Tracy Chapman is everywhere
...but nowhere to be seen... yet!
While we await news of a possible Tracy Chapman return (about which I have absolutely no news or rumors, don't get me wrong), I wanted to write you these few words to tell you a little bit about what the last few months have been like.
The Grammys duet of Tracy Chapman singing ‘Fast Car’ with Luke Combs had a very significant impact on the collective memory. In fact, it is the most viewed performance of the year on all platforms (well ahead of Miley Cirus' ‘Flowers’) and the second most viewed performance of all time on the official Grammy Awards Youtube channel!
This is evidenced by the many testimonials shared by everyone (and many celebrities) on social media, online publishing platforms such as Substack, Medium and other personal blogs, in podcasts and, of course, in the media. By the way, if there are any articles or posts that particularly resonated with you, don't hesitate to share them in the comments.
In March 2024, Queen Latifah, who hosted the 2024 NAACP Image Awards, name-checked notable Black figures who had made significant achievements in the previous year, including Tracy Chapman, who reached #1 on the country music charts with 'Fast Car'.
In April 2024 Beyoncé dedicated the Innovator Award at the 2024 iHeartRadio Award to « all the innovators who have dedicated their lives and their art to creating shifts » and she thanked Tracy Chapman among others.
With or without this Grammy performance, not a second goes by without someone listening to Tracy Chapman on an online listening platform for decades. For example, the average number of Tracy Chapman songs listened to daily on Spotify is 1.3 million in October 2024, DAILY not monthly (Source: ChartMasters).
But what's most striking to me is that she’s really been everywhere in the last few months.
Covers and Tribute Concerts
While we wait for Tracy Chapman to return to the stage, the only way to enjoy her music live is to attend dedicated tribute concerts or listen to covers.
The music of Tracy Chapman was celebrated at the Evanston Folk Fest Kick Off Concert featuring Joy Clark, Jonatavious Willis, Kyshona, Mehuman, Nathan Graham, Nora O'Connor, Kelly Hogan & more on September 6, 2024. The concert wasn't broadcast, but someone filmed Nathan Graham's 'Born To Fight' cover. Listen to this performance! The blues of his guitar playing is breathtaking and so different from the original version. For me, this is by far the best cover of the song!
In Australia, Andrea Kirwin and Band regularly perform Tracy Chapman's songs in a tribute show. Check her website and social media for upcoming performances. Apparently some shows are scheduled for February 2025 in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Find out more about these concerts in an interview published 2 years ago.
Currently on tour, Black Pumas' Eric Burton always ends their concerts with a cover of 'Fast Car' during the encores, like here in Madison, WI or like Luke Combs, whose cover of 'Fast Car' is a highlight of every one of his concerts, like here in Buffalo, NY, where the entire stadium crowd sings every word of the song with him.
Finally, candlelight concerts paying tribute to Tracy Chapman are popping up all over the place. They played in Los Angeles and Santa Monica this summer. They'll be in Chicago, Sidney and Melbourne in December 2024. Enough to give you a nice Christmas present.
Of course, it's no substitute for a Tracy Chapman concert, but it's better than nothing at all.
Oh, and Chris Cornell's widow, Vicky, celebrated what would have been the late Soundgarden frontman's 60th birthday by sharing a snippet of an unreleased cover of Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' in an Instagram post.
That's a lot (too much?) of 'Fast Car' covers, isn't it?
Books
Francesca Royster, Professor of the English at DePaul University in Chicago and author, is working on a new book project about Tracy Chapman: "Tracy Chapman and the Art of Refusal". The book is about "her music and especially the ways that her elusiveness and refusal of celebrity is significant for Black women musicians. In an industry that has used – and sometimes used up its Black women innovators, from Willie Mae Thornton to Whitney Houston, Tracy Chapman's quiet presents a new model of public performance and musical legacy for Black women." More about this project. No publication date yet, the book is currently being written. As part of Turning the Tables, NPR Music asked 12 writers to answer the question "What record changed your life?" and Francesca wrote "Meeting Tracy Chapman In The Spaces Between". To help you wait, read it!
The just-released NPR book "How Women Made Music" by author Ann Powers and editor Alison Fensterstock focuses on women in music history. It is about the vital role of women in music - from Beyoncé to Odetta, Taylor Swift to Joan Baez, Joan Jett to Dolly Parton - through archival interviews, essays, photographs and illustrations. Tracy, of course, is featured in the book. It is a must-have for music fans, songwriters, feminist historians, and anyone interested in how artists think and work. I just ordered my copy, you can order yours at Amazon.com
Speaking of books, I'm working on several Tracy Chapman book projects myself, so I'll keep you posted on their progress.
Exhibitions
The original tape that Luke Combs' father listened to in the car when he was a kid, and the suit jacket he wore to the Grammys, are on display in an exhibition dedicated to the singer called “Luke Combs: The Man I Am” at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, TN. There's even a special activity for kids to draw their own fast cars. It will be available until June 15, 2025.
A photo of Tracy and concert posters are displayed on the walls of the “Revolutionary Women In Music” exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (Cleveland, OH). It will be up until 2025, but the official end date has not yet been announced.
Speaking of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this year Tracy is once again on the list of artists who will be eligible for induction in 2025. Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible. Ohio lawmakers have introduced a resolution urging the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to induct Tracy Chapman in April 2024. Whether they will be heard, we will soon see.
Documentaries
Next week, on the 17th of October 2024, ‘Louder, the soundtrack of change’, a documentary film celebrating women In Music & Activism debuts on Max. It is co-produced by Selena Gomez and Stacey Abrams. An article mentions that ‘viewers will see a wide spectrum of performers, including legendary figures like Linda Ronstadt and Tracy Chapman.’ While the official press release says: “Gomez and Abrams passionately credit the legendary musicians Linda Ronstadt and Tracy Chapman for blazing the trails that provided them their motivation for their work.” So how much of Tracy do we really see in this documentary, I don't really know. If you are a Max subscriber and have a chance to see this documentary, please let me know.
A new documentary about Lilith Fair, directed by Ally Pankiw, is scheduled to premiere on CBC during the 2025-2026 season. Although it seems that Tracy will not be interviewed for it - this has yet to be confirmed, but she will inevitably be mentioned as she was one of the headliners at the first edition in 1997. I even hope we'll get a clip of one of her performances - we've seen so few of them! Fingers crossed.
As you can see, Tracy Chapman is everywhere (in our hearts, in our ears, on the Internet, in the press), but nowhere to be seen... yet!
I like to quote this extract from an interview she gave to a French radio station, on the occasion of the release of her Greatest Hits in 2015, admittedly almost 10 years ago now. “Will there be a new album?” she replied:
“I think so, I'm writing all the time, so I have new songs for a new record, but right now there are no plans for a new studio album. My only desire is to keep creating and trying to figure out how to make music. That's what I try to do, it's a journey, a real creative process in general.”
She needs time, let's give her time, but she'll be back, that's for sure.
While you're waiting, go and rediscover those Tracy albums you've listened to the least. I'm sure you have your favorites, but there may be one or more you've overlooked, so this is your chance to listen to them again with fresh attention.
And no, sorry, still no news on the vinyl re-release of the debut album, announced in the New York Times as due for summer 2024, but I promise, as soon as the release date is confirmed, you'll get it in your mailbox via this newsletter.
Please let me know what you thought of this issue in the comments, and don't hesitate to share it with others. Until next time!
Written by AURÉLIE M:
Editor, researcher, and founder of about-tracy-chapman.net. I’ve been curating Tracy Chapman’s legacy since 2001—online, in print, and through this newsletter. Co-manager of the Tracy Chapman Online (2.7M followers).
Kokomo Factory on YouTube has a great two hour live audio video from 2009. The concerts were in Rome & the UK. Tracy talks a lot. Some really great cover songs and different versions of Tracy's own wonderful songs.
Many many years ago when I was at a demonstration, wanna say it was probably an anti war demo although honestly, I don’t remember which of the many demos I went to it was… Tracy Chapman played live just her and her guitar and you know she was not like on a great big stage miles away from you. It was really quite close and absolutely delightful. I’ve always loved her work.