Tracy Chapman was one of the most influential artists of the latter 20th century. The folk singer, who first rose to prominence with her self-titled debut album in 1988, has penned generation-defining hits like “Give Me One Reason” and “Fast Car.” The latter recently had a resurgence due to a cover by country singer Luke Combs, which managed to out-peak the original and rise up to number-two on the Billboard Hot 100 for multiple weeks. “Fast Car’s” rediscovery is proof that Chapman has always been one of music’s greats, but the industry has always loved her. Back when she debuted, she earned six Grammy nominations and won three, including the coveted Best New Artist award.
Chapman’s road to BNA glory was relatively smooth. When her debut album came out it got rave reviews, praising her storytelling the most. “Fast Car” was issued as the lead single, and managed to enter the top 10 of the Hot 100 after being performed at Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday tribute concert on TV. “Fast Car” and “Tracy Chapman” were both exactly what the Grammys love about artists, especially newcomers. Both were considered rawer, more authentic outputs than most of the music of the time; what ruled the charts then were ultra-polished pop songs like George Michael’s “Monkey” or anthemic bangers like Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child o’ Mine.” As such, Chapman was a change of pace, the voice of a new wave of more personal, intimate music that would rule the charts not long after.
The Grammys were also changing as Chapman was breaking out. Regarding her Grammy chances, the Washington Post wrote that “Chapman’s multiple nominations reflect not only the age-old custom of hitching the industry’s fortunes to a rising star, but also a fundamental change in perceptions.” Said change was characterized by the sudden rise of rock music to the top Grammy categories after years of being relegated to its genre field. Just the year before Chapman’s first Grammys, U2’s “The Joshua Tree” had become one of the few purely rock records to take home Album of the Year. As such, Chapman’s fusion of folk music with rock sensibilities was just the right fit for recording academy voters.
While Chapman was not seen as a lock in Record, Song or Album of the Year (and indeed, she lost those), she was the heavy favorite to win Best New Artist. Nominated alongside her were Take 6, an a cappella group that ended up winning Grammys in jazz and gospel categories, so perhaps they weren’t far behind Chapman for BNA. Another nominee was Rick Astley, whom you might know for his ’80s classic and eventual viral internet meme “Never Gonna Give You Up.” By the time of his nomination Astley had accumulated four top-10 singles, including the chart-toppers “Together Forever” and the aforementioned inescapable classic. But the Grammys weren’t focused purely on popularity in 1989, and Astley was likely considered too lightweight. Rounding out the category, Toni Childs and Vanessa Williams were both nominated. Childs was likely too under-the-radar to win. And Williams had not really exploded like she would in the following decade.
So in the end, critical acclaim, commercial success, and tons of artistic credibility managed to push Chapman across the finish line. Her acceptance speech was as graceful as she’s always been, simply saying, “Thank you, once again. Thank you,” referring to her previous two wins that night. Perhaps it was the academy who should’ve thanked Chapman, though, not only for her ingenious songwriting, but for ushering in a new wave of singer-songwriters that aimed to be as authentic and fresh as she was.
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