He started his musical career in his hometown of Leeds, where he developed his guitar playing by studying jazz musicians such as Django Reinhardt and Wes Montgomery.
The debut album "Rainmaker" came in 1969 and was the first of four albums released at a fast pace in the early 1970s, followed by "Fully qualified survivor", "Window" and "Wrecked again".
Michael Chapman is described as a guitar virtuoso who mixed different styles and played both acoustic and electric guitar.
He became a prominent name in folk music and released about fifty albums during his long career.
In the 1990s, a heart attack stopped his work and he has said in interviews that he felt forgotten. But when Sonic Youth's frontman Thurston Moore saw Chapman at a concert in 1998, he was rediscovered by a new generation.
The tribute album "Oh Michael, look what you've done" was released in 2012, where among others Lucinda Williams and Meg Baird interpret his songs.