Writer: Harry and Sandy Chapin
Producer: Paul Leka
Recorded: Spring 1974 at Connecticut Recording Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Released: August 1974
| Players: | Harry Chapin–vocals, acoustic guitar John Tropea–guitar, sitar Don Payne–bass Steve Chapin–piano Don Grolnick–keyboards Allan Schwartzberg–drums Irving Spice–concertmaster |
| Album: | Verities & Balderdash (Elektra, 1974) |
The story of a father too busy for his son, “Cat's In The Cradle” was the late singer-songwriter Harry Chapin's biggest hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1974.
Chapin said that the song “is not about me…My mother wrote the words as a poem to her first husband and then-father-in-law. My dad put it to music. People still randomly approach me to tell of the impact this song made on their families.”
Another popular version of how the song came to be was that it was suggested by Chapin's wife, Sandy, while he was on tour and missed the birth of his youngest son.
Always one with an eye for the ironic, Chapin said he “always got a kick out of 'Kung Fu Fighting' by Carl Douglas (preceding) it at Number One on the Billboard chart. Says a thing or two about variations in popular music.”
The success of “Cat's In The Cradle” propelled its parent album, Verities & Balderdash, to Number Four on the Billboard 200, Chapin's highest showing ever on that chart.
