#91 - Tracy Chapman: the incredible story of a gifted musician before (and after) her iconic duet with Luke Combs

Picture this.  The year is 1990.  You hop into your family’s 1989 gray jeep cherokee loredo to embark on a 2 hour trip to Rockford, Illinois. Your mom pops in one of her favorite cassette tapes at the time.  You sit back on the rear passenger seat bench and tip your headback, but since there is no headrest, your neck and head has no support so it’s quite uncomfortable to say the least.  It’s okay though because Tracy Chapman is now about to play.  Your neck pain doesn’t matter because your ears will soon be enjoying the emotive voice of the brilliant musician.  Life is good.  

I’ve mentioned on many episodes of this podcast about just how much impact my parents had on me and my sister’s music interests when we were kids and thankfully, Tracy Chapman was no exception. I was raised on her music and I’m better for it! I’ve had TC on my list of show topics for as long as I can remember so I think this re-kindled love of her incredible music because of her grammy performance was the sign I need to put together a show on her life and career.  So with that being said, grab your acoustic guitar, a cup of coffee, and let’s get talkin’ about a revolution, here we go!

Thank you so very much for tuning in to the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast. This show is dedicated to the memory of my big sister Rebecca, a fan of all things pop-culture, particularly of the people, places, and things that defined the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.  Welcome aboard this pop culture time machine, I'm Amy Lewis. This is episode #91 - the story of the one and only, Tracy Chapman.  

On March 30, 1964 Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio to parents George and Hazel Chapman.  I couldn’t find a ton of information about Chapman’s parents, but I did learn that they got married very young.  Her dad was older and more educated than her mother, as she did not have her HS diploma at the time they got together.  They hoped by getting married their lives would be more fruitful but unfortunately, it wasn’t.  When Chapman was just 4 years old, her parents divorced.  

Chapman grew up with her mother and older sister in a predominantly black and middle class neighborhood called South Broadway in Cleveland, Ohio.  She was raised as a Baptist.  At a young age, she learned how to play the organ and clarinet, she would play along with her sister Aneta, who would sing. Her mother gave her a ukulele when she was just 3 years old.    In elementary school, Chapman taught herself how to play the guitar.  This is rumored to have been inspired by her watching the classic television show Hee-Haw.  Hee Haw Intro  Perhaps her mother showed her a few pointers as she too could play the guitar.  Her mother apparently also had a beautiful singing voice. She sang in church and at weddings.  Growing up, Chapman spent a lot of time in the public library- she was an avid reader and of course loved books.  It seems like reading and music were a welcome distraction for Chapman who was often the victim of racially-motivated bullying throughout her early years along with witnessing it all of the time.

Chapman was influenced by the music that her parents and her sister listened to such as Cher, Neil Diamond and Gladys Knight.  Sly Stone and Curtis Mayfield also made it into the rotation.      

As Chapman got older, she realized that she wanted a different life for herself.  For example, she attended schools that had metal detectors - not a great a way to start your day for anyone, especially for someone who took school as seriously as Champan. She knew that education was her way out.  In the mid 1970s, Cleveland was being referred to as “bomb city” because the city was so often victim to arson and property owners trying to clear out abandoned properties.  She wrote her first song at age 14 and titled it “Cleveland 78” about all of the hardships her hometown was facing.  

Thankfully when Chapman was 16 years old, she won a scholarship to attend an Episcopalian boarding school in Connecticut through a program called “A Better Chance.”  It helps identify non-white students who are academically gifted and who demonstrate leadership skills.  

It took her some time to adjust at her new school and relate to her peers.  After all, she came from a poor area, from a mother who worked hard to make ends meet via a series of odd jobs - and a lot of her classmates couldn’t relate to that.  As time went on though, she met other students who were passionate about music like she was.  They expanded her musical horizons by introducing her to musicians like Bob Dylan.  The faculty of her school noticed her passion for music and guitar playing so they took up a collection and bought her new guitar to replace hers which was past it’s prime, which is putting it lightly.  

When Chapman entered college at Tufts University, she studied anthropology with an emphasis on West African Cultures. Her plan was to eventually become a veterinarian.  While living near Cambridge, MA, Chapman performed her music in coffee shops and on street corners.  During her time in school, she was offered a record deal by an independent music label, but she turned it down because she didn’t want to disrupt her post-secondary education. This wouldn’t be the first time she was offered a record deal. Some time later, a classmate by the name of Brian Koppelman approached her as his dad was the head of a large music company.  This interaction would later lead to her getting signed with Elektra Records.

In 1986, Chapman graduated from college.  This was the same year she wrote the song, “Fast Car.”  In interviews, Chapman has stated that a lot of her songs are not necessarily based off of direct experience, including Fast Car.  Chapman has also stated that she never had a fast car either.   She said this song was written about growing up in a working class community, people were always hoping that things would get better.  She said it was a story about a couple and how they are creating a life together and the challenges they have faced.  

In later years, Chapman said that perhaps this song may have loosely been based off of her parents - two people who got together hoping that by combining their lives, things would get better, but sometimes that doesn’t always happen. She recalled writing the song late one thing alongside her dog.  Normally if she stayed up late into the night writing music, her dog would fall asleep.  However, when she wrote and played the first few lines of the song, the dogs ears allegedly perked up.    

Her debut album, Tracy Chapman, which was released in 1988, sold over 6 million copies, selling 1 million of those in just the first week. Despite not getting a ton of air play on the radio, the album was and is incredibly successful and popular. Fast Car was one of the last songs she wrote for this album.  Whenever she performs live, FC is always on the set list.    

In 1989, Chapman won a grammy for Best New Artist - a well deserved honor.  Rollingstone named Fast Car one of the greatest songs of all time, coming in at #167.  Also in 1989, Chapman released her sophomore album, Crossroads. She was the producer of this album.  It features songs such as Subcity, All that you have is your soul, and Freedom Now which was dedicated to Nelson Mandela.  This album was nominated for a grammy for Best Contemporary Folk album.  Rollingstone gave this album 4 out of 5 stars.  

And of course, an artist knew they made it in the early 1990s if they were parodied on the hilarious sketch comedy show, In Living Color.  In a sketch the comedicaly gifted Kim Wayans does an impression of Chapman and a sort of cover of Fast Car by looking out her window and writing lyrics.  I believe Wayan’s version is unofficially entitled “Fast Song.”  And as much as Tracy Chapman is really a musical and lyrical genius, this sketch was and still is, hysterical.  In Living Color The Making of a Tracy Chapman Song  Although the song is of course silly, it’s actually a little more accurate than I realized at the time.

1992 marked the release of Matters of the Heart.  It featured singles such as Dreaming on a World and Bang, Bang, Bang.  Rollingstone gave it 2 out of 5 stars.

In 1995, Chapman released New Beginning.  This album has sold over 3 million copies in the US alone.  This album includes the Grammy-winning hit, Give Me One Reason, New Beginning (one of my favorite TC songs), the Promise and Smoke & Ashes.  Rollingstone also gave this album 2 out of 5 stars.

Telling Stories was released in 2000.  She had started working on in 1999, marking a several year hiatus for Chapman which was unusual.  This album included songs such as Telling Stories, Wedding Song, The Only One and First Try.  In Europe, a special edition double disk album was released featuring several songs performed and recorded live.  RS ⅗ stars.

Following this record, Let it Rain came out in 2002.  “Youre the One” and “Another sun” were released as singles off of the this album.  Much like Telling Stories, it also had a bonus CD which included live performances recorded during a concert in Berlin.  RS ⅖ stars.

Where you live was released in 2005.  Singles released off of this record were “America” and “Change.”  Fun fact - Flea from the rock band Red Hot Chilli Peppers played bass on the album, how cool is that? 

Chapman hasn’t released any new music since 2008, when “Our Bright Future” dropped.  It features the singles “Sing for You” and “Thinking of You.”  Several of her previous albums didn’t get as much traction as early ones, however the album was nominated for a grammy for best contemporary folk album.  I think this is one of the last CDs I ever purchased.

In 2015 a greatest hits album was released featuring songs like:  Baby Can I Hold You, Talking About a Revolution, Speak the Word, Sing for You, You’re the One, and Open Arms. 

In 2020, Chapman performed Talkin About a Revolution to encourage people to vote in the election. She rarely performs on television but that infamous election seemed like a good time to step out of her comfort zone.   

And that brings us to today - Chapman has been back in the spotlight due to country musician Luke Comb’s cover of Fast Car.  I can’t say that I have ever been a country music fan, but he does have a beautiful voice and did a lovely rendition of her beloved song.  I think I lost track of how many posts I saw referencing her duet of the song at the Grammys with him just a few weeks ago.  It really brought out a lot of emotion in those of us that grew up listening to her music.  I’ve watched the performance several times and I feel like you could hear a pin drop in the audience.  It was a truly breathtaking performance.  As a result of this resurgence in popularity of the song and thus this cover of it, Chapman is the first black woman to ever have a solo writing credit on a #1 country song.  Combs’ cover reached #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay Chart.  I read that Chapman was given full creative control over the grammy performance.  It was seamless.  Matthew Rankin who is a close friend of Chapman’s said of the performance quote: "the roar from the audience as Tracy and Luke were revealed onstage proved how powerful this moment was, as did the tears in the eyes of countless people around us." The momentum didn’t just stop there, according to a CBS news report:  “Tracy Chapman performed her 1988 hit "Fast Car" for the first time in years at the Grammys on Sunday, sharing the stage with Luke Combs, who covered the song on a recent album. The surprise performance had an impact – sales of the original version spiked more than 38,000% after the Grammys, according to Billboard.  Chapman's song made it back into the mainstream 35 after its original release when Combs included his own version on his 2023 album "Gettin' Old.  

They also noted: "Fast Car" was streamed 949,000 times in the U.S. streams on Feb. 5, the day after the Grammys, according to Billboard. That's a 241% increase in one week. Sales of Chapman's song also soared 38,400% to 14,000.”  

Chapman has expressed her discomfort with being in the spotlight and as a result, is noted for being a private person.  She lives a relatively quiet life in San Francisco.  She has also stated that she does not have any social media accounts, at least she didn’t as of a few years ago. If you think about it though, it’s completely understandable.  After all, she released her debut album, shortly after graduating from college and it was a smash hit.  She went from being a talented college student playing in coffee shops to having an incredible debut album, there wasn’t much time to adjust.  She has also admitted that she is quite shy.  In an interview with Spin magazine in July of 1988, the author said quote- “ It’s not easy to pay Tracy Chapman a compliment. Try to tell the twenty-four-year-old singer/songwriter from Boston that her debut album contains some of the most riveting music you’ve heard in quite some time and the response is a sudden darting away of the eye and a turn of the head as she tries to hide the sheepish grin that’s sneaked onto her face.” 

That being said, Chapman has been known to offer her talents to philanthropic causes such as playing benefit concerts for AIDS, human rights advocacy and Anti-apartheid events.  She also played Fast Car at Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday party! 600 million people viewed her performance on television - no pressure.  I think the fact that Chapman isn’t all over social media and we don’t know all of the details about her personal life just adds to her appeal.  Chapman is a special person and I don’t think many people would argue with that sentiment. 

In response to her performance for Mandella’s birthday at Wembley Stadium and her debut album the website pitchfork said quote:  Some credited her rise to fame to that fateful Wembley appearance. Others speculated audience dissatisfaction with the ever-elaborate status quo of pop music of the time had something to do with the singer’s wild popularity. But however this folk- and blues-heavy singer-songwriter album became a hit in the synth- and glitter-flecked late ’80s, Chapman came to the world stage with a perspective crystallized in society’s margins. The only thing that critics struggled with as much as her unexpected success was uncovering how this plainly dressed, androgynous, Black woman with a voice as warm and woody as a bassoon created one of the best folk albums in a generation.  

I hope you have enjoyed this look back on the life and career of the one and only Tracy Chapman.  As I said at the top of the show, I was raised on TC and I will always be grateful to my parents for all of the incredible music they shared with me and my sister.  And if younger generations are now familiar with her because of a country music star’s cover than I am all for it.  I keep forgetting to mention that the PCR is now on YouTube!  I don’t have the entire backlog up just yet but you can find several audio only versions of the podcast on YT as well as video episodes with various guests I’ve had on the past 2 or so years.  

I am slowly worked through almost 100 episodes and uploading some highlight videos you may have seen on my twitter or IG account.  Please also visit my website popcultureretrospective.com to see all of my episodes, read pop culture blog posts, purchase merchandise and to leave reviews for your favorite show.  Again that is popcultureretrospective.com   

I hope you will join me for my next show where we will take a deep dive into another fascinating facet of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s in memory of my sister.