Harry Chapin born 7 December 1942

Harry Forster Chapin (December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter best known for his folk rock songs including "Taxi," "W*O*L*D," "Sniper", "Flowers Are Red," and the No. 1 hit "Cat's in the Cradle." Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key participant in the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977. In 1987, Chapin was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his humanitarian work.

Harry Forster Chapin, better known as Harry Chapin, was born on December 7, 1942 in Brooklyn Heights, New York City. A graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School, Chapin briefly attended the United States Air Force Academy and Cornell University before setting out to become a documentary filmmaker. His film Legendary Champions was nominated for a documentary Academy Award in 1968.

Chapin met Sandy Cashmore (née Gaston), a New York socialite nine years his senior, in 1966, after she called him asking for music lessons. They married two years later.
The story of their meeting and romance is told in his song "I Wanna Learn a Love Song." He had two children with her, Jennifer and Joshua, and was stepfather to her three children from a previous marriage, Jaime, Jason and Jonathan. Chapin wrote several songs about her, including "Shooting Star" about their relationship, and "Sandy".

In 1971, Chapin decided to switch gears and pursue a music career. His first album, 1972's Heads and Tales, was a universal success. His following grew with such popular records as Short Stories and Verities and Balderdash, released in 1973 and 1974, respectively. Chapin's most famous singles include "Taxi," "Circle" and "Cat's in the Cradle," the latter of which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and catapulted him to wealth and stardom. "Cat's in the Cradle" was Chapin's only No. 1 song.

Chapin is also known for his work on Broadway productions. After writing and producing The Night That Made America Famous (1975), he wrote music and lyrics for the musical Cotton Patch Gospel (released in 1982).

Outside of his musical career, Chapin was deeply committed to philanthropy, particularly fighting hunger in the United States and around the world. In 1975, he co-founded World Hunger Year (renamed to WhyHunger), along with friend and popular radio host Bill Ayres. After forming the organization, which is aimed at addressing the causes of hunger and poverty, Chapin frequently visited Washington, D.C. to lobby for hunger causes.

On July 16, 1981, in the early afternoon, Chapin was killed in a car accident while driving on the Long Island Expressway (New York's Interstate 495). Chapin was 38 years old. At the time of his death, he was working on several songs that were released posthumously in the album The Last Protest Singer (1988).

In the months after Chapin's death, the Harry Chapin Foundation was founded in his honor. In 1987, Chapin was posthumously awarded a Special Congressional Gold Medal, during a tribute concert that was held in his honor. An album of that event was released a few years later, in 1990.

(Info edited from Wikipedia and mainly Biography.com)