Vinyl Fever, Zadie Smith’s Take & Bob Dylan’s Unexpected Message
In Today’s Newsletter:
The final countdown to Friday’s release
A renowned writer shares her memories of Tracy Chapman in The Guardian
A birthday message from the world’s most famous folk singer that made headlines
📀 Getting Ready for Friday’s Vinyl Release!
In case you missed the news, this Friday marks the special 35th-anniversary reissue of Tracy Chapman, Tracy Chapman’s iconic debut album, on vinyl! It will be available from all major online retailers and likely at your local record store as well.
If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, now’s the time! Stock appears to be limited, so securing your copy as soon as possible is highly recommended—whether through Amazon or another retailer. The colored editions (Oxblood Red, Opaque Orange, and Transparent Orange) are even more limited than the standard black version, so I strongly encourage you to check online availability. Given how quickly these are selling out, you might need to order from an international store. While shipping costs could be a bit higher, it will likely still be cheaper than buying from resellers on eBay once stocks run out.
Record stores have already started receiving their shipments.
Some of you will be lucky enough to get your hands on a collector's edition slipmat - unfortunately, there's no official list of retailers carrying it yet. Aside from the Warner Music Australia website and a few US stores I mentioned in a note, I found a Dutch retailer today that is offering it: Platomania. So it's possible that more stores in other countries have it as well. I recommend checking with your local record store
📸 Call for submissions
When you receive/purchase your copy, please feel free to share pictures of your vinyl on social networks by tagging the @tracychapmanonline account, the idea would be to re-share them online. Also, if you can, take photos of the vinyl at your local record store - it'd be great to really see how this record continues to tour the world!
📰 Zadie Smith's recollections in the Guardian
British author Zadie Smith was invited to write about her connection with Tracy Chapman for The Guardian. Her article appeared in the print edition on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
In this thoughtful piece, Smith reflects on the lasting impact of Tracy Chapman's performance at the Free Nelson Mandela concert in 1988. She recalls being just 12 years old, mesmerized by Chapman's raw authenticity—such a stark contrast to the grand spectacle of the event :
“Chapman was something completely different: a protest singer with an acoustic guitar. It’s wonderful to watch that mammoth crowd fall into an awed silence.
Back in Willesden, we were pretty stunned too, although perhaps for different reasons. For us, it was the shock of the familiar. She was dressed just like the young activists you saw on the marches – black cowlneck T, black jeans, black boots – and she even looked like our mother: no makeup and the same three-inch dreadlocks. She was so … familiar.”
Further on, she also says:
“She didn’t just look like the people on our side of the screen, she was singing our songs. Songs of everyday struggle, working-class experience, poverty, drink, political protest, domestic troubles, thwarted dreams. She was talkin’ about a revolution. On the BBC!”
Her writing is poignant, her testimony interesting, and her analysis pertinent. It's a personal look at and analysis of Tracy Chapman's album. For once, it's nice that an author doesn't really talk about "Fast Car" or "Baby Can I Hold You" (the songs that, along with "Talkin' Bout A Revolution", are the best known since they were released as singles), but that light is shed on other songs: "Behind The Wall," "Across The Lines," "Why?”.
🔗 Read Smith's celebration of Chapman's art and legacy in the free online article.
Unless you ask them, it's impossible to know if Tracy Chapman and Zadie Smith met for the first time in "real life" in 2017, but if they did, it was backstage at the Nourse Theater (San Francisco) for the Zadie Smith Conversation with Michael Chabon on January 10, 2017, and we have a photo of it shared by @ayeletw on Instagram
🎂 A Special Birthday Wish for Tracy Chapman
Last Sunday, Tracy Chapman celebrated her 61st birthday, and well wishes poured in from around the world. But one message, in particular, stood out: Bob Dylan himself shared a heartfelt tribute on X, accompanied by a never-before-seen photo (which some suspect might be AI-generated).
Even he hopes to see her again someday... A moment rare enough to make headlines in Rolling Stone magazine!
I hope you have enjoyed this edition of the newsletter. Next time, we’ll take you behind the scenes of the special 35th-anniversary vinyl reissue of Tracy Chapman—with exclusive insights from those who helped bring the project to life, including Tracy herself! Stay tuned!
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).
Is this site/newsletter officially endorsed by Tracy Chapman?
She famously doesn’t do social media.