Tracy Chapman’s original Grammys performance of “Fast Car” came on a very good night for the singer and songwriter.
In 1989, she won three Grammys, including Best New Artist. Randy Travis would help present her with that statuette, and Chapman would simply say “Thank you” and walk off stage. That was perhaps a sign of things to come, as in recent years she’s proven to be quite reclusive.
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Video (below) of her performance at the 31st annual Grammy Awards isn’t remarkably different than video from Sunday night’s (Feb. 4) performance, save that Luke Combs joined her for the 2024 version. She holds her acoustic guitar wearing a dark shirt and slacks and sings the song in a straight-forward way.
Chapman’s hair is longer, and the now-59-year-old has more gray, but that’s about all you’ll notice that’s changed.
Watch video of Chapman’s 1989 Grammy performance below. She won Best Contemporary Folk Recording and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female on that night, Feb. 22, 1989. The song was also nominated for Song and Record of the Year, and she was up for Album of the Year, but didn’t win.
Combs’ and Chapman’s collaboration of “Fast Car” didn’t win any Grammys, either, but it did earn her a CMA for Song of the Year last November.
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