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\u201cCat\u2019s in the Cardle: The Song That Changed Our Lives\u201d explores the late Harry Chapin\u2019s popular song and it\u2019s ongoing impact.<\/p>\n
Photo courtesy of Cat\u2019s in the Cradle<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It\u2019s a tune that everyone has heard before, perhaps on the radio or maybe on an old record around the house. The late Harry Chapin\u2019s \u201cCat\u2019s in the Cradle\u201d has been the anthem for fathers and sons (and family in general) since it was first released in 1974.<\/span><\/p>\n Emmy and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rick Korn chose to explore the iconic Chapin song in his new documentary, \u201cCat\u2019s in the Cradle: The Song That Changed Our Lives.\u201d This is the second documentary that Korn has made about Chapin, the first being \u201cHarry Chapin: When in Doubt, Do Something,\u201d which was released in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA feature film of \u2018Cats in the Cradle\u2019, two things that really struck me about it. One was the power of the song, the fact that this song means so much to so many people in so many different generations,\u201d said Korn. \u201cYou know a 20-year-old [that] knows \u2018Cats in the Cradle\u2019 because their grandfather knows it or their grandmother knows it. It resonates with people, not just of many different generations, but many cultures. And there\u2019s so many pop culture references to the song and so many covers that are great. There\u2019s something really powerful here about this song.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The documentary covers the origins of the song, which was written by Chapin\u2019s wife, Sandy, and includes reflections from the Chapin family. The doc also explores the decades-long impact that the song has had, with interviews from celebrities such as Billy Joel, Mandy Patinkin, Darryl McDaniels, Dee Snyder and Pat Benatar, to name a few.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe one that really blew my mind was Dee Snyder. When we interviewed him, the first thing that came out of his mouth is \u2018I hate acoustic music.\u2019 And I said to myself, \u2018Oh man, this is gonna be a long one, it\u2019s gonna be a difficult one.\u2019 He went on to say that, but there was something about this song that just resonated with him in a whole different way,\u201d recalled Korn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When asked if there\u2019s any song that has a similar lasting impact on the world like \u201cCat\u2019s in the Cradle,\u201d Korn told amNewYork that there likely isn\u2019t one. Not because there aren\u2019t songs that could measure up lyrically or generationally, but because \u201cCat\u2019s in the Cradle\u201d did more for Chapin than give his music career a huge boost; it allowed him\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Prior to his death in 1981, Chapin leveraged his fame to establish WhyHunger in 1975, aiming to combat hunger worldwide. He would later found Long Island Cares (1980) to help feed Long Island residents who were struggling with food insecurity. Korn says that without that song, Chapin\u2019s philanthropy might not have happened at all.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.amny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/HarrySandyBook1-rotated.jpg?quality=51\" "\\"New")
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