In 1988, Tracy Chapman released “Fast Car” as the lead single from her eponymous debut album. The song was very successful at the time, becoming a top-ten single and winning big awards, including a Grammy. Critics praised the song, the album and Chapman herself. Chapman and her music were considered, at the time, folk-rock. Over the years, “Fast Car” has had incredible longevity – it still feels fresh, it still feels modern and it’s still incredibly moving. Here’s Chapman’s album version & music video:

Over the years, different artists of all genres have covered “Fast Car,” and it’s especially popular for artists to cover live, in concert. Well, months ago, country star Luke Combs covered “Fast Car” and included it in his latest album, Gettin’ Old. Here’s Luke Combs’ cover:

Combs has also included the song in his concerts for a while, so his fans weren’t surprised when he finally put it on an album. Well, Combs has put out entirely different singles from the album, but country radio decided to just play the hell out of his “Fast Car” cover. It has become a runaway hit on country music radio, even climbing to #1 on the Billboard country charts. That makes Tracy Chapman the first Black woman to have written the #1 song on the country charts. Last week, Tracy Chapman even made a rare public comment, congratulating Luke: “I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there. I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car.’”

Well, some people aren’t so pleased. Some people are quite irritated that a white male country artist covered a song written by a Black woman. The Washington Post did a lengthy article about this, here’s an excerpt from that piece:

To quite a few people, [the success of Combs’ cover] is cause for yet another celebration in Combs’s whirlwind journey as the genre’s reigning megastar with 16 consecutive No. 1 hits. But it has also prompted a wave of complicated feelings among some listeners and in the Nashville music community. Although many are thrilled to see “Fast Car” back in the spotlight and a new generation discovering Chapman’s work, it’s clouded by the fact that, as a Black queer woman, Chapman, 59, would have almost zero chance of that achievement herself in country music.

The numbers are bleak: A recent study by data journalist Jan Diehm and musicologist Jada Watson reported that fewer than 0.5 percent of songs played on country radio in 2022 were by women of color and LGBTQ+ artists. Watson’s previous work shows that songs by women of color and LGBTQ+ artists were largely excluded from radio playlists for most of the two decades prior.

“On one hand, Luke Combs is an amazing artist, and it’s great to see that someone in country music is influenced by a Black queer woman — that’s really exciting,” said Holly G, founder of the Black Opry, an organization for Black country music singers and fans. “But at the same time, it’s hard to really lean into that excitement knowing that Tracy Chapman would not be celebrated in the industry without that kind of middleman being a White man.”

There has been a concerted effort from some in Nashville to promote inclusivity, particularly since the industry-wide reckoning after the killing of George Floyd in 2020. But despite some individual success stories, the systemic lack of diversity has persisted. Now that Chapman’s classic is on pace to become one of the biggest songs of Combs’s career, there are uneasy and complex emotional responses.

[From WaPo]

While I acknowledge that everything being said here is worthy of discussion, for what it’s worth: Tracy Chapman never considered herself a country artist and she never sought validation from the country music establishment. She was doing her own thing in the rock/folk world and, as brilliant artists are wont to do, she created a masterpiece which defies genre, a song which still sounds fresh and relevant when sung by a white country bro 35 years after it was originally written. What’s more, “Fast Car” was absolutely acknowledged in its own time? It was literally a hit song, it won a Grammy, Chapman performed her music in front of huge, sold-out concerts. Country music absolutely has a huge race and racism problem, but I’m just not sure this is the right case study. Also: Tracy Chapman is the sole songwriter for “Fast Car,” so she probably appreciates the royalties from Luke’s cover.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.