‘Flowers Are Red,’ Harry Chapin and Chevy Chase at Capitol Theatre

by JAY LUSTIG
Harry Chapin and Chevy Chase at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic in 1978.

Harry Chapin and Chevy Chase at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic in 1978.

One of my favorite entries so far in the 350 Jersey Songs series is a clip of John Belushi guesting with The Allman Brothers Band at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic. So here’s something similar: Chevy Chase duetting with Harry Chapin at the Capitol, in 1978.

The occasion was a benefit concert for Bill Bradley’s U.S. Senate campaign (which was ultimately successful). The Roches also performed, and Dustin Hoffman spoke about Bradley and read a long poem, Kenneth Koch’s “Some General Instructions.”

In the clip below, watch Chase join Chapin for the nonconformity anthem, “Flowers Are Red,” which Chapin included on his 1978 album, Living Room Suite.

Chapin died three years later, at the age of 38, in a car accident.

New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday last year. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we are marking the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, for almost a year — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. We started in September 2014, and will keep going until late in the summer.

If you would like to suggest any songs to be included, please let me know in the comments section underneath the video. And if you want to see the entire list, either alphabetically or in the order the songs were selected, click here.

Explore more articles:

Leave a Comment

Sign up for our Newsletter