Growing up, my parents were huge fans of folk music. One of the albums that was regularly played in the evening was Harry Chapin’s Greatest Hits. “W.O.L.D.,” “I Wanna Learn A Love Song,” and “30,000 lbs of Bananas” were greatly enjoyed throughout the years. Then there was this song that made everyone tear up every time: “Cat’s in the Cradle.” There are songs that really impact people deeply and become generational keystones, and this is one of them. In Rick Korn’s documentary, Harry Chapin – Cat’s in the Cradle: The Song that Changed Our Lives, we explore the song and its influence on American culture.
Harry Chapin – Cat’s in the Cradle: The Song that Changed Our Lives is a blend of concert b-roll, YouTube clips, music videos, talking heads, and many iterations of “Cat’s in the Cradle.” There’s a moment where the musician’s brother, Tom, recounts Chapin informing him that the song no longer belonged to him, “it’s theirs now.” Carrying on that notion, we are treated to a bevy of YouTube music channels in which content creators produce reaction videos. In these clips, the content creator listens to a song and allows its emotions to move them, so they might comment on the experience. There’s something profound in watching these fresh experiences of listening to this song that has profoundly touched generations.
Billy Joel appears in Rick Korn’s Cat’s in the Cradle: The Song that Changed Our Lives (2025). © Shore Fire Media
“…explore[s] the song and its influence on American culture.”
There are other songs showcased as well. We witness performances of “I Wanna Learn a Love Song” and “Taxi.” What fascinated me most was the selection of musicians tapped to provide their soundbites: Judy Collins, Billy Joel, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, among other fine performers. When even an avowed metal head like Snider can acknowledge that a song, which essentially is a feller with an acoustic guitar weaving simple magic with his voice, moves him, that’s pretty remarkable. Korn’s decision to include all of Chapin’s children and his brother as interviewees really gives depth to the story. Tom, Jen, Josh, and Sandy Chapin all provide a fleshed-out portrait of how their father comported himself as both a paret and a man. I greatly enjoyed the snippets of home video wherein the Chapin family is cavorting on the beach outside Huntington, NY.
Harry Chapin, ever the humanitarian, was determined to end world hunger. A recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal in 1987 (posthumous), the highest honor a civilian may receive from the U.S. Congress, his organization, Why Hunger? has worked diligently to feed people across the world. Truly, Chapin is a one-of-a-kind person. It was a shame that he died in 1981. While death is definitely explored in Harry Chapin – Cat’s in the Cradle: The Song that Changed Our Lives, it is not dwelt upon. Rather, it was his good works when he lived that Korn seeks to explore.
Harry Chapin – Cat’s in the Cradle: The Song that Changed Our Lives is a damn fine documentary. If you watch music documentaries, you should seek this one out. It’s pretty great.
Header Image: Courtesy of Chapin Foundation for editorial purposes only.
"…pretty great."
