayres, Executive Director of World Hunger Year. But we’d also like to hear from you. Take our quick online poll at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=800962329475. We’ll report the results in the next issue of Circle!
1) Cat’s In The Cradle: Harry put music to a poem written by his wife, Sandy, after he first “brushed it aside” for about a year. The song not only became Harry’s only number 1 hit, but it has become an anthem to fathers about the importance of being actively involved with their children. The song has evolved into one of those cultural icons that most people recognize, even if they don’t know Harry and Sandy as the authors. It’s been a story angle for many newspaper articles Ð especially around Father’s Day. “I still meet fathers who say how greatly they were influenced by that song,” said Ayres. “This past Father’s Day, I attended Mass and the priest recited the song as his sermon. He said he couldn’t come up with any better words. All he added at the end was to say that ‘life is precious and short, so make the most of it. ’ ”
2) Hunger fighter: Millions have been directly orindirectly influenced by Harry’s efforts to end hunger and poverty. Whether it’s through national organizations such as World Hunger Year or countless local groups Harry supported like Long Island Cares (a food bank founded by Harry), he is most noted for his social activism. Long Island Cares alone distributes nearly five million pounds of food annually through 600 affiliate charities. Harry’s dogged determination helped create the first Presidential Commission on World Hunger that was a pioneering initiative to look at government and societal policies that perpetuate hunger and poverty. “I know dozens of people who said Harry is the reason why they began working full-time on the hunger issue,” says Ayres.
3) Passionate fans: Many famous performers have throngs of devoted admirers, but Harry’s fans are a different breed. Harry’s fans don’t idolize him as much as considered him a friend Ð even if they never met him. For fans that had a chance to attend a concert, a “Harry story” often follows about some brief exchange, seeing him on the street or getting a kiss on the cheek. His after-concert autograph sessions to raise money for WHY and other causes are legendary where he’d mingle for as long as crowd was around. He had best friends everywhere like the Zeke Marsden family that would host him and his band every time they visited Boston. Ayres says there are many people like John Poelker in Fort Myers, Florida who were friends as much as fans that went on to do incredible thingsÉ such as help build the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida, which distributes 400,000 pounds of food annually to 50,000 people.
4) Cotton Patch Gospel: Nearly every week somewhere in the country, Cotton Patch Gospel is being staged by a local theater group or church. Harry wrote all the music for the play that is based on Clarence Jordan’s book The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew and John. Cotton Patch “re-tells” the story of Jesus as if he lived in Georgia. Many fans believe that the musical features some of Harry’s best songs. The play also weaves in heavy topics like racial inequality along with equally heavy doses of humor to deliver a poignant story. Harry finished the music score a month before he died. Cotton Patch Gospel might be Harry’s least-known work, but the music continues to impact thousands every year -- particularly around the holidays when the musical is most popular.
5) Influencing the influencers: Bruce Springsteen is among the most famous artists who Harry pursued non-stop in his quest to use celebrity as a powerful force for change. The 1987 Tribute Concert reads like a “who’s who” list of entertainers, politicians and media types who were snared by Harry’s infectious enthusiasm. But Harry wasn’t only going after the big fish, he’d talk to anyone who had the drive to make things happen. One of Ayres favorite stories is about the kid who was nearly demanding that he see Harry after a concert. The kid wanted Harry to do a fundraiser to support an alternative paper he started called the Flint Voice. Harry and his brothers Tom and Steve eventually did fund-raising concerts for the kid, the now successful documentary writer and producer Michael Moore of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Roger & Me fame. Harry’s manager, Ken Kragen, and Harry Belafonte also credit Harry as the inspiration behind “We Are the World”, “USA for Africa”, “Hands Across America”, “Band Aid” and many other major music industry events aimed at raising awareness about hunger and poverty. More recently, performers such as Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC fame, and Michael McDonald have taken up the torch to influence entirely new audiences.
So, there’s a starting point. Let’s hear what you think. Vote for the most important Harry “ripple” over the last 25 years at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=800962329475. Or nominate your own ripple.
Watch for the Next Issue of Circle! on September 7