# Harry Chapin discography

This page is a discography for the singer and songwriter Harry Chapin. Chapin was a popular singer-songwriter in the 1970s and 1980s, achieving international success. Chapin's career was cut short at its peak, when he was killed in a car accident in 1981. He is best remembered for the song "Cat's in the Cradle," which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974.

## Albums
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | US | AUS | CAN | Sales | Certifications |
| Heads & Tales | Released: March 11, 1972 Label: Elektra Records | 60 | 36 | 57 | 1,100,000 | RIAA: Gold |
| Sniper and Other Love Songs | Released: October 1972 Label: Elektra Records | 160 | — | — | 350,000 | |
| Short Stories | Released: December 1, 1973 Label: Elektra Records | 61 | 46 | 39 | 1,100,000 | |
| Verities & Balderdash | Released: August 24, 1974 Label: Elektra Records | 4 | 15 | 4 | 2,700,000 | RIAA: 2x Platinum |
| Portrait Gallery | Released: September 27, 1975 Label: Elektra Records | 53 | 88 | — | 350,000 | |
| On the Road to Kingdom Come | Released: October 23, 1976 Label: Elektra Records | 87 | 95 | 66 | 350,000 | |
| Dance Band on the Titanic | Released: September 10, 1977 Label: Elektra Records | 58 | — | 91 | 500,000 |
| Living Room Suite | Released: September 10, 1978 Label: Elektra Records | 133 | — | — | 350,000 | |
| Sequel | Released: March, 1980 Label: Boardwalk Records | 58 | 42 | 72 | 500,000 | "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |

### Live albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | US | AUS | CAN | Sales | Certifications |
| Greatest Stories Live | Released: April 23, 1976 Label: Elektra Records | 48 | — | 71 | 2,100,000 | RIAA: 2× Platinum MC: Gold |
| Legends of the Lost and Found | Released: November, 1979 Label: Elektra Records | 163 | 72 | 64 | 250,000 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |||||||

### Compilation and specialty albums

| Title | Album details | Sales | Certifications |
| Anthology of Harry Chapin | Released: 1985 Label: Elektra Records | 250,000 | |
| Remember When the Music | Released: 1987 Label: Dunhill Compact Classics | 250,000 | |
| The Gold Medal Collection | Released: September 13, 1988 Label: Elektra Records | 1,000,000 | RIAA: Platinum |
| The Last Protest Singer | Released: November 30, 1988 Label: DCC Compact Classics | 250,000 | |
| Harry Chapin Tribute | Released: July 1, 1990 Label: Relativity Records | | |
| The Bottom Line Encore Collection | Released: March 10, 1998 Label: The Bottom Line Record Company | | |
| Story of a Life | Released: October 19, 1999 Label: Elektra Records | | |
| Storyteller | Released: 1999 Label: BOA Records | | |
| Onwards and Upwards | Released: 2000 Label: Harry Chapin Foundation | | |
| VH1 Behind the Music: The Harry Chapin Collection | Released: August 21, 2001 Label: Elektra Records | | |
| The Essentials | Released: July 2, 2002 Label: Elektra Records | | |
| Classics | Released: 2003 Label: Warner Special Products | | |
| Introducing... Harry Chapin | Released: August 1, 2006 Label: Rhino/Atlantic Records | | |
| Bottom Line Archive Series: Live 1981 | Released: June 30, 2015 Label: The Bottom Line Record Company | | |
| The Singles A's & B's | Released: March 1, 2019 Label: Wounded Bird Records | | |

### Other appearances

* Chapin Music! (1966, Rock-Land Records) – by The Chapin Brothers (Harry, Tom and Steve along with their father Jim)

## Singles

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | US | US AC | US Cash | AUS | CAN | CAN AC | IRE | NZ | UK | Certifications | Album |
| "Taxi" | 1972 | 24 | — | 20 | 30 | 5 | — | — | 19 | — | | Heads & Tales |
| "Could You Put Your Light On, Please" | 1972 | — | — | 81 | — | 76 | — | — | — | — | | Heads & Tales |
| "Sunday Morning Sunshine" | 1972 | 75 | 30 | 77 | — | 68 | — | — | — | — | | Sniper and Other Love Songs |
| "Better Place to Be" | 1972 | — | — | — | — | — | 51 | — | — | — | | Sniper and Other Love Songs |
| "W.O.L.D." | 1973 | 36 | 37 | 26 | 21 | 14 | 9 | — | 16 | 34 | | Short Stories |
| "What Made America Famous?" | | — | — | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Verities & Balderdash |
| "I Wanna Learn a Love Song" | 1974 | 44 | 7 | 40 | — | 36 | 14 | — | — | — | | Verities & Balderdash |
| "Cat's in the Cradle" | 1974 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 53 | RIAA: Platinum | Verities & Balderdash |
| "Dreams Go By" | 1975 | — | 33 | — | 81 | — | 31 | — | — | — | | Portrait Gallery |
| "A Better Place to Be" (live) | 1976 | 86 | — | 76 | — | 80 | — | — | — | — | | Greatest Stories Live |
| "Dance Band on the Titanic" | 1977 | — | — | — | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | | Dance Band on the Titanic |
| "Flowers Are Red" | 1978 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 19 | — | — | | Living Room Suite |
| "Sequel" | 1980 | 23 | 37 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | RIAA: Platinum | Sequel |
| "Remember When The Music" | 1980 | — | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Sequel |
| "Story of a Life" | 1980 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Sequel |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |||||||||||||

## Videos

* An Evening With... Harry Chapin (1998)
* Rockpalast Live (2002)
* Remember When: The Anthology (2005)
* You Are the Only Song (2006)

## TV appearances and credits

Harry Chapin was featured on several TV shows throughout his career, most notably "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." He appeared 14 times. He made history as the first performer to be called back the next night to perform again on the show. This was due to his singing "Taxi" in 1972.
He became friends with fellow songwriter John Denver, often appearing on TV with him. Denver hosted the pilot episode of The Midnight Special in which Harry was one of the first performers on the show.
The following are all the currently known TV shows and movies Harry Chapin appeared in or had songwriting credits on:
* 15th Annual Grammy Awards
* 17th Annual Grammy Awards
* 20 to One
* American Bandstand
* Behind the Music
* Blue Water White Death
* Book of Chapin
* Cutting Loose
* Cotton Patch Gospel
* Cougar Town
* De Mike Burstyn Show
* Dick Cavett Show
* Dinah!
* Don Kirshner's Rock Concert
* Duel in the Wind: In Defense of America's Cup
* Friday Night, Saturday Morning
* Friday Night With Steve Edwards
* Get a Life
* Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
* It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
* Goodnight America
* Grand Theft Auto V
* Happy Endings
* Harry Chapin: The Final Concert
* Harry Chapin Tribute
* How I Met Your Mother
* Last Vegas
* Legendary Champions
* Let's Sing Out
* Make a Wish
* Merv Griffin Show
* Mike Douglas Show
* Modern Family
* Mother and Daughter: The Loving War
* Mr. Jealousy
* My Music
* Mystery Science Theater 3000
* Remember When: The Anthology
* Robot Chicken
* Rock Music Awards
* Rockpalast
* Rude(ish) Tube
* Saturday Night Live
* Scrubs
* Shrek the Third
* Solid Gold
* Soundstage
* That '70s Show
* The Circle (1972)
* The David Frost Show
* The Ernie Sigley Show
* The Goldbergs
* The Jim Nabors Show
* The Midnight Special
* The N.S.V.I.P.'s
* The Office
* The Simpsons
* There's a Lotta Lonely People Tonight
* 'Til Death
* Welcome to the Basement
* Wonderama