Really glad to hear that Chapman is not only getting credit as the first Black woman to write a No1 country hit, but she’s getting PAID, because she wrote it solo and owns the rights. #GiftArticle https://t.co/r17hUYueWv
— Isobel Carr (@IsobelCarr) July 14, 2023
This wouldn’t be a good-news story, if not for that key fact. (Dolly Parton never complained about Whitney Houston’s cover of ‘I Will Always Love You’ doing better on the charts than the original, either.)
From the Washington Post, “Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs and the complicated response to ‘Fast Car’”:
Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” is one of those songs that you just feel in your soul: the lyrics about the yearning to escape, the gentle guitar underlying a feeling of despair but also the hope that something better is coming. It can make you cry but also inspire you to belt out the lyrics at the top of your lungs. (“I-eee-I had a feeling that I belonged. I-eee-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone …”)…
In March, country music star Luke Combs, 33, released a new album, “Gettin’ Old,” that included “Fast Car,” a longtime favorite that he covered during live shows for years. But when the track hit streaming services, it took on a life of its own, racking up enormous numbers and going viral on TikTok. Country radio stations started playing it, and the song was suddenly outpacing Combs’s actual single, “Love You Anyway.” Combs and his team were stunned by the response, and his label eventually started promoting “Fast Car” to country radio as well. Last week, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart; it was at No. 3 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart, after peaking at No. 2.
To quite a few people, this 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…
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.
“I’ve talked to a lot of Black artists about it. …We don’t know how to feel,” Holly said, noting that “it did make things a little bit easier” when Chapman, who hasn’t given an interview in years, sent a brief statement to Billboard last week: “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.’” (A representative for Chapman declined further comment for this story; Combs’s publicist said he was unavailable for an interview.)
“We can continue to celebrate it,” Holly said, “but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be having these conversations.”…
Excellent News: <em>Fast Car</em>, New HitPost + Comments (69)