Mr. Tanner runs a dry cleaning shop in Dayton, Ohio, where he spends his days greeting his customers with his beautiful baritone voice. His friends and neighbors encourage him to sing professionally instead of cleaning clothes. He eventually takes a chance and travels to New York City to be heard by a concert agent and critics, only to find they weren’t hearing what he was feeling. Harry Chapin’s song “Mr. Tanner” is brought to book format through beautiful illustrations. The song was released in 1973 off Chapin’s Short Stories album and was inspired by a mediocre review about a baritone singer in The New York Times.
