Tag Archive | 1974

Harry Chapin

The Cat’s In the Cradle and the Silver Spoon

December 7, 2021

On December 7, 1974, Singer Songwriter Harry Chapin was, arguably, at the apex of his career. He turned 32 years old that day, his album Verities and Balderdash had been released in late August and was performing well on the charts. Two weeks later, his single Cat’s In The Cradle would claim the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

If he were still alive, Harry Forster Chapin would be celebrating his 79^th birthday. Born in New York City, the second of four sons, Chapin’s first exposure to music was trumpet lessons, encouraged no doubt by his father, Jim Chapin, a renowned percussionist. His younger brothers, Tom and Steve, formed a musical group as teenagers and Harry would perform with them.

But music, it seems, was not the direction he went… at least not at first. The Infallible Wikipedia tells us:

“He originally intended to be a documentary film-maker and took a job with The Big Fights, a company run by Bill Cayton that owned a large library of classic boxing films. Chapin directed Legendary Champions in 1968, which was nominated for a documentary Academy Award. In 1971, he began focusing on music. With John Wallace, Tim Scott, and Ron Palmer, Chapin started playing in various nightclubs in New York City.”

Having a father in the music business probably helped his career along. He became the prize in a bidding war between two high powered executives at Columbia and Elektra records. The result being a multi-million dollar contract with Elektra which, at the time, was one of the biggest ever signed.

On his debut album was the song Taxi – a wistful story of a chance encounter with an old girlfriend the taxi driver picks up one night. That song catapulted Chapin to fame. Also from the Infallible Wikipedia:

“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.”

By 1974, Chapin had a string of memorable songs and a reputation as a talented songwriter. Cat’s In the Cradle – his most successful recording – is a poignant and memorable song about a man who has a son, but no time to spend with his child. We follow the man through the stages of life and, at the end of the story, we learn that his son has followed in his father’s footsteps, never finding the time for his family either.

Sadly, Chapin lost his life in a horrific auto accident on July 16, 1981. He was on his way to play, for free, at a benefit concert.

*Chapin with son Josh and daughter Jennifer*

In addition to his music, Chapin championed a number of social issues. In 1987, on what would have been his 45^th birthday, Chapin was recognized for his work on behalf of fighting world hunger and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. That award is given to individuals “who have performed an achievement that has an impact on American history and culture that is likely to be recognized as a major achievement in the recipient’s field long after the achievement.”

A few years back, the organizers of a class reunion for my high school sent out a questionnaire as a way of engaging classmates. One of the questions was ‘which song from high school best represents our experience?’

I did not hesitate a moment and wrote Cats In The Cradle. When the list came out at the reunion, I was pleased to see that many of my classmates felt the same way.

Perhaps, that song is Chapin’s most enduring contribution to people everywhere – a reminder that life holds no guarantees and can be over in an instant. The best any of us can do is pause every once in a while and give our time to those we love and value.

Time, after all, is the true currency for all. But it cannot be earned or purchased. It cannot be borrowed. It can only be spent. Chapin seemed to understand this and did so very much with his allotted 38 years.

The lyrics for Cats In The Cradle:

A child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking before I knew it and as he grew
He said, “I’m gonna be like you, Dad,
You know I’m gonna be like you”

Chorus: And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man in the moon

When you comin home, Dad, I don’t know when,

But we’ll get together then,

You know we’ll have a good time then.

My son turned ten just the other day
He said “Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on lets play
Can you teach me to throw? ” I said, “Not today,
I got a lot to do” He said “that’s okay”
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said “I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m going to be like him”

(Chorus)

Well he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say,
“Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?”
He shook his head, and he said with a smile

“What I’d really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please? “

(Chorus)

I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said “I’d like to see you if you don’t mind”
He said “I’d love to Dad, if I could find the time.
You see my new jobs a hassle, and the kids have the flu.
But It’s sure nice talking to you, Dad,
It’s been sure nice talking to you…….. “
And as I hung up the phone it had occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me,
My boy was just like me……….

(Chorus)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Chapin

https://harrychapinmusic.com/

… Barnum’s Animal Crackers

Apr18

… on the porch

April 18, 2023

This is an update to a Tuesday Newsday Classic from April 18, 2017

April 18^th… it conjures up that most famous poem by Longfellow which begins…

“Listen my children and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year.”

But that’s not the important topic this week. Nor is our topic the catastrophic earthquake which all but destroyed San Francisco on April 18, 1906.

No, today we honor the Animal Cracker. Yes, April 18 IS “National Animal Cracker Day.”

The crackers were first imported to the United States from England in the late 19^th Century. They proved so popular that Stauffer’s Biscuit Company began production in York, Pennsylvania in 1871. It was in 1902 when they became known as ‘Barnum’s Animals’ and were packaged in the circus themed boxes which are so recognizable. Just prior to Christmas that year a string was added to the box so the cookies could be hung on a tree. Now, over 100 years later, the boxes still retain the string but I doubt many know why there is a string!

Some other interesting facts from the Infallible Wikipedia:

animal crackers “Barnum’s Animals Crackers are all produced in the Fair Lawn, New Jersey, bakery by Nabisco Brands. More than 40 million packages of Barnum’s Animals Crackers are sold each year, both in the United States and exported to 17 countries worldwide. The cookies are baked in a 300-foot (91 m)-long traveling band oven. They are in the oven for about four minutes and are baked at the rate of 12,000 per minute. About 15,000 cartons and 330,000 cookies are produced in a single shift, using some 30 miles of string on the packages. This runs to nearly 8,000 miles (13,000 km) of string a year. Those bright circus boxes are produced in three colors – red, blue, and yellow – with different variety of animals on each.”

I know all of you would be disappointed if I didn’t share some personal anecdote which relates to our topic. So with apologies to Longfellow, here it goes:

Listen my readers and you shall hear

of the midnight antics from Senior year…

It cost but a quarter for of box of treats,

Yes Animal Crackers for boys that were neat.

Up to the front porch of our desire’s house

My friend Snide and I always sly as a mouse.

A poem attached to each as a clue

Just “who,” it asked, “left these cookies for you?”

The unlucky ones found bushes and trees

Draped with rolls and rolls of contraband TP

Animal Crackers, though, were more easily bought,

Since, heaven forbid, we didn’t want to get caught.

The animal crackers caper was a one year thing for me. The summer before senior year I had been dating a guy, but he had gone away to college in September of 1974. There were some letters exchanged, but it became obvious that the relationship was all but over. So, along with a few select friends, we had lots of free time on Friday and Saturday nights, especially since we were not the party hardy kind of girls.

There was this one guy from choir that I was maybe, sorta interested in. But I doubt he knew I existed.

To be sure, I’m not sure exactly how the whole animal crackers thing started. What I do know is that Toilet Papering houses was all the rage in the 1970’s but it was also a messy thing AND you were likely to get caught. There was another challenge in that local stores would not sell large quantities of it to teenagers, so obtaining it was problematic. Did I mention getting caught was not on my list of good ideas? Did I mention that I DID get caught once which was motivation to not have it happen again?

So instead of TP, we found the boxes of Animal Crackers at the 7-11 on 16th and Summitview Avenues in Yakima. We would then write out the poems on paper and tape them to the boxes. Finally, under cover of dark, we would drive to the street where the guy we liked lived, park a half a block away, and then sneak up to the porch to leave the cookies. We did NOT ring the doorbells or make any noise whatsoever.

To this day I have no idea if these guys ever figured out who left the boxes. That’s not entirely true. In the spring of my senior year, having never gotten any traction with Choir Guy #1, I left cookies one night for a new one – Choir Guy #2 – who I had actually gotten to know during practice for the annual musical. I’m pretty sure HE knew who left the cookies. We ended up dating for two years. So apparently the great Animal Crackers caper worked at least once. And all for a quarter and a little creativity

For those who want to know more about these tasty treats I direct you to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_cracker

*Eisenhower High School’s Football coach lived just up the street from us… and was frequently adorned with TP from loving students. Photo of his house from the 1972 Reveille Year Book.*

Streaking!

Mar28

They Call Him The Streak

March 28, 2023

A cultural phenomenon swept through the United States in the spring of 1974, exposing the public to, uh, ‘things’ never before seen. I’m talking, of course, about ‘streaking.’

On March 28 of that year, one of the writers for the Tonight Show stripped down and streaked on air much to the surprise of host Johnny Carson.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/crime-history-streaker-flashes-tonight-show-host-johnny-carson/article/412541

This was not the first or the last incident and it may have been connected to the release
the previous day (March 27) of Ray Steven’s hit record “The Streak.” The song reached number one on the charts in May 1974 and remained there for three weeks.

Famous photo of the ‘Twickenham Streaker’ from April 20, 1974

Streaking took place at the Academy Awards, on college campuses, and at sporting events for several months. The record for simultaneous streaking was set at the University of Georgia when 1,543 students disrobed on March 7, 1974. By summer, however, the novelty was gone and streaking ran off into pop culture history.

Of course The Infallible Wikipedia has laid itself, um, bare, in sharing information:

“The high point of streaking’s pop culture significance was in 1974, when thousands of streaks took place around the world. A wide range of novelty products were produced to cash in on the fad, from buttons and patches to a wristwatch featuring a streaking Richard Nixon, in pink underwear that said ‘too shy to streak.’

Perhaps the most widely seen streaker in history was 34-year-old Robert Opel, who streaked across the stage of The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles flashing a peace sign on national US television at the 46th Academy Awards in 1974. Bemused host David Niven quipped, ‘Isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?’ Later, evidence arose suggesting that Opel’s appearance was facilitated as a publicity stunt by the show’s producer Jack Haley Jr. Robert Metzler, the show’s business manager, believed that the incident had been planned in some way; during the dress rehearsal Niven had asked Metzler’s wife to borrow a pen so he could write down the famous line, which was thus not the ad-lib it appeared to be.”

Of course, Ray Steven’s song lives on as a reminder of far more fun and innocent times in the spring of 1974. Here’s the YouTube video for all to enjoy!

Eisenhower Senior High School in Yakima – where I was a student at the time – was not immune from the phenomenon. I have a distinct memory of the school being all abuzz with talk that Mel C. had streaked during PE class! Mel was quite the character and of all the students in the school, he was absolutely the one to buck convention and go buck naked.

I knew Mel because, like me, he was on the Reveille staff. Between Mort, the editor in chief, the assistant editor, Dick, and Mel, the copy editor, yearbook class was never boring. Like the time Dick climbed out of one of the second floor windows onto a flat roof adjacent to the room, taking a desk and chair with him, and then sitting outside at the desk. It was Mel who locked him out there. The sarcastic wit and barbs never ceased with that trio.

Our adviser, Mrs. Scholl, seemed to enjoy the guys’ shenanigans and they never got in trouble. But in looking at the annual, not a single photo or reference exists to chronicle the day Mel C. streaked at Eisenhower High School in the spring of 1974. Either the event was a bridge too far for the administration or, since not everyone carried cameras with them all the time, it was not chronicled. What a loss. I think every student there wanted to see that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaking

Most of the 1974 yearbook staff. Mel C., Ike’s first, and likely only, Streaker is in the cowboy hat. Mrs. Scholl, our adviser, is the woman with the bun hairdo. To the left of her is Mort, right behind her is Dick W. This author is at the left side of the photo, sitting behind the gal with the plaid pants.

This article is a reprint of one which was published six years ago on March 28, 2017. The story from my high school days has been expanded.