Greatest Stories Live

Greatest Stories Live is the first live album by the American singer/songwriter Harry Chapin, recorded over three nights at three California venues, and released in 1976. Certain elements had to be re-recorded in the studio due to technical problems with the live recordings. The original LP release featured three new studio tracks, two of which ("She Is Always Seventeen" and "Love Is Just Another Word") were excluded from the CD release. "A Better Place to Be" was released as a single, and did manage to crack the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Greatest Stories Live
Live album by
Harry Chapin
ReleasedApril 23, 1976
RecordedNovember 7, 1975 (San Diego Civic Auditorium, San Diego, CA)
November 8, 1975 (Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA)
November 9, 1975 (Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA)
GenrePop/rock
Length70:32
LabelElektra
ProducerStephen Chapin, Fred Kewley, Paul Leka
Harry Chapin chronology
Portrait Gallery
(1975)		 Greatest Stories Live
(1976)		 On the Road to Kingdom Come
(1976)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

The album is popular for its extended cut of "30,000 Pounds of Bananas", infamous for Chapin's recounting of his brothers' remarks after hearing the original ending: "Harry...it sucks." The quote became so popular with Harry Chapin fans that concert shirts were sold with the quotation on it.

Track listing (CD release)
No.TitleLength
1."Dreams Go By"4:54
2."W·O·L·D"5:04
3."Saturday Morning (Tom Chapin)"3:05
4."I Wanna Learn a Love Song"5:04
5."Mr. Tanner"5:17
6."A Better Place to Be"9:59
7."Let Time Go Lightly (Steve Chapin)"4:56
8."Cat's in the Cradle"4:04
9."Taxi"6:53
10."Circle"7:21
11."30,000 Pounds of Bananas (Extended with two alternate endings)"11:28
12."The Shortest Story (Studio track)"2:25
  • "She Is Always Seventeen" and "Love Is Just Another Word" appear between "30,000 Pounds of Bananas" and "The Shortest Story" on side 4 of the original 1976 vinyl release.

Personnel
  • Harry Chapin - guitar, vocals
  • Ron Bacchiocchi - synthesizer, percussion, clavinet
  • Ed Bednarski - clarinet
  • Stephen Chapin - synthesizer, piano, vocals
  • Tom Chapin - guitar, banjo, vocals
  • Christine Faith - vocals
  • Cheryl Ferrio - vocals
  • Howie Fields - drums
  • David Kondziela - vocals
  • Paul Leka - piano, clavinet
  • Michael Masters - cello
  • Tim Moore - piano
  • Mark Mundy - vocals
  • Ronald Palmer - guitar, vocals
  • Don Payne - bass
  • Kathy Ramos - vocals
  • Tim Scott - cello
  • Allan Schwartzberg - drums
  • Frank Simms - vocals
  • George Simms - vocals
  • Ken Smith - percussion
  • Bob Springer - percussion
  • John Tropea - guitar
  • Betsy Wager - vocals
  • Doug Walker - bass, guitar, vocals
  • John Wallace - bass, vocals
  • Sue White - vocals
  • Christopher von Koschembahr - vocals

Charts and certifications

Charts
Year Chart Position
1976 Billboard 200 48
Canadian Albums Chart 71

Certifications
Region Certification Sales
United States 2x Platinum 2,000,000
Canada Platinum 100,000
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References
  1. D'Angelo, Peter J.. Greatest Stories Live at AllMusic
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