Harry Chapin: 30 THOUSAND POUNDS of BANANAS 81

[NThornton918]

I always loved this song growing up, now I got go find some of the others I love like 6 String Guitar I hope I am remembering the name right. I was just a kid when I saw Harry in Concert right before he died, it is one of my favorite childhood memories.

[UncleMikeNJ]

By a weird turn of events, today, on the anniversary of Harry's birth, his Facebook page has just over 30,000 Likes.

[versatialproductions]

2 people disliked this?!

haters gonna hate..

[screwyootube1]

@versatialproductions 2 people... SUCK!

[WayneYonke]

I don't mind this song, but his brothers and the rest of the band really did t like it. They had several ways to end it live in concert. And before anyone hates on me... This came from his brother... The catch phrase "Harry, it sucks!"

[librarylady61]

Boy, wouldn't Harry have loved "Occupy Wall Street"?

I had the luck to see him live in concert outdoors during a fall festival in downtown Albany, back around 1980 and will always cherish the memory.

[easyriderz45827]

I never had the pleasure of seeing Harry live but i love him rest in peace my brother you will never be forgotten,your music will live in my heart forever:)

[Petesgirl59]

I never had the Pleasure of Seeing Harry Live -A sin if you ask me-But I will always remember him fondly-I love you always Harry -you changed my life-!

[Petesgirl59]

I never had the Pleasure of Seeing Harry Live -A sin if you ask me-But I will always remember him fondly-I love yo always Harry -you changed my life-!

[crappy4478]

top 3 harry chapin story songs:

3.) cats in the cradle

2.) taxi

1.) 30000 pounds of bananas

if could bring back a songwriter the world needs right now, harry chapin would be the one i'd recover. if God was willing to let him go, of course.

[knoxvilleguy2]

@crappy4478 If I could travel back through time to view & chronicle the lives of some of the best songwriters of the 20th century, he'd be on the list.

We need some GOOD music to counter the dreck that is Justin Bieber & Lady Gaga, etc. If I sound like an " old fogie " so be it.

[SusanBa69]

Wow, I could've been at this concert - if it was a year earlier. I saw him in Rochester, NY, while I was a freshman at Brockport State Univ., in 1979 or 80. Then, in the fall of '80, I transferred to college in Long Island - where, Harry sadly, died shortly thereafter. Ironically, I then moved to PA in '84, after college & lived near Scranton with my husband (now ex) who actually worked at the bottom of that infamous hill in Scranton. That was definitely, one VERY treacherous hill!

[flyinstargirl]

i owe my dad a lot for introducing me to this man!

i always come back to this song when i think of when i was little.. the live version was always a favourite of mine on car journeys.. that or some Meatloaf! :)

[daishirye101]

Memories of late nights, great music and lost friends.

[sozioelizabeth]

this is my 16th BD concert

[pantherproof]

I had the privilege of seeing him in concert a few years before his passing. He encouraged the audience to sing "of bananas!" His music lives on and you still hear it. Missed the 30th anniversary of his death. I know he was killed after an accident with a truck, but I don't think it was carrying the cargo he sings about. RIP Harry.

[UncleMikeNJ]

Thirty years. Where Harry is now, they're all cheap-seat people in far more comfortable accomodations.

[Ncalzone19]

Hamilton? The college or the city in Ontario?

[papoj1PVR]

Big John looks like a teacher from my school...without the big curly hair. In fact, he seems to SOUND like him as well! O_o

[TroopAbn]

I see the comment that Rod Serling of "Twilight Zone" was from Binghamton, NY.. I didn't know that. I did know that Rod was a member of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, "11th Airborne Division" during World War 2. Another member of "The Greatest Generation" that made it. Airborne, All The Way!

[bluekid991]

Haz the song on cd! "hit it big John!!!" luv him & miss him

[chihuahua939]

Seski was driving a 1950s Brockway diesel truck tractor with a 35-foot semi-trailer while and was headed down Rt. 307 when he suddenly lost control. The "two-mile" descent extends from Lake Scranton down to the bottom of Moosic Street the truck eventually crashed at the SW corner of Moosic St and S. Irving Ave. For some reason, the truck cruised into Scranton at about ninety miles-per-hour sideswiping a number of cars before it crashed, killing the driver and spilling bananas everywhere

[CaptainUnlucky]

Does anyone know when and/or where this preformance was? 

[kibbabibba]

@CaptainUnlucky Hamilton Ontario, June 1981, about a month before he died. You can buy a DVD on the Chapin family's website

[bluekid991]

@CaptainUnlucky hamilton/ somewhere in Canada

[whomajigi]

This is the first time I've ever seen video of John Wallace. Such an amazing voice but such a SILLY looking man back in the 70's!

[UncleMikeNJ]

@whomajigi By '70s standards, he was normal-looking.

[TheQuikdraw67]

I drive down Moosic Street every day on the way to work.

[stilltheoneeg]

How else woulod Scranton have been brought into the spotlight? Love this song, forever....

[UncleMikeNJ]

@stilltheoneeg "The Office" and Joe Biden haven't exactly helped. Usually the only good news the city gets is when a Yankee goes there for injury rehab in Triple-A ball.

Could be worse: Nearby Binghamton, New York has 2 claims to fame: Home town of Rod Serling, and a Mets farm team -- talk about a "twilight zone."

[AllieJ123]

Harry, keep the change. You can still count on the cheap seats. I still love and miss you <3

[shamus560]

On March 18, 1965, on Moosic Street in Scranton, a tractor-trailer carrying 15 tons of bananas lost control in rush hour traffic, hitting cars, houses, and wire poles before crashing into a home. The driver, Eugene P. Sesky (35), was killed and over 15 people were injured.

In 1974, Harry Chapin ( more famous for his song "Cat's in the Cradle,") told the story of the tragic events of 1965 in the city of Scranton, in his song "30,000 Pounds of Bananas."

[papoj1PVR]

@shamus560

Are you sure about the part about 'Cats in the Cradle'? I thought it was about father-son relationship between Harry and his son, Josh

-OR-

Based on a poem his wife (Sandy) wrote between her relationship with her first husband, who was some New York City politician.

[papoj1PVR]

@shamus560

Whoops, read that wrong; sorry about the confusion. *laughs at himself*

[AirborneRooster]

I haul bananas across PA every week..LOL Actually 44,000 pounds. 30,000 would be a partial load

[MarylandBear1]

Harry.... it sucks.

[wizardrick57]

Thinkin' of your sexy woman and drivin', don't mix

[Sammydudehatequack]

The truck driver didn't (an no1 else did either) die, but there were bananas everywhere!

[DrSamba1]

Sammydudehatequack Actually, the truck driver did die. Some people in Scranton didn't appreciate the song. They thought it was exploitative of the tragedy.

I've loved the song for over 30 years. My heart goes out to the driver's widow and children, but I still love the song.

[Edgarsquires]

Harry, we all miss you so much. -JohnnyO

I was a Chapin fanatic but for various reasons, never got to see him live. I guess I thought I catch him eventually. So sad. I remember exactly where I was when I heard that he had died.

This guy was a genius, an incredibly talented songwriter, a visionary and a human being with a deep and warm heart. I am a singer songwriter and I never play a show without doing one of Harry's songs.

[theatergirl15]

I wish I was born before he died. I wish I had been able to go to one of his concerts they look incredible! This is the music my parents brought me up on this music! I am in love with everything about it! When i was little this was my favorite songs!

[wendythekid]

@theatergirl15

I was in university, in Toronto, in the 70's. My eldest sister and I both loved Harry Chapin - and I heard he was doing a concert at U of T. On a whim we got tickets - and ended up in the third row.  Too exciting! Unfortunately, his allegiance was those in the cheap seats (hee, hee). During his "softer" songs ("Taxi", "Cats"), he came off stage and mingled with the audience (US!).

Your heart is right - a truly amazing performer - because he was so down to earth.

[2006kaciec]

genius ??? really ? 

[rbrillant3]

@2006kaciec  Total Genius!

[mcfcblueinusa]

I absolutely love this song!!! Harry is a Legend!

[ALXXMaXX]

10:00 just killed me. XD

[YllwFvrPB]

I live in Scranton, which hill is he speaking of

[toomanytoes34]

@YllwFvrPB up around lake scranton I believe

[Shmook1]

I heard a recording of this, he did the "Yes we have no bananas" part last, and as far as I remember there were only three endings on it,

[Kingscrib]

Harry Chapin was one of the most talented singer songwriters of the 70s. His songs have the timeless quality that encourage sing-a-longs by the audience. The accident which took him in 1981 (too soon!) ended a career which doubtless would still be endearing crowds, in much the same way as James Taylor and Carole King did this year with their highly successful Reunion Tour. He was a renaissance man whose charitable work and eco-sensitivity were ahead of his time! God bless him!

[sharon102645]

I LOVED this man...

[PITTSTON2SARASOTA]

MY HOMETOWN and TRUE STORY!!!!!

[lakelandchief]

In reference to what?

[lakelandchief]

Why does Big John put his hand over his ear or so it looks?

[Jcthefluteman]

@lakelandchief as a performer myself, it can be difficult to hear the pitch you are singing up on stage with all the other instruments playing but if you block one of your ears, you can hear what note you're singing much clearer. I don't know why. but I hope that answers your question!

[dejavuman22]

I love this song. I remember when i was little, riding home late at night, singing along on the radio. Of course the only line any kid that young remembers is to shout "OF BANANAS!!" This song is a classic, and I wish I heard this song on the radio more.

[happylmc]

my Dad didn't get to see Harry because Harry died ONE week before the concert my Dad had tickets too. Now how much of a bummer is that?

[double0spud]

What a great man R.I.P. Harry

[JettRink50]

I love you Harry, I went to see you in 2004,

could that have been Steve there too? In

Huntington.

[suarenz]

@JettRink50

maybe a harry chapin tribute..he died in 1981..

[lulubelle410]

@JettRink50 Harry died in 1981. Perhaps it was his brother Tom that you saw in 04

[divermo1958]

Thank you for this, Cathy, a real gift from a true genius. So missed.

[Shlomster]

GREAT video. A wonderful man, still missed.

[Tncat9]

Yes I miss him too. I lived in the same town as he did and my daughter remembers him showing up at her elementary school and singing for them. One time he showed up in the cafaqteria and sang for them at lunch hour.

[AdmrlLocke]

@Tncat9 I was a big Harry Chapin fan in college. My friend Don took me to see him play there in November of 1979 for my birthday, and it turns out that Harry had the same birthday I do. So then it became a tradition to see Harry at U of I in November (for some reason he always came and sang there for our birthday), although Don never paid for it again. I saw his last concert there before he died.

[viscig60]

I miss Harry :-(

[lulubelle410]

@viscig60 me too