Harry Chapin: Better Place To Be

[Steven]

Hi,

Harry Chapin made the world a better place to be. He did it through his songs and
deeds. Here's a Harry Chapin song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ8hmrO2JLk .

Harry Chapin founded WHY (formerly known as World Hunger Year) with Bill Ayres. Bill Ayres
is Executive Director of WHY and a radio host on New York's WPLJ FM. WHY and
Bill's radio show make the world better. Bill Ayres will be returning as an interview guest on the WCHE
Entertainment and Culture Show on Friday, April 8, 2011 at approximately 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Bill was a close friend of Harry Chapin. He'll share some of his memories about Harry.
http://www.whyhunger.org/

Bill Ayres radio show airs live in New York and also streams over the WPLJ website. I highly recommend it.

The visit with Bill Ayres on the WCHE Entertainment and Culture Show will air on 1520 AM in Chester County, PA
and it will stream over the internet at: http://www.wche1520.com/entertainmentandculture.htm .

[Steven]

Hi,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9dbZDyRNs4 .

Thought about the above Bruce Springsteen tribute to Harry Chapin today.

[Diane]

Dear Steven, that was a really nice and inspiring listen, thanks. I remember well those words from when you posted them once before. And I remember when:-)

[Steven]

Dearest Diane,

We both remember. Seems that Bruce has deepened in his regard for what the song represents since
the time that the tribute took place.

[Diane]

Yes, and I admire Bruce for never "selling out", despite his huge popular success.

Yesterday I saw this quote, and it brought that clip to mind:

"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity." Horace Mann

Quite a tall order, especially as most of us (quite legitimately) live by the adage "be horrified to die until you have won some victory for yourself". I'm thinking that the trick must be to try for both.

I look forward to when I catch another of your broadcasts, Steven.

[Steven]

Hi Diane,

Springsteen scores lots of victories for humanity, through his music and support of WHY.
Bill Ayres spoke of the Boss in yesterday's interview. The first network radio interview that Bruce Springsteen
did was with Bill Ayres (preceding the concurrent cover photos of Springsteen that appeared on Time and Newsweek).

Bill Ayre's revisit yesterday to the WCHE Entertainment and Culture Show just went on podcast:
http://wche.podomatic.com/player/web/20 ... 6_06-07_00.

WHY's website contains valuable information for those in the U.S. in need of food assistance. WHY manages
the National Hunger Hotline: http://www.whyhunger.org/resources/nati ... tline.html,

[lizzytysh]

Thanks for posting these, Steven. So far, I've only watched Bruce's tribute to Harry [again ]. You know how grateful I am to have seen Harry perform live five times. Yes, he really believed and did what he could to make the world a better place to be, not the least of which was to write songs that brought light to those who often simply go unnoticed by the world and, in the way he did it, to bring compassion to them. An amazing profound and sensitive songwriter and singer. It's everywhere in his voice.


~ Lizzy

[Steven]

Hi Lizzy,

You are fortunate for having seen those five concerts. You said it well about Harry Chapin. Those
same attributes are present, i.m.o., in Bruce Springsteen.

[lizzytysh]

Hi Steven ~

Sorry to be so long in answering here. Available time just 'ain't what it used to be' .

You are so totally and exactly right when you make that comparison between Bruce and Harry. They are both singers of the 'common person' and make it real in their work that not everyone in this world is of the 'beautiful set,' yet beautiful they remain, each in their own way... and their humanity is every bit the same as everyone else's.

I had to miss what would have been his final one [for my access to him] and, of course, as regret goes, wished many times that I had somehow arranged my time differently and been there. Such a terrible loss. I'm glad we still have Bruce.


~ Lizzy

[Steven]

Hi Lizzy,

Yes, to what you said about the humanity in both artists songs. A shared phenomenon of Springsteen and
the late Hary Chapin is this: their songs often capture individual experiences so well and artfully, that
people who ordinarily wouldn't be able to relate to such people (the songs characters), when they seemingly
are at variance with their own life experience, find a commonality... a connection.

[lizzytysh]

Yes, Yes... EXACTLY that, Steven.