2 weeks Ago By Tomás Mier
Tracy Chapman gave her first interview in years Friday and spoke about the resurgence of “ Fast Car ” thanks to a cover by Luke Combs . In a chat with the New York Times , the musician reflected on her performance of the song alongside Combs at the 2024 Grammys, and what it was like to hear the success of its country version. “It was awesome.
It was a very emotional moment for so many reasons. Luke is a lovely person,” Chapman said of performing at the awards show with Combs. “Before deciding to do it, we had a good talk, and we were both on the same page about how we would approach it.
That was where it all had to start.” The musician said she was “weeping” when she got to the rehearsal space backed by the band she had used many years prior. (Her last tour was in 2009.
) Chapman said it was her idea to bring the original band back together — guitarist Joe Gore, David Kershenbaum (who produced Chapman’s debut album), Larry Klein on bass, Denny Fongheiser on drums, and Larry Campbell on fiddle — for the performance. “And my crew. I’ve had some guys that I’ve worked with through the years, for sound and lights, and they all showed up.
So, emotionally, that was really something,” Chapman said , before adding, “All those people showed up for the Grammys, and I’m so grateful for that. I did everything that I could to prepare myself for the performance.” Chapman said she could feel the audience reaction, but tried to get distracted by the folks in the crowd.
“But I sensed it. I think some part of it, too, is that, it was fun!” Chapman explained. “The crazy thing about events like that is that, you plan and you plan and you plan — it took a lot to put the whole thing together — and then it’s just over in an instant.
And in the immediate aftermath, you don’t know what you’ve done. But I knew that we pulled it off.” Reflecting on Combs’ rendition of the song, Chapman said she “didn’t ever dream” of “Fast Car” being a country song but that it felt somewhat full-circle for her.
(The track even won Song of the Year at the 2023 CMA Awards.) Editor’s picks The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far “Because I started playing guitar when I was really young, and I think the reason I wanted to play guitar was because I saw ‘Hee Haw.’ My mom really loved it, and I loved the guitars, the sound, the look,” she said.
“But I think the thing that’s making this connection is that ‘Fast Car’ is a story song, and that’s the foundation of a lot of country music. I never pay too much attention to genre, personally. I don’t find it relevant or that interesting.
” “It’s a pleasant surprise that the song has found this new home. I wouldn’t have predicted that’s where it would go, but the song has been covered quite a bit, and there’s dance versions of it,” she added. “I can’t say I would have thought of that either!” The interview with Chapman came as she promoted a vinyl record edition of her debut album for its 37th anniversary.
She said it felt “surreal” to revisit the LP and that it took her back to being in the studio with Kershenbaum, who produced the record. “I didn’t allow myself to have too many moments of nostalgia,” she said. Trending Stories Trump Shares Video About How He Is ‘Purposely Crashing the Stock Market’ Kurt Russell Remembers Val Kilmer's Unshakeable Humor and Their Final Farewell Trump Skips Honoring Soldiers Killed in Lithuania to Watch Golf Trump's Tariffs Are Tying Republicans in Knots In the interview, the singer also admitted that while she still listens to music, she opts for physical editions instead of streaming.
“I do listen to music still. I don’t listen to as much as I used to, and I’m maybe going to date myself now, or someone’s going call me a Luddite, but I don’t stream music,” she said. “I only buy music in physical form.
Artists get paid when you actually buy a CD or the vinyl. That’s important to me. So to some extent, it limits what I listen to, because it’s a physical commitment of going out into the world and finding things, but I still do go out.
”.
