Singer With Ties To City Holds Special Family Connection | News, Sports, Jobs

FILE – On this file photograph of Aug. 13, 1980 at a political fundraiser, from left, Ralph Nader, Mark Inexperienced, Gilda Radner and Harry Chapin, pose for a photograph on the within the Empire State Constructing New York. Earlier than there was Band Support or Reside Support, a We Are the World or Fingers Throughout America, there was singer-songwriter Harry Chapin – lobbying for change in Congress, pestering an already satisfied President Carter to ascertain a fee on world starvation, and passing the hat for donations at live shows giant and small. (AP Picture/Nancy Kaye, File)

Editor’s notice: John D. D’Agostino, the editor’s father, died Nov. 8, 2022. This column, which was first revealed on Oct. 3, 2014, is in his reminiscence.

Rising up in Geneva within the Finger Lakes as a teen, there was not numerous selection in our family when it got here to music. We had one alternative: Harry Chapin.

If our household was going to a live performance, there was no dialogue. It was Harry Chapin.

How fortunate we have been.

Every of Chapin’s songs, most from the Nineteen Seventies, present a narrative. His most well-known single that went to No. 1 was “Cat’s within the Cradle.” It’s a narrative that performs out in as we speak’s society – a dad and son who can’t find time for one another. “W.O.L.D.” is a narrative of a journeyman disc jockey. “Taxi” tells a few cab driver who picks up a former lover and the completely different paths their lives have gone.

All of his report albums have been cherished in our dwelling – and performed nearly on daily basis and all through the weekends.

Chapin had yet one more well-known trait. The person who made hundreds of thousands doing one thing he liked at all times discovered a strategy to give again – to his followers and people much less lucky. Lots of these live shows we attended – in Syracuse and Rochester – have been used to assist his charity.

In 1975, he co-founded World Starvation 12 months with radio persona and present govt director Invoice Ayers. It continues as we speak below the title of WhyHunger, which has a mission assertion of “constructing the motion to finish starvation and poverty by connecting folks to nutritious, inexpensive meals and by supporting grassroots options that encourage self-reliance and group empowerment.”

Of the greater than $3 million raised by the group in 2013, 92 % of its bills went on to its program work to satisfy its mission. That’s a wonderful report for any charity.

WhyHunger’s persistence and visibility is a testomony to Chapin, whose life ended tragically at 38 on July 16, 1981, in an vehicle accident on the Lengthy Island Expressway. He was, of all issues, on his strategy to carry out at a free live performance that day.

Tonight, Jamestown will have a good time the musician – in addition to his persevering with legacy. “Harry Chapin: A Household Celebration” begins at 8 and consists of members of his household and the band. In line with a information launch from the Reg Lenna Theater, it was a promise he made one month earlier than he died: he would return to the town for a fund-raiser if the group would decide to restoring the then-deteriorating former Palace Theater.

So unhealthy was the situation of the ability, Chapin and the viewers, some with umbrellas helpful, have been rained on through the efficiency.

No marvel it was the primary reside efficiency held on the facility in 25 years.

Kathleen Eads, govt director on the Reg Lenna Middle for the Arts, noticed a poster relating to Chapin’s efficiency on the Palace after starting the job in January. Her husband, an actor who has an affiliation with the Chapin household, reached out to see if the household and band members had any curiosity in participating in an occasion in Jamestown.

“They have been all actually excited to return and do a live performance,” she mentioned.

In addition to music, there additionally can be video interviews from those that attended that 1981 live performance in addition to clips from Jamestown leaders and enterprise folks on what the Reg Lenna Middle means to them. “It’s about how the group got here collectively to resurrect a theater,” Eads mentioned.

My mother and father, who celebrated their forty fifth wedding ceremony anniversary final month, liked the person and his music. They, like Eads, additionally liked what he was in a position to accomplish.

“He was an excellent instance of utilizing fame for the betterment of the world,” she mentioned. “Earlier than he died he was doing (quite a few) free live shows every year.”

As a tribute to Chapin, a meals drive continues by Saturday on the heart. All donations will go to the St. Susan’s Middle in Jamestown, the south county’s main meals pantry.

John D’Agostino is the editor of the OBSERVER, The Submit-Journal and Occasions Observer in Warren, Pa. Ship feedback to jdagostino@observertoday.com or name 716-366-3000, ext. 253.