Sandra Chapin
{{Short description|American songwriter}}
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{{Notability|Biographies|date=May 2020}}
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Sandra Campbell (née Gaston) Chapin (born 1934) is an American poet/songwriter and activist. She is best known for her songwriting collaborations with her second husband, singer-songwriter Harry Chapin, and is also the mother of singer Jen Chapin.
Marriages
Her first husband was lawyer James John Cashmore, son of longtime Borough of Brooklyn (New York) president John Cashmore.{{cite web|author=Tweet |url=http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/sandy_chapin/ |title=Sandy Chapin: Songwriter Interviews |publisher=Songfacts.com |date=2009-01-07 |accessdate=2011-12-05}} She was working as a teacher at the time. They had three children together. She divorced him to marry Harry Chapin, who was her guitar instructor. They married on November 26, 1968 and had two children: Jennifer and Joshua. The story of their meeting and romance is dramatized in his song "I Wanna Learn a Love Song".{{cite book|title=Taxi: The Harry Chapin Story |author=Coan, Peter Morton |publisher=Citadel |year=2001 |isbn=0-8065-2191-0}}
Songwriting
She wrote poems and helped Chapin write songs for the television show Make a Wish. She helped write lyrics to several of Chapin's songs, including the well-known "Cat's in the Cradle".{{cite web|url=http://www.harrychapin.com/circle/winter04/behind.htm |title=Behind the Song: Cat's in the Cradle |author=Grayeb, Mike |publisher=Harrychapin.com |work=Circle! |date=Winter 2004 |accessdate=2011-12-05}} Chapin wrote several songs about her, including "Shooting Star" and "Sandy."
Lawsuits
She was involved in several lawsuits after Chapin's death: Negligence suits related to the car accident that took his life and suits over his biography and a possible film of his life.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vm9QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DlkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4872,1457623&dq=sandra-chapin&hl=en |title=Sandra Chapin sues Volkswagen |date=November 20, 1982 |work=The Evening Independent |accessdate=2011-12-05}}{{Cite web |date=1988-12-24 |title=Clipped From The Palm Beach Post |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61823640/the-palm-beach-post/ |access-date=2020-10-25 |website=The Palm Beach Post |pages=130}}
Charity
She accepted Chapin's Congressional Gold Medal and has worked to ensure his charities continued to function after his death.{{cite journal|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20097873,00.html |title=Harry Chapin Is Gone, but Friends Carry His Song in Their Hearts |journal=People |volume=28 |issue=25 |publisher=People.com |date=1987-12-21 |accessdate=2011-12-05}} She is chairperson of the charity Long Island Cares and of The Harry Chapin Foundation.{{cite web|url=http://www.licares.org/LICpages/Board_of_Directors.htm |title=Long Island Cares, Inc. - The Harry Chapin Food Bank | Board of Directors |publisher=Licares.org |date= |accessdate=2011-12-05}}{{cite web|url=http://www.harrychapinfoundation.org/board.php |title=The Harry Chapin Foundation |publisher=The Harry Chapin Foundation |date= |accessdate=2011-12-05}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=1183906|name=Sandy Chapin}}
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