Luke Combs' 'Fast Car' moment with Tracy Chapman has an immediate impact: 'Such an icon'
More than a week has elapsed since Luke Combs' groundbreaking performance of "Fast Car" alongside Tracy Chapman, its original vocalist and songwriter, at the 66th Grammy Awards.
On X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Chapman's international fans were keen to ensure that nobody forgot about the moment.
"Just because it's the Super Bowl tonight doesn't mean we should forget what happened last Sunday, right?" one posted.
For Chapman, an artist who has appeared less than a handful of times as a live performer since 2009, the journey from the stage to the sidelines and back again is important.
From the CMA Awards to the Grammys stage
Combs arrived at the Grammys after he'd won his ninth Country Music Association award in six years, plus having achieved nearly 20 No. 1 singles on country radio and a pair of crossover top-five hits on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
Given that Chapman was the original songwriter, Combs' victory for Single of the Year at the 2023 CMAs ensured that Chapman would — with "Fast Car" having existed in the mainstream for four decades and the CMA Awards having existed since the mid-1960s — be the first Black woman ever to win a CMA Award.
Insofar as Grammy chances, "Fast Car" did not win a golden gramophone last Sunday evening.
Combs, since 2020, is 0-for-7 in Los Angeles. Chapman, however, is a four-time Grammy winner — notably for her self-titled album (Best Contemporary Folk Album) and its mega-popular lead single (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance) that Combs covered, plus as Best New Artist in 1989.
How was Tracy Chapman contacted?
She had also performed "Fast Car" on 1989's Grammys broadcast.
Grammys executive producer Raj Kapoor, like Combs' manager Chris Kappy, felt getting Chapman back onto the Grammy stage was a "more than exciting dream," as the two executives stated to Billboard and Rolling Stone, respectively.
The process began in July 2023.
Chapman has no publicist, but Combs is represented by Carla Sacks, who it turns out knew Matthew Rankin, the senior vice president at Nonesuch Records, who first worked with Chapman at Elektra Records.
"No one really knew how to reach her, and it was just, like, pure magic, that I was in the know," Sacks told Rolling Stone.
"I knew the doorbell to ring. And quite frankly, I think that made it very helpful to not be reaching out as a stranger and to be able to open the line of communication."
Kapoor told Rolling Stone: "When Tracy and I first discussed this opportunity, we realized it represented a moment of confluence, coming 35 years to the month since Tracy first performed 'Fast Car' at the Grammys, and following a year of such success for Luke with her song,"
The performance itself
An online newsletter run by Chapman fans describes Feb. 4's duet as "reuniting" with a longtime friend and "coming back home."
Eighteen minutes into the Grammys broadcast, a short Combs documentary aired, re-telling the story of his attachment to "Fast Car."
"Tracy Chapman is such an icon and one of the greatest artists that I think any of us will be along to see," Combs stated. "It's a full-circle moment for me; just being associated with her in any way is super humbling for me. The beloved tune is known for its delicate acoustic guitar melody and substantive lyrics meditating on familial strife, poverty and dreams of creating a better life alongside a loved one."
The Tennessean notes that Chapman exuded "a humble, peaceful joy" as Combs beamed alongside one of his idols.
"Chapman's voice held the same crisp, warm feeling it had in '88, while Combs' signature grit and strength carried its own weight. The duo took turns singing verses, bringing their voices together on the chorus as Chapman played the acoustic guitar."
This followed a week of rehearsals at Los Angeles' SIR Studios that allowed Chapman's complete creative control of a surprise performance, including the song's original bassist and drummer, Larry Klein and Denny Fongheiser. Her band's current fiddle player, Larry Campbell, and guitarist, Joe Gore, joined Combs' pedal steel player, Kurt Ozan, for the performance.
Unpacking the event
Over the past week, the weight of what transpired has positively impacted Combs.
On Feb. 7, he appeared for a private concert at the Ryman Auditorium for winners of his Living Lucky with Luke Combs scratch-off ticket game partnership with Atlas and North American Lotteries.
Forty-eight hours removed from playing alongside the soulful folk-rock icon, Combs stated that he was still in awe of the moment. He jokingly added that though he had stood mere feet away from Chapman, he was no more capable of playing a better rendition of the anthem because of the experience.
The take Combs performed at country music's Mother Church was still riveting and caused an impassioned in-pew singalong among the lottery winners.
On Feb. 10, he debriefed further via Instagram:
"What an unreal Grammy week to say the least. There were so many laughs, tears, hugs, and cheers that it almost doesn't seem real. From the hotel hangs and rehearsals to the dinners and post-show pizza, the vibes were HIGH. I want to thank my whole team for working tirelessly to make this happen and my wife for always being by my side, I love you. When it comes to the performance it's still hard to process how amazing it really was to be up there on that stage. No doubt a defining moment of my career."
His message to Chapman offers an earnest connection and inspired deference between the artists, who are separated by a generation.
"Tracy, I want to send my sincerest thanks to you for allowing me to be a part of your moment. Thank you for the impact you have had on my musical journey, and the musical journeys of countless other singers, songwriters, musicians, and fans alike. I hope you felt how much you mean to the world that night. We were all in awe of you up there and I was just the guy lucky enough to have the best seat in the house."
Numbers don't lie
Following her Grammy appearance, domestic streams of Chapman's original "Fast Car" saw a 241% week-over-week uptick. Sales of the song also soared 38,400%.
Chapman's success with "Fast Car" best unifies the potential of its industry and society-transforming power in a manner akin to the eventual and broadening sea change of country music's stereotypical perceptions after Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake performed "Tennessee Whiskey" at the 2015 CMA Awards.
That year, executive producer Robert Deaton paired Stapleton — then a songwriter with a significant roots performance pedigree working with "bro-country" era superstar Luke Bryan — with former *NSYNC "boy-band" performer Timberlake.
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Two days after the 2015 CMA Awards broadcast, Stapleton's version of the country classic reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and No. 23 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.
In May 2023, Combs posted a photo of the original cassette his father purchased of "Fast Car."
The statement Combs made to Billboard two months later resonates even louder in retrospect:
"I have played ('Fast Car') in my live show now for six-plus years, and everyone — I mean everyone — across all these stadiums relates to this song and sings along. That's the gift of a supernatural songwriter. The success of my cover is unreal and I think it's so cool that Tracy is getting recognized and has reached new milestones."
Stated pedal steel player Ozan: "Had the absolute honor of playing with Luke Combs, Tracy Chapman, and her awesome band last night at the Grammys. This was easily the most important show of my life and I am still in disbelief."
Chapman's original bassist Klein's note offers the most powerful statement regarding the next steps for a society grateful for and empowered by the performance.
"'Fast Car'...made him (Combs) want to become a musician. Life can make us a bit more numb every day. Kafka said, 'A book should be an axe for the frozen sea within us.' Great songs like 'Fast Car' re-awaken our humanity. There was something deeply meaningful about playing it in this setting at the Grammys."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Luke Combs savors Grammys 'Fast Car' moment with Tracy Chapman
