I cried when i heard he had passed on;his songs still give me goose bumps,
and some i have listened to for 30 years.
He was a remarkable man,and the world lost a great story teller.singer when he left.
Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: Riprorin
I think this guy was great; I trot out his Greatest Stories Live CD every so often.
He had a degree in engineering and did a lot of philanthropic work, as I recall.
I believe he died in a plane accident.
Hus brother does excellent music for kids.
I thought he was hit by a car
He died in an auto accident. IIRC, he was driving a VW Beetle.
Congressional Gold Medal Recipient Harry Chapin
I like small doses, but get sort of down if I listen to too much of his stuff...
Another link
Harry Chapin Killed in Auto Accident
Publication: Rolling Stone
Date: August 1981
As this issue of Rolling Stone was going to press, Harry Chapin was killed in a collision on New York's Long Island Expressway. The accident occurred at 12:27 p.m. on July 16th as Chapin, 38, was driving from his home in Huntington Bay, Long Island, where he lived with his wife and five children, to an appointment in Manhattan. Apparently, he was trying to change lanes when his blue 1975 Volkswagen Rabbit was hit from behind by a tractor-trailer. Spokesmen at Nassau County Medical Center said Chapin died from a massive heart attack, but they were not sure whether it occurred before or after the accident. A gold pocket watch found on the body was the only initial means of identification.
A full tribute and obituary will be published next issue.
Harry Chapin, Singer, Killed in Crash
Author: John Rockwell
Publication: The New York Times
Date: Friday July 17th 1981
Harry Chapin, a folk-rock composer and performer active in many charitable causes, was killed yesterday when the car he was driving was hit from behind by a tractor-trailer on the Long Island Expressway in Jericho, L.I., the police said. He was 38 years old.
The Nassau County Police said that a flatbed tractor-trailer owned by Rickles Home Center of Paramus, N.J., struck Mr. Chapin's car at 55 miles an hour as the car shifted lanes with its emergency lights flashing near exit 40 at Jericho Turnpike at 12:27 P.M.
The force of the crash crushed the rear of the car, a 1975 Volkswagen, to the pavement, sending off sparks that set its fuel tank aflame, the police said. The truck driver, Robert Eggleton of Plainfield, suffered burns on his face and arms as he cut Mr. Chapin from his seatbelt and dragged him from the flaming wreckage, the police said.
Detective Donald Wecklein said Mr. Chapin apparently died from the force of the crash. He did not appear to be badly burned, the detective said, adding that he did not know whether Mr. Chapin's car had been disabled or why the emergency lights were flashing. No charges were filed.