The triumphant return of Tracy Chapman, who sang at Amnesty, retired from music and has now re-emerged with a cover of her hit “Fast Car”

In 1988, a new group of female singer-songwriters took the music industry by storm. Names like Sinead O’Connor, Toni Childs and Tracy Chapman They brought a fresh air to rock, pop and folk, with songs that made their impact on the charts.

Chapman’s story is particularly fascinating, as his debut album was full of hits how emotional fast carthe most politicized We are talking about a revolution and the sweet ballad Darling, can I hug you?.

At 24, the girl who graduated from the university circuit made a real boom. In just two weeks, their self-titled debut album it sold one million copies worldwide.

In total, Tracy Chapman’s album has exceeded 20 million copies in total and was one of the first albums by a female artist to top 10 million.

Two visits to Argentina

In 1988, Tracy joined the world tour of Amnesty International for Human Rights Now!touring 20 cities together with the real number ones: Sting, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen and the Senegalese Youssou N’Dour.

He played at River Stadiuma historic and highly unusual event for the time, when filling a football stadium was something only Sting and Tina Turner had managed to achieve.

It was there October 15, 1988 and it lasted more than 6 hours. It was a real party, where there was no shortage of locals like the very respectful León Gieco and the wild Charly García.

The day before the mega-concert at Monumental, all the musicians held a press conference on the stage of the rock club Paladium, where Tracy Chapman He said he had previously been to Buenos Aires during a student exchange program and that he had played in a pub.

How his career continued

Between his participation in Amnesty and a dazzling appearance at the Wembley concert to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday, Tracy was at the top and the Grammy Awards certified it: six nominations, of which three won.

Suddenly, touring, reporting and more recording became the new routine of their world. He released a second album called Crossroads (Encrucijada) and retained its place on Olympus: it went platinum and got another Grammy nomination.

From there the distance between one launch and another increased: Matters of the heart came out in 1992 (with the megahit give me a reason), A new start in 1995 and Telling stories in 2000.

Uncomfortable with fame

Little by little, the greatest artist of 1988 I was trying to get out of the scene without leaving any traces.. Inertia and record contracts led to the release of three more albums, until one day he said enough was enough. He stopped making music and retired from the stage..

Only in 2015, following a greatest hits compilation she supervised, did she provide some reports and tell what had happened. She explained that nothing dramatic happened, just this She never felt comfortable being a celebrity..

“Being in the limelight and spotlight was, and still is, to some extent, uncomfortable for me. “Everything that happened in my life prepared me for this career, but I’m a little shy.”

He added: “Music has been part of my life and my upbringing. There was always music in my house, with a wide variety of different music. At the same time I have this somewhat reserved character and I have never tried to be the center of attention. “This perhaps made me not the ideal person for this job.”

Rebirth with a cover

An unexpected phenomenon had to happen, comparable to the appearance of a hit by Kate Bush (Running up that hill) in the series Stranger things, which revived Bush’s popularity around the world.

In Tracy Chapman’s case, the surprise came from the country singer Luca Combswho suddenly decided to include the topic fast car on their fourth album, Getting older, launched in March 2023.

Almost from one day to the next, fast car It stopped being a beautiful memory broadcast only on classic rock radio, and became a hit with a new audience. An entire generation discovered Tracy’s special and unique talent and sensitivity. Combs’ version already has 372 million views on Spotify.

Billboard magazine reached out to Chapman to find out what he thought of the furor, and all indications are that he’s happy to see his song receiving so much love.

“I never expected to find myself on the country music charts, but I feel honored to be there. I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced him.” Fast approxR”.

As additional information, it should be noted that Tracy Chapman is the composer of the song and is also the owner of the publishing rights.

According to Billboard estimates, he earned more than half a million dollars in royalties for the period March-June 2023.

Back on stage

This Sunday, at the Grammy Awards, Luke Combs will sing his version of fast carAND all rumors indicate that Tracy Chapman will accompany him.

It will be a triumphant return and I hope it makes him want to put on shows. And I may well visit Argentina for the third time.