From March 31, 1975 till June 24, 1981, it was my privilege to have played
drums for Harry Chapin throughout the US, Canada, the British Isles, and in
Europe. Prior to my first concert in Chicago on March 31, 1975, I played
with Harry (and his brothers Tom and Steve) in New York, on Broadway, at the
Ethel Barrymore theater in a theatrical production entitled "The Night That
Made America Famous". The show ran for six weeks (75 performances) from
February 26, 1975 till April 6, 1975. The impending failure of the show came
at a time when Harry, still riding the #1 wave of "Cat's In The Cradle", was
inclined to augment his four-piece touring band by adding brother Steve on
keyboards, brother Tom on guitar, myself on drums, as well as replacing
original guitarist Ron Palmer with long-time friend Doug Walker who played
guitar in the Broadway show. Harry had in mind, bigger places to play and a
bigger sound, and the first show at Aerie Crown Theater in Chicago, the only
show that occurred within the Broadway run, was an experiment with the new
band format. It evidently worked and was consequently followed by the
approximately 900 concerts, performances, TV shows, recording sessions, and
miscellaneous events listed below. Within the confines of my musical career,
it was the most fun I've ever had but was countered with the stress and
frustrations that are also a part of any job whose rewards are great.
It is my hope that the following memories, anecdotes, and thoughts will shape a greater historical perspective for fans of Harry's music and thereby give them more of a feel for what those years were like. It was my thought that the best way to facilitate such an effort would be to first put together a complete calendar list of my experiences with Harry and the band and then, with that complete list, see what memories could be pieced together via my journals, itineraries, set lists, and whatever other links to the past I could uncover. Aiding the effort are numerous scanned images of the previously mentioned item plus photos, lyric sheets, chord charts, etc, all from my personal archives.
So then, following is a chronological list of nearly every day I ever spent with Harry and the rest of the band either on a concert stage, recording studio, TV studio, radio station, photo shoot, etc. There was much that came before but this was my experience and my memories of those years.
Click Here To Go The The Chronological List
