When I first attended Acadia University in Nova Scotia in 1978, I had never heard of Harry Chapin. However, some of my residence buddies were great fans of his.
We used to listen to him all the time when we were partying and he sort of became a symbol of our residence – Chipman House. In February, 1979 about 60 guys from the residence got together and we sang All My Life’s A Circle at the Winter Carnival variety show and won first place. As the months went by, Harry just continued to grow on me.
A year later, I had transferred to Saint Mary’s University and listening to Harry became something I did on my own since no one in my new circle of acquaintances even listened to him. It was either late 1979 or early 1980 that Harry came to Halifax and played at the Metro Centre. Near the end of the concert, he played Circle and as he was warming up, he said, “I hear there’s a bunch of guys from Acadia that like this song. Why don’t you come on up on stage and sing.” Well, out of the woodwork came a whole bunch of my old buds from Acadia to join Harry on stage. I just sat in the audience and cried!!
I was sitting in an apartment in Calgary when I heard on the radio that he had died. I was really distraught. Everyone who was a fan of his could probably say where they were that day.
Please note: this story is the sole property of its author. Unauthorized use is prohibited without the author’s permission.