Today’s Forgotten 45 is by a singer/songwriter who was probably born ten years too late, yet left us far too young at age 39, a victim of an auto crash/massive heart attack (it’s apparently not known which came first) on the Long Island Expressway.  He referred to himself as an “old folkie” in one of his songs, and that’s as good a description of him as any.

He never had much success on the singles charts (with one very notable exception), partly because his “story” songs were generally too long for Top-40 airplay.  His first single was one of those “long” songs, and it became a classic. 

”It was rainin’ hard in ‘Frisco…I needed one more fare to make my night….A lady up ahead waved to flag me down….she got in at the light….”

In 1972, Harry Chapin’s “Taxi” managed to make it all the way to #24 despite clocking in at well over six minutes.  It became such a classic that he got pestered for years by fans wanting to know what happened to the songs protagonists, and ultimately he wrote what was to become his final chart hit, 1980’s appropriately-titled “Sequel”.  A twist of trivia here – it actually charted higher than the original, peaking at #23.  And in 1974, the ‘very notable exception’ referenced above hit #1; “Cat’s In The Cradle” was based on a poem by Harry’s wife, Sandy, and still gets (over)played to this date.   However, none of those songs are today’s forgotten 45 – I’m saving that for his lone remaining Top 40 hit. 

But before we get to that, here’s a couple of other things about Harry Chapin:  he actively worked to eradicate world hunger long before the days of “We Are The World” etc.  He was awarded a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal for his work, the highest honor Congress can bestow on a citizen.  He is recognized as being responsible for the creation of the President’s Commission on World Hunger in 1977, and his work was the inspiration for USA for Africa, Live Aid and Hands Across America.  He donated so much of his time and money to the cause that it reportedly caused friction at times with his bandmates – Harry was a true believer and worked tirelessly for the cause.  Concert T-shirts featured prominent references to “World Hunger Year”, which leads me into my favorite Harry Chapin story.

Chapin performed at the Florida Gym somewhere around 1978-1979.  I attended that concert.  Obviously Harry and group were running late, as start time comes and goes with no Harry.  If I recall correctly, his plane was delayed.  So that was announced, everybody seems fine with it, and we wait patiently.  Then comes the announcement – one that has probably never been made at a concert before or since:  “Does anybody in the house have a cello?!?  The airline can’t find it!”  Of course, this being the University of Florida, some guy ran back to his dorm room and got his cello, and the show went on.

As noted above, Harry was well known for the seriousness of his music and charitable works, but what wasn’t generally known is that he was genuinely funny and didn’t take himself too seriously.  His performance that night was perhaps the most entertaining concert I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a bunch.  He played for a couple of hours, a great time was had by all, and then he made an announcement to the effect of “I’m not allowed to sell t-shirts and stuff here.  I’m staying at (what was then) the Hilton (on SW 13th Street) – come on over and I’ll autograph stuff.”

Well, naïve little ole me decided he meant it, ran back to the dorm and got all my Chapin albums (and I had them all), and drove over to the Hilton.  I bought one of his books and a T-shirt……and there was Harry, sitting on a ledge out front and signing away.  I got to the front of the line, he saw me with the stack of his albums, did a double-take, looked at me and said “Thanks for the support!!!”.  We shook hands, he signed them all, and that’s how I have a complete collection of Harry Chapin albums signed by him.

Now for the forgotten 45:  it only made it #36 in 1974, possibly because it didn’t paint the best picture of the subject matter at hand, which was the life of a disc jockey.  I remember hearing it on the radio at the time, and the jock coming on afterwards and saying “Come ON Harry, it’s not THAT bad.”  Today's forgotten 45 is W*O*L*D.

W*O*L*D

Hello Honey, it's me

What did you think when you heard me back on the radio?

What did the kids say when they knew it was their long lost daddy-o?

Remember how we listened to the radio

And I said `That's the place for me'

And how I got the job as an FM Jock the day you married me?

We were two kids and I was was into AM rock

But I just had to run around

It's been eight years since I left you babe

Let me tell you 'bout what's gone down

CHORUS

I am the morning DJ on W*O*L*D

Playing all the hits for you wherever you may be

The bright good-morning voice who's heard but never seen

Feeling all of forty-five going on fifteen

The drinking I did on my last big gig made my voice go low

They said that they liked the younger sound when they let me go

So I drifted on down to Tulsa, Oklahoma to do me a late night talk show

Now I worked my way back home again, via Boise, Idaho

That's how this business goes

CHORUS

I've been making extra money playing high school sock hops

I'm a big time guest MC

You should hear me talking to the little children

And listen what they say to me

Got a spot on the top of my head, begging for a new toupee.

And a tire on my gut from sitting on my (butt)

But they're never gonna go away

Sometimes I get this crazy dream

That I just drive off in my car

But you can travel on ten thousand miles and still stay where you are

I've been thinking that I should stop disk jocking

And start that record store

Maybe I could settle down if you'd take me back once more

OK Honey, I see

I guess he's better than me

Sure, Old Girl, I understand

You don't have to worry, I'm such a happy man

W*O*L*D, W*O*L*D, W*O*L, W*O*L, W*O*L*D*D*D

I am the morning DJ on W*O*L*D

Playing all the hits for you wherever you may be

The bright good morning voice who's heard but never seen

Feeling all of forty-five, going on fifteen

I am the morning DJ on W*O*L*D  W*O*L*D W*O*L*D (fade)

Harry’s official website:  http://harrychapinmusic.com/intro.html