Mr. Tanner
"Mr. Tanner" is a song by Harry Chapin from his 1973 album, Short Stories. Big John Wallace plays Mr. Tanner by singing the chorus to "O Holy Night" in the background to the song's chorus.
Story
The song tells the story of Martin Tanner, a local launderer from Dayton, Ohio, who has a gift for singing. His friends try to talk him into becoming a singer because of his beautiful voice, until he finally agrees and uses most of his savings to travel to New York City and sing in a show. He holds a concert only to get panned by critics. He returns home and never sings again, except for only to himself when he sorts through the clothes at night.
Origin
The song is based on a review Chapin read in The New York Times. The singer, Martin Tubridy, performed twice, once in 1971[1] and once in 1972[2] and his performances were panned. It is unclear which article was the basis for the song of Mr. Tanner, as it seems both reviews are used in the spoken part in Mr. Tanner. Certain details of the song were improvised by Chapin, given the facts that the real-life Martin Tubridy, about whom the reviews were written, was not in fact from Dayton, nor did he work as a launderer, but rather a baritone from Weston, Connecticut who at one point rented Carnegie Hall and continued to perform in theater and local venues despite the earlier lukewarm critical reception of his New York performances. Tubridy himself did not know that he was the inspiration for Chapin's song until the mid-1990s, but upon learning of it became a fan of Chapin's music. Tubridy would later perform the song that he inspired before an audience in concert for the Harry Chapin Foundation, making a subtle shift in the lyrics of the final line of the song's chorus, "He did not know how well he sang, it just made me whole."[3]
References
- ^ "Tubridy Makes Song Debut". The New York Times. 1971-03-28. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- ^ "Tubridy, a Bass‐Baritone, Performs in ai Recital Here". The New York Times. 1972-02-17. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- ^ Steinberg, Neil (December 23, 2016). "Steinberg: 'O Holy Night' reveals an unexpected Christmas wonder". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2016-12-24. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Further reading
- Mr. Tanner (2017), a picture book set to the lyric by Harry Chapin, Ripple Grove Press ISBN 978-0-9913866-8-0
External links
- "Mr. Tanner" lyrics
- Video of New York Times article on YouTube
- Video of Martin Tubridy performing the song on YouTube
- v
- t
- e
- Ron Palmer
- Tim Scott
- John Wallace
- Stephen Chapin
- Tom Chapin
- Mike Masters
- Doug Walker
- Howie Fields
- Ron Evanuik
- Kim Scholes
- Yvonne Cable
- Heads & Tales
- Sniper and Other Love Songs
- Short Stories
- Verities & Balderdash
- Portrait Gallery
- On the Road to Kingdom Come
- Dance Band on the Titanic
- Living Room Suite
- Sequel
- Greatest Stories Live
- Legends of the Lost and Found
- Harry Chapin Tribute
- The Last Protest Singer
- The Bottom Line Encore Collection
- Rockpalast Live
- Remember When: The Anthology
- "Taxi"
- "Could You Put Your Light On, Please"
- "Sunday Morning Sunshine"
- "A Better Place to Be"
- "W.O.L.D."
- "Cat's in the Cradle"
- "I Wanna Learn a Love Song"
- "What Made America Famous?"
- "Dreams Go By"
- " A Better Place to Be (Live)"
- "Dance Band on the Titanic"
- "Flowers Are Red"
- "Sequel"
- "Remember When the Music"
- "Story of a Life"
- "30,000 Pounds of Bananas"
- "Corey's Coming"
- "Circle"
- "Halfway to Heaven"
- "The Mayor of Candor Lied"
- "Mr. Tanner"
- "Six String Orchestra"
- "Sniper"
- Discography
- The Night That Made America Famous
- Cotton Patch Gospel
- Harry Chapin: When in Doubt, Do Something
This 1970s song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e