Song · Harry Chapin
“Taxi” by Harry Chapin
From the album Heads & Tales (1972)
“Taxi” by Harry Chapin appears on 13 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 2001 and 2026. It was first released in 1972 on the album Heads & Tales. Its best result is #367 on the WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #761 indie & aaa song of all time.
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Harry Chapin's "Taxi" came out as a single in early 1972 alongside his album Heads & Tales on Elektra, and it's a folk-rock short story set to music. Chapin wrote it alone, and Jac Holzman produced it with Bruce Morgan engineering. Told in the first person and drawn from Chapin's own life, it follows a cabbie who picks up a fare and finds an old flame from his youth in the back seat, and the song lets every awkward pause hang in the air.
When he played it on The Tonight Show, viewers flooded the switchboard, and Johnny Carson brought him back the very next night, a first for the show. Boston radio caught it early, and it rode a 16-week run to number 24 on Billboard's Hot 100. It became Chapin's early signature song.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 472 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2004 | 563 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) | 885 |
| 2010 | 750 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) | 885 |
| 2014 | 605 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2019 | 676 | 102.5 KZOK | KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 | 1025 |
| 2020 | 367 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2021 | 864 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) | 1043 |
| 2022 | 811 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) | 1043 |
| 2023 | 497 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) | 1043 |
| 2023 | 438 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2024 | 616 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) | 1043 |
| 2025 | 626 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) | 1043 |
| 2026 | 376 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
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