Photos: Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs — divided by race, gender and genre — offer a masterclass in true art

When Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs took the stage at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, there was scarcely a dry eye among audiences — both at the venue and over the airwaves. While Inc.com called it a “master class in emotional intelligence”, the New York Times wrote: “What made Sunday night’s performance feel different wasn’t just the time that had passed, or the gray hair that now elegantly frames Chapman’s face. It was the presence of Combs, born a year after that Grammy performance, regarding Chapman with an awe-struck reverence. He seemed to be a stand-in for the many, many people over the years — of all races, genders and generations — who have heard their deepest desires reflected in this song and wished to pay Chapman their gratitude.” In less than 24 hours, the 1988 hit rose to the top of the charts on iTunes.

It was 35 years ago, at the 1989 Grammy Awards, that Chapman had delivered an effortless rendition of ‘Fast Car,’ accompanied only by her acoustic guitar. Back then, ‘Fast Car’ received three Grammy Award nominations: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, the latter of which it won. It also received an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Female Video in 1989.

Chapman also performed at the 1997 Grammys, delivering ‘Give Me One Reason.’ In all, Chapman won four Grammy Awards (and received 13 nominations). In total, she received 23 nominations and won nine awards throughout her career.

Combs’s faithful cover of the song was one of last year’s defining hits. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. What made the cover especially endearing is that Combs acknowledged the masterpiece and didn’t violate it with a heavily souped-up version. Before the performance, Combs said in a video: “Tracy Chapman is such an icon, and one of the greatest artists that I think any of us will be along to see,” the country singer said. “It’s a full circle moment for me. Just to be associated with her and any way is super humbling for me.”

However, Combs’s recording has thrown up a debate on the song’s genre. Combs’s music has largely been categorized as country. That meant that when ‘Fast Car’ won song of the year at the Country Music Association Awards last November, Chapman became the first Black songwriter to win that prize. As the New York Times wrote: “This felt less like a cause for celebration than a stark reminder of how few Black women get to be considered “country” artists — a genre with a long, complicated racial history. Was ‘Fast Car’ a pop song, as the Grammys had classified it in 1989? Was it a folk song when a Black woman sang it, and a country song only when a white man did?” But in a statement to Billboard in July 2023, Chapman had been gracious, saying: “I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced 'Fast Car.'"

What made the performance even more special was the fact that the reclusive Chapman rarely makes public appearances. In 1990, more than 72-thousand fans gathered at London’s Wembley Stadium for a concert honouring the recently freed Nelson Mandela. Chapman was part of it and sang ‘Born To Fight, Freedom Now’ (dedicated to Nelson Mandela), ‘No More I Love You’s’ (a cover of Annie Lennox song), ‘Talkin’Bout A Revolution’ and ‘Don’t Give Up' with Peter Gabriel. Another rare appearance was during 'Late Night with Seth Meyers' in 2020, when she performed her 1988 track, ‘Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution,’ encouraging viewers to go out and vote in the presidential election.

It will take a long while for the soulful rendition by the unlikely duo to recede from the minds of fans, new and old, alike. In that time, perhaps we will go back to the days when art was all about the sheer beauty of it, without fancy gimmicks and publicity stunts. It was in the quiet, assured performance that music won at the Grammys on Sunday. Yes, even Taylor Swift sang along.