So yesterday I mentioned that I was a Harry Chapin fan. What I didn't mention is that I got to know Harry when I was in college. I thought it might be fun to tell my Harry Chapin Story today.
I was a freshman at the U of I. And I had already become a Chapin fan. I am not sure when or where I first discovered Harry's music, but I know that I used to listen to his music in the undergrad library while I was studying. I read in the newspaper that he was going to appear in the ZBT Dance a Thon at Huff Gym. And of course I had to go and see him in person. A few days before the concert I heard they planned on auctioning off tickets to fly with Harry on a Lear Jet to Oklahoma City. Being the bold negotiator I am, I called someone from ZBT and asked what they hoped to auction the seats for. The guy on the other end said they hoped to raise $75 per seat. So I said, if I give you $75 can I have a seat. He said yes.
I went to the concert and sure enough I had a seat on the plane. After the show, 7 of us boarded a bus and then a jet and flew to Oklahoma City with Harry. A funny aside, when we landed I had a call to make, so I went and used the pay phone, (no cells in this era) and missed the limo to the concert. But I got a cab to drive me and got in back stage.
Harry talked about his experiences in Champaign during the flight and back stage. At one point he said that one of his 5 all time favorite shows was at the UI Auditorium on the quad. He said that he got his first standing ovation ever during a show after playing "Mail Order Annie." I mentioned to him that the library had a copy of that show and that I had listened to it several times. He told me he would like a copy of it, and gave me his address to send it to.
When I got back to Champaign I went to the library and asked them for a copy. They said, "only Harry Chapin can request a copy." So, I sent a letter to Harry and he sent me back a letter formally requesting a copy. I got it, sent it and in return he sent me tickets for his show in Chicago in the fall, with back stage passes of course.
One of the things we talked about in Oklahoma City was his commitment to benefit concerts. Harry played over 300 shows a year, 200 of which were benefits. He firmly believed he was blessed with a gift and was "obligated to share it." He said that he had started his own charity, World Hunger Year, and that he wished he could come to Champaign and do a benefit for his own charity. This got the wheels spinning in my head. What if I could produce a benefit concert for Harry?
By the time the show in Chicago came around I had done some research. And indeed came up with a plan to produce a show at the Auditorium for Harry. Now all I needed was for him to say yes. So between shows in Chicago I boldly asked him if he would consider it. He said yes! He put me in touch with his agent and said, 'work it out'.
Over the next year and a half I worked out a date. I meet with the Mayors of Champaign and Urbana and convinced them they should give the keys to the city to Harry. That they should proclaim it Harry Chapin Day in the twin cities in honor of his love of the cities and his devotion to charity. Guess what, they all agreed.
Harry's agent told me that Harry was flying in at about noon and that we had him all day to raise money. We could do anything we wanted, appearances, fund raisers, etc, just make sure that money went to the charity. And 'oh by the way' President Carter was going to appoint Harry to the "President's Council on World Hunger" and that would happen that day as well, so we needed to have a news conference.
Together with about 8 guys from my fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, we went about planning and organizing the day. Press conference at 2, appearances from 3-5, dinner at a sorority a 5:30, 2 concerts starting at 7, and then an post concert party. Our obligation, make sure we maximized the money and got Harry to O'Hare by 5:30 AM for a flight.
About a month before the event I got a call from the student affairs office. The Vice Chancellor wanted to meet with me. Turns out there was a university policy against student organizations booking concerts where the contract was over $10,000. Oh my! First I met with one of the Vice Chancellor's assistants who broke the news officially to me. But I asked to meet directly with the Vice Chancellor. His name was Stan Levy and this was the first time I met him. I pleaded my case to him, outlined the entire project and the money we stood to raise for world hunger, that the President of the United States was going to call in to the press conference, etc, etc. Stan looked at me and said, "if the University has a policy that prohibits a project like this, then maybe we need to consider a way to change the policy." Wow! I never expected that. Stan pointed me in the direction of Sue Snowden who was the president of Star Course, a student run booking agency on campus with permission to sign acts like Chapin.
Sue was amazing! She agreed to co-sponsor the event with us and help us work out the things we didn't know how to do: sell tickets, set up a concert, security, etc. It was a blessing for sure! Sue and I became close friends and she went about teaching me how to produce an event. I probably have used the things she taught me 1000 times since then, so it was time well spent.
The shows sold out in about 2 days and Harry Chapin Day in Champaign was ready to present. I'll write more about the event in my next blog!
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