Inside the
Fall Issue:

Home Page

All Because
of Harry...

Harry Chapin
Run Against Hunger

Be Not Afraid

An Extraordinary
Friendship

Larry Austin Helps Keep
Harry’s Long Island
Dreams Alive

Fighting AIDS
in Ethiopia:
One Person
Making a Difference

Bonnie Raitt
Honored With
Chapin Humanitarian
Award

Readers Help
Those Affected by
Hurricane Katrina

Chapin Family
& Friends Plan
Concert in NYC
To Benefit WHY’s
30th Anniversary

Goat Tales

Doing Something

Letter to the Editor

WHY Hosts Free
Anti-Hunger Forum
October 18th

Country Store
Owner Celebrates
“Harry Chapin Weekend”

Circle! Calendar

An Extraordinary Friendship

by Linda Swanson

Jim Lipscomb was a friend, mentor and father figure to Harry Chapin.

Lipscomb, now a documentary film maker, began his journalistic career at LIFE magazine during its halcyon days. He started as a copy boy and worked his way up to writer and editor. Then he joined a Time Inc. subsidiary, Drew Associates, and started making documentary films. That is where he met Harry.

Harry was brought to Drew Associates by his uncle Rickie Leacok who worked there as a photographer and producer. Harry started as an editor on a film with Lipscomb.

“He was a very attractive young man, full of energy,” Lipscomb said. “He was a fine editor, but I was also captivated by his singing and guitar playing.” The two worked together on many films, both at Drew Associates, and after Lipscomb became an independent producer. “I would do the camera work, and he did the sound,” he explained. “We both drew out the people we were filming with questions or observations.”

Even during his time in the film industry, Harry’s passion for music spilled over into his everyday life, said Lipscomb. Harry just couldn’t seem to stop singing and performing and was known for popping out of the audience to join in the show. “I remember when I took Harry to Africa on a film,” recalled Lipscomb. “After a day of filming, everyone gathered and there was a local performing group that started singing. Harry though they weren’t very good, so he got a guitar, took over and sang for the crowd. They loved him!”

The workplace relationship soon evolved into a unique friendship, as Lipscomb and Harry spent their leisure time together.

As the friendship strengthened, Lipscomb said he became a father figure to Chapin: “I was honored he thought of me as a father. I had a lot to teach him about film, but he had so much to teach me about making a good time of life,” he explained. “From that, I came to this life-long motto: Cherish the moment.”

The two sailed together on a 17-foot thistle, which is a racing class of sailboats. “When we went to two-day weekend regattas on Saturday nights, there was always a party and Harry would sing,” he said. “He would blow everybody away!”

Eventually, however, Harry’s frenetic pace and seemingly endless commitments meant the end of their sailing trips. “With a regatta, you have to start on time and Harry’s life was so full of activities that he couldn’t get to the races on time,” he said.

Lipscomb vividly recalled the time in 1971 when he was going to film his 18-year-old son and five others sailing across the Pacific Ocean, and he invited Harry to come along. Harry asked how long the trip would take, and then declined the opportunity because it was going to be too long.

At the time, Harry was singing with his brothers Tom and Steve. “He was so assertive and difficult to play with,” said Lipscomb. “They wanted to go off and sing without Harry being in charge of everything, so Harry decided to sing on his own.”

When Lipscomb returned from his sailing trip, he learned that Taxi was a big hit, Harry had a big recording contract and he had bought a mansion. “When I went away, Harry was a nightclub singer. When I came back, he was a star,” he said.

Lipscomb marveled at Harry’s unique path to success, noting that no-one before who wanted to get air play on the radio dared write songs as long as Taxi. “The radio stations wanted short songs so they could put advertising in between. But here they were, stuck with a four-and-a-half minute hit song,” Lipscomb laughed. “They wanted him to cut it down, but of course he wouldn’t.”

He noted that Harry’s style, based on folk music, evolved into modern story telling, and was frequently autobiographical, citing Cats in the Cradle as an example. That song and Taxi rank highly with Lipscomb, although he said choosing a favorite song was impossible.

Chapin’s impossible schedule, overbooking of his time, and lack of sleep were concerns to Lipscomb. Lipscomb even wrote a letter to Harry once, encouraging him to take better care of himself.

“More than anyone I knew, Harry was going in 15 different directions at once. He was so full of energy,” he said. “One day we were playing tennis, and Harry said he had to stop because he had a concert in 45 minutes. We were an hour-and-a-half away, so we quickly drove to the concert.”

Lipscomb said they arrived late, of course, but Harry quickly changed backstage and performed. “As soon as he finished bowing at the end of the show, he ran off because he had to catch a plane to his next concert,” he added.

Sometimes, those planes to catch were headed for Washington, D.C.

“He had feelings for people in need,” Lipscomb explained. “He was politically involved and might have gone into politics. It took a lot of courage and self-confidence to go to President Carter and to get WHY (World Hunger Year) started.”

Harry’s appetite for music and the arts was most likely inherited from his family and he has passed it down to his children, Lipscomb said. “The entire family is incredibly talented: grandparents, parents, siblings, wife and children.”

Lipscomb and Tom Chapin are presently exploring the possibility of a concert video for PBS entitled “The Chapins – An American Musical Family.”

“Going to a Chapin family concert, including Harry’s father, brothers, and their children, is an extraordinary event. The audience sings along as though they are part of the Chapin family. It’s a marvelous feeling.”

Lipscomb fondly remembered Harry’s multifaceted character, and said the pain of his passing is ever-present. “He did everything marvelously. He was a great friend and had a wonderful personality. He was a wonderful singer. I miss being with him, listening to him, yacking with him, playing tennis, taking trips.”

Watch for the Next Issue of Circle! on December 7