Tom Chapin is a Grammy Award-winning American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and storyteller

Storytelling

Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...

.

Biography

Chapin attended State University of New York at Plattsburgh

State University of New York at Plattsburgh

The State University of New York at Plattsburgh is a four-year, public liberal arts college in Plattsburgh, New York. The college was founded in 1889 and opened in 1890. The college is currently part of the State University of New York system and is accredited by the Middle States Association of...

 and graduated in 1966. From 1971-1976, he hosted a TV show called Make a Wish

Make a Wish (TV series)

Make A Wish is an American television series which ran on ABC from 1971 to 1976. Produced by ABC News, it was hosted by musician Tom Chapin and created and produced by Lester Cooper...

. He is the son of Jim Chapin

Jim Chapin

James Forbes "Jim" Chapin was an American jazz drummer and the author of popular texts on jazz drumming, the first two volumes of which are Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer, Vol. I, and Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer, Vol...

 and the brother of Harry Chapin

Harry Chapin

Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known in particular for his folk rock songs including "Taxi", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the...

, and occasionally appears in Harry Chapin tribute concerts (often with brother Steve Chapin

Steve Chapin

Stephen Chapin is an American singer. He is best known as the youngest of the four Chapin brothers, which include Harry Chapin and Tom Chapin, and is the son of drummer Jim Chapin and uncle of Jen Chapin and the Chapin Sisters. He has frequently toured and performed with both of his musician brothers...

). He has appeared in the Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 production Pump Boys and Dinettes

Pump Boys and Dinettes

Pump Boys and Dinettes is a musical written by a performance group of the same name. The performance group, "Pump Boys and Dinettes" consists of John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel and Jim Wann...

, among others. He is married to Bonnie Chapin; his daughters and stepdaughter are musicians as well (the Chapin Sisters

Chapin Sisters

The Chapin Sisters are an American folk pop musical group consisting of sisters Abigail Chapin and Lily Chapin, and formerly their half-sister Jessica Craven. Abigail and Lily are daughters of folk singer Tom Chapin and nieces of the late singer-songwriter Harry Chapin...

).

Chapin has branched in to the storytelling festival

Storytelling festival

A storytelling festival is often an annual event that features local, regional and/or nationally known oral storytellers. Each storyteller will have a scheduled amount of time to share a story with an audience...

 circuit and in 2007 was a Featured New Voices Teller at the National Storytelling Festival

National Storytelling Festival

The National Storytelling Festival is held the first full weekend of October in Jonesborough, Tennessee at the International Storytelling Center. The National Storytelling Festival was founded by Jimmy Neil Smith, a high school journalism teacher in 1973...

 in Jonesborough, Tennessee

Jonesborough, Tennessee

Jonesborough is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The population was 4,168 at the 2000 census...

.

Activism

In April 2008, Chapin appeared at the New York State United Teacher's Convention where he sang his song Not on the Test for delegates in support of the importance of arts and music education in the age of No Child Left Behind. This song debuted on NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

's Morning Edition

Morning Edition

Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...

in January 2007. His album with John Forster entitled Broadsides: A Miscellany of Musical Opinion is a collection of socially-conscious songs written for Morning Edition.

Chapin continues support of WhyHunger

World Hunger Year

WhyHunger is an organization that seeks to address the root causes of hunger and poverty. WhyHunger was founded in 1975 by folk singer Harry Chapin, a social activist who was as well known for his humanitarian efforts as for his guitar ballads, and 95.5 WPLJ New York, legendary radio D.J. Bill...

 (formerly World Hunger Year), a non-profit organization co-founded by his brother Harry Chapin. He sits on their board of directors.

Awards

• 2004 Grammy Award: Best Spoken Word Album For Children, The Train They Call The City Of New Orleans
• 2002 Grammy Award: Best Spoken Word Album For Children, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly
• 2001 Grammy Award: Best Spoken Word Album For Children, Mama Don't Allow

Discography

• Give Peas a Chance (2011, Sundance Music)
• Family Tree (2008, A&M)
• Some Assembly Required (2005, Razor & Tie)
• Making Good Noise (2003, Gadfly)
• Great Big Fun for the Very Little One (2001, Music Little People)
• Around the World and Back Again (2000, Sony Wonder)
• In My Hometown (1998, Sony)
• This Pretty Planet (1996, Sony)
• Zag Zig (1994, Sony)
• Moonboat (1993, Sony)
• Billy the Squid (1992, Sony)
• Mother Earth (1990, A&M)

• Broadsides with John Forster (2010, CDBY)
• Let The Bad Times Roll (2009, CDBY)
• The Turning Of The Tide (2006, CDBY)
• Common Ground (2001, Gadfly)
• Doing Our Job with John McCutcheon (1997, Rounder Select)
• Join The Jubilee (1996, Gadfly)
• So Nice To Come Home (2008, Sundance Music)
• Let Me Back Into Your Life (1992, Flying Fish Records)
• In The City of Mercy (1982, Sundance Music)
• Life Is Like That (1976, Sundance Music)

External links

• Tom Chapin's Official Website
• Not On The Test Website
• Video: Tom Chapin brings musical message to NYSUT convention: Not on the Test