Harry Chapin

At 38 years old, Harry Chapin physical status not available right now. We will update Harry Chapin's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

In 1972, there was a bidding war over Chapin between music business heavyweights Clive Davis at Columbia and Jac Holzman at Elektra. Chapin signed a multi-million dollar recording contract with Elektra Records. The contract was one of the biggest of its time. It granted him free recording time, along with many other perks.

The same year, he released his debut album, Heads & Tales. The album was an international success, selling over 1 million units. Its success was due to the top 25 Billboard Hot 100 hit single, "Taxi." The song also became a top 5 hit in Canada. The success of the song in America is credited to American radio personality Jim Connors, who helped promote the song on the radio despite its length, and helped it to stay on the charts for 16 weeks. It became the number one requested song for 10 weeks in a row. The song was performed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which received so many calls that Chapin returned the next night. It was the first time in the show's history that a performer had been called back the next night. It was also one of the first performances on The Midnight Special, with John Denver hosting.

When asked if the song was true, Chapin said "It's emotionally true, if not literally true. I've been in the film business on and off for a lot of years, and wasn't doing well at one point. So I went out and got a hack license for bread, and during the month that I was waiting for it to come through, I heard an old girlfriend of mine had gotten married and instead of becoming an actress she married a rich guy. I envisioned some night I'd be driving a cab in the big city streets and this lady would get in the back, and I'd turn and look at her and she'd look at me and know we both sold out our dreams." Billboard ranked "Taxi" as the 85th song of the year. "Taxi" also earned Chapin a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist of the Year.

The follow up album, Sniper and Other Love Songs, was also released in 1972. The album's title song, "Sniper," is a semi-fictional account of the University of Texas tower shooting. The single release from the album, "Sunday Morning Sunshine," charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a top 40 on Billboard Adult Contemporary. The album was less successful than the last, selling 350,000 units. The album also contained the Chapin anthem, "Circle." In 2004, the double album Sniper and Other Love Songs and Heads & Tales was released. It contained previously unreleased tracks from both albums.

In 1973, Chapin released his third album, Short Stories. The album sold over 1 million units and produced another international hit, "W·O·L·D," a song about an aging disc jockey who has given up his entire life and family for his career. The song is sung from the point of view of the disc jockey, who is singing to his ex-wife. It was inspired by American radio personality Jim Connors. Chapin wrote the song when he listened to Connors calling his ex-wife in the WMEX studio. The song became a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, a top 10 in Canada, and top 10 and 20 in various other countries. Other notable songs from the album not released as singles are "Mr. Tanner," "Mail Order Annie," and "They Call Her Easy." The song, "Mr. Tanner," was loosely based on a pair of New York Times concert reviews of baritone Martin Tubridy – once in 1971 and once in 1972.

In 1974, Chapin released his most successful album, Verities and Balderdash. The album sold 2.5 million units due to the number 1 hit, "Cat's in the Cradle." The song is about a father who doesn't find time for his son during the boy's childhood; ultimately the son grows up to be just like his father, not making any time for his dad. The song earned Chapin another Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and he was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Verities and Balderdash peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200. The album's follow-up single, "I Wanna Learn a Love Song," charted at number 7 on Billboard Adult Contemporary. The song is a true story of how he met his wife, Sandra Chapin. "30,000 Pounds of Bananas" was included on the album and became the number one requested song for a few weeks, despite not being released as a single. It is a semi-fictional account of a truck crash that occurred in Scranton, Pennsylvania, transporting bananas -- based loosely on a March 18, 1965, accident involving truck driver Gene Sesky. Other notable songs from the album include "Shooting Star," "Halfway to Heaven," and "Six String Orchestra."

In 1975, Chapin released his fifth album, Portrait Gallery. The album produced a top 40 Billboard Adult Contemporary hit, "Dreams Go By." However, the album was less successful than the last, selling 350,000 units. In addition, he wrote and performed a Broadway play, The Night That Made America Famous. The play earned two Tony Award nominations and two Drama Desk Award nominations.

By 1976, Chapin was established as one of the most popular singers of the decade. He released his first live album, Greatest Stories Live. The album sold 2.1 million units. However, Elektra Records underwent a management change and gave almost no promotion for his later albums with Elektra, but they all sold at least 250,000 units each and charted successfully.

By the end of the decade, Chapin concentrated more on touring than producing hit singles, but still released one album a year. He earned an estimated $2,000,000 per year (approximately $11,75 M in 2017) until his death in 1981, making him one of the highest paid artists in the world. His album Dance Band on the Titanic sold poorly, but was voted Album of the Year by The Times of London. In 1980, his recording contract with Elektra expired. He signed a one-album contract with Boardwalk Records, and released his ninth studio album, Sequel. The album has been described as his fastest breaking album. Three singles were released, with all of them becoming hits. The first single, "Sequel," became a top 25 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is a followup to Taxi. The second single, "Remember When the Music," became a top 50 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. The last single, "Story of a Life," became a hit on the Bubbling Under chart. The album sold 500,000 units.

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