Harry Chapin (December 7, 1942 - July 16, 1981) was an American singer and songwriter. He originally intended on being a documentary film-maker, and directed Legendary Champions in 1968, then decided to focus on music in 1971. With John Wallace, Tim Scott and Ron Palmer, Chapin started playing in various local clubs in New York City.
Chapin's debut album was Heads and Tails (1972), which was a success thanks to the single "Taxi". The follow-up, Sniper and Other Love Songs, was less successful but his third, Short Stories, was a massive success. Verities and Balderdash, released soon after, was even more successful, bolstered by the single "Cat's in the Cradle".
In the mid 1970s, Chapin focused on his social activism, including raising over $5 million to combat hunger in the United States, before returning to music with On the Road to Kingdom Come.. He also released a book of Poetry, Looking...Seeing in 1977.
Harry Chapin died on July 16, 1981 in a car accident and was interred in the Huntington Rural Cemetery, Huntington, New York.
For his campaigning for social issues, in particular his highlighting of hunger around the world and in the US, including being widely recognised as being the key player in the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977, Chapin was posthumusly awarded the Special Congressional Gold Medal in 1987.
