When singer-songwriter, Tracy Chapman, appeared at the 2024 Grammys, it was a rare public appearance for the talented artist. It had been four years since Chapman appeared in a public event, in large part because Chapman is uncomfortable being in the public eye. She has said that she would rather spend time ‘doing’ than ‘talking’ music, and over a decades long career, she has granted only a handful of interviews. She hasn’t toured since 2009, and doesn’t have any tour dates scheduled for 2024-2025.
It was, then, a particular treat to see her not only perform the song that launched her career and helped her earn the Best New Artist award at the 1989 Grammys, “Fast Car,” but to see her sing it with Luke Combs whose cover of “Fast Car” got him a nomination for Best Country Solo Performance. The five minute video is worth your time:
Lest we forget, “Fast Car” also won Chapman the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance award that year, and was also up for Record of the Year, and Song of the Year.
Perhaps most historically, when Luke Combs’ version of “Fast Car” won Song of the Year at the 2023 CMA Awards, the award made Chapman the first Black songwriter to win in the category.
It was deserved.
There are many places on-line where you can read about Tracy Chapman, but our post focuses on that song. She was an anthropology student at Tufts University when she recorded her first demo. A fellow student who heard the demo took it to his father, a music executive, who signed Chapman to a record deal. “Fast Car” was released as the first single from Chapman’s self-titled debut album in 1988. For all the awards the song eventually earned, commercial response to both the single and album was modest. Chapman was largely unknown at the time. Things didn’t really happen for the song until months later when a birthday tribute was held for Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday in London. The tribute was broadcast to an audience of 600 million in 67 countries, and Chapman performed a three-song set.
Unbelievably, “Fast Car” wasn’t one of them.
It’s hard not to wonder if fate didn’t have a hand in what happened next. Stevie Wonder was also scheduled to perform, but when the floppy disk carrying all of Wonder’s synthesized music for his set went missing, Chapman was asked to return to the stage and perform again. We can almost imagine her being told, “Sing a song. Any song.” With just her voice and an acoustic guitar, she went back out on state, performed two songs, and one of them was a heart-wrenching rendition of “Fast Car.” Chapman’s performance of that song one of the most talked about parts of the concert. “Fast Car” raced up the charts, peaking at No. 5 in the U.K. and No. 6 in the U.S. The rest is history.
Chapman has said that the song represented the world she saw growing up: A life lived in Cleveland, Ohio where she was raised by a single mom in a community of struggling and hard working people always hoping that things would get better. You have to dig, however, to learn more about the circumstances of how “Fast Car” was written. One late night in 1986, Chapman was sitting on her couch, her small Miniature Dachshund sitting next to her. The dog didn’t always stay up late with Chapman, but on this night, the Dachshie did. Chapman has since wondered if the dog felt her energy, or if she just wasn’t tired that night, but the first line that came to her as she was writing the lyrics to the music was, “You’ve got a fast car.” And with that, the hound’s ears perked way up. Chapman knew she might just have something.
We’ve not been able to find the name of the dog, let alone a photo of her, but we thought you’d like knowing about the little Miniature Dachshund who offered the first “seal of approval” for a monster hit song.
Image: “It’s a Big New World Out There” by Dee Dee Murry shared with permission
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