Tracy Chapman has become the first Black person to win Song of the Year at the Country Music Awards (CMAs) for her incomparable 1988 folk anthem, "Fast Car."
The song's resurgence in popularity probably can't be attributed to me spotlighting it as one of my favourite love songs earlier this year. No, country star Luke Combs has a lot more sway than I do, and he recorded a rendition of it on his fourth album, Gettin' Old. He released it as a single, which went on to hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year.
In July, Chapman became the first Black woman to hit No. 1 on country radio as a sole songwriter — and now she's once again breaking records and exposing the genre's dismal erasure of Black artists. She did not attend last night's (November 8) CMAs ceremony, but she submitted a written statement:
I'm sorry I couldn't join you all tonight. It's truly an honour for my song to be newly recognized after 35 years of its debut. Thank you to the CMAs and a special thanks to Luke and all of the fans of "Fast Car."
Combs once again referred to "Fast Car" as his "first favourite song" in his acceptance speech. "First and foremost, I want to thank Tracy Chapman for writing one of the best songs of all time," he said. "Never intended for that — I just recorded it because I love this song so much. It's meant so much to me throughout my entire life."
More than 30 years ago, when it was initially released, the reception of "Fast Car" was far from lukewarm (ha, get it?): the song peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and garnered Chapman three Grammy nominations that saw her take home the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
But again, it's a striking example of popular music history continuing to repeat itself: white artists co-opting songs by Black writers to reach commercial success beyond the original recording. What's most interesting to me is that "Fast Car" wasn't considered a country record until Combs recorded a cover of it.
Watch Combs's acceptance speech below.
The song's resurgence in popularity probably can't be attributed to me spotlighting it as one of my favourite love songs earlier this year. No, country star Luke Combs has a lot more sway than I do, and he recorded a rendition of it on his fourth album, Gettin' Old. He released it as a single, which went on to hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year.
In July, Chapman became the first Black woman to hit No. 1 on country radio as a sole songwriter — and now she's once again breaking records and exposing the genre's dismal erasure of Black artists. She did not attend last night's (November 8) CMAs ceremony, but she submitted a written statement:
I'm sorry I couldn't join you all tonight. It's truly an honour for my song to be newly recognized after 35 years of its debut. Thank you to the CMAs and a special thanks to Luke and all of the fans of "Fast Car."
Combs once again referred to "Fast Car" as his "first favourite song" in his acceptance speech. "First and foremost, I want to thank Tracy Chapman for writing one of the best songs of all time," he said. "Never intended for that — I just recorded it because I love this song so much. It's meant so much to me throughout my entire life."
More than 30 years ago, when it was initially released, the reception of "Fast Car" was far from lukewarm (ha, get it?): the song peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and garnered Chapman three Grammy nominations that saw her take home the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
But again, it's a striking example of popular music history continuing to repeat itself: white artists co-opting songs by Black writers to reach commercial success beyond the original recording. What's most interesting to me is that "Fast Car" wasn't considered a country record until Combs recorded a cover of it.
Watch Combs's acceptance speech below.
