Harry Chapin’s Sequel
Joe Siegler
Here’s a music anniversary post that will mean more to me than pretty much anyone else. My parents split when I was young – they divorced in 79, and separated a little before that – I was 12 when they first split up.. I have very few memories of my family unit with both my parents, but one of the ones I do is Harry Chapin. Listening to his 70’s stuff was a positive memory I have.
Anyway, one of his most popular tracks was one called “Taxi”, which originally came out in 1972. However, my parents were split up by the end of the decade, but I still liked listening to Chapin. I think I was young enough that the issue of my parents split hadn’t hit me yet.
Then on 1 March 1980, Harry Chapin released what turned out to be his final (complete) album he released before his death in July 1981 (Car accident). On this album (titled Sequel) was a song also called “Sequel”. This was a direct sequel to the then 8 year old song Taxi. It carries on the same plot lines as the original and musically is very similar in tone.
Always have fond memories of Harry Chapin due to my family, despite being a fan of music like Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and other hard rock first. I mean I work for Geezer Butler & Bill Ward of Black Sabbath and have my own Black Sabbath fan site at http://www.black-sabbath.com.
Never got to see Chapin, as he died the year before I went to my first ever concert. I certainly would have.
Love me some Harry Chapin.
NOTE: The true release date of “Sequel” is murky. It is definitely March 1980, but March 1 is a guess. I’ve tried researching it, but haven’t come to anything conclusive regarding the true release date of the Sequel album.