- Tracy Chapman · 1988
- New Beginning · 1995
- Tracy Chapman · 1988
- Tracy Chapman · 1988
- New Beginning · 1995
- Greatest Hits · 2015
- Tracy Chapman · 1988
- Crossroads · 1989
- Tracy Chapman · 1988
- Tracy Chapman · 1988
- Tracy Chapman · 1988
- Greatest Hits · 2000
- Crossroads · 1989
Essential Albums
- Tracy Chapman was already on the roster of the June 1988 concert for Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday, and had performed a slot early in the day, before the television networks were broadcasting the event. But then, the hard drive on Stevie Wonder’s synclavier failed, rendering him unable to perform, and Chapman was asked to take his time slot. She performed “Fast Car” and “Across the Lines” to a global audience, and two weeks later had sold 2 million copies of her debut record. “Fast Car,” the album’s first single, went to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. She quickly went from playing clubs to opening dates for Neil Young and Bob Dylan, before being asked to join the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour alongside Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, and Youssou N’Dour, performing in stadiums around the world. The Cleveland-raised singer-songwriter’s quietly seething, sometimes hopeful songs were the perfect capstone to the tired, frazzled end of the Reagan era. But the fact that they resonate even more decades later is a testament to how little has changed and how timeless is her approach and delivery. Enduring classics like “Fast Car” and “Why?” and “Baby Can I Hold You” and “Talkin’ ’Bout a Revolution” were politically barbed and defiant, no matter how restrained the music and how soothing her voice. Luke Combs’ 2023 reverent cover of “Fast Car” not only brought the song new-found popularity, it introduced a whole new generation to Chapman, whose public appearances and performances had become rare. Later that year, Combs won Single of the Year at the Country Music Association’s yearly awards ceremony for his chart-topping version. But best of all, Chapman herself won Song of the Year, becoming the first Black woman to win a CMA award, 35 years after the song was originally released.
Albums
Music Videos
- 2016
- 2009
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
- 2006
Artist Playlists
- “Fast Car” is simply the start of the songwriter’s greatness.
Compilations
More To Hear
- She stuck out like a sore thumb in 1988.
- A big moment in world history—and a full-circle moment for her.
About Tracy Chapman
When Tracy Chapman came into view in the late ’80s, her star surged seemingly overnight with a refreshing disregard for the borders of gender, race, and style. She blended folk, rock, pop, and soul influences into socially conscious, smouldering songs that were plainly political—and undeniably catchy. Chapman was born in Cleveland in 1964, and her early life was full of financial and social struggles that would eventually fuel her songwriting. While attending college in Massachusetts, she started performing as a folk singer in local coffeehouses and busking in Harvard Square. She caught the ear of Elektra Records, which released her self-titled debut in 1988. Singing about poverty, racism, and political unrest, she brought sociopolitical issues to the American pop and rock mainstream with a passion that recalled the protest anthems of the Vietnam era. Propelled by her Top 10 single “Fast Car” and the stung but hopeful “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” the album became an international multi-Platinum phenomenon. In the years that followed, she moved forward by never striking the same note, as evidenced by the Grammy-winning “Give Me One Reason.” A far cry from folk-inflected protest, it was a hard-grooving blues grinder about a worn and weary heart that showed that it was unwise to count her out or pigeonhole her. Chapman released a smattering of albums in the 2000s, and in 2023 she returned to the spotlight thanks to country crooner Luke Combs’ reverent cover of “Fast Car,” which made her the first Black woman to win a trophy at the Country Music Association Awards—showing how her artistry could break boundaries decades after her debut had gripped listeners.
- HOMETOWN
- Cleveland, OH, United States
- BORN
- March 30, 1964
- GENRE
- Singer/Songwriter