Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car’ wins CMA’s Song of the Year

Beloved folk singer Tracy Chapman, a longtime San Francisco resident, is back on top with a song she penned decades ago. On Wednesday, Chapman’s 1988 classic, “Fast Car,” took home Song of the Year at the Country Music Awards, courtesy of a cover by country star Luke Combs.

“It’s truly an honor for my song to be newly recognized after 35 years of its debut. Wow,” said presenter Sarah Evans on behalf of Chapman.

The ballad tells the doomed love story of two young people hoping, but failing, to escape the constraints of their impoverished hometown. When it debuted, “Fast Car” powered Chapman from obscurity to superstardom. Now, it’s back to being one of the most popular songs in the country.

Earlier this year, Combs’ version reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, making Chapman the first Black woman to top the chart with a sole writing credit. Combs’ version also hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, outpacing the original, which topped out at No. 6. Between the original, Combs’ version and a 2015 cover from Jonas Blue, the song has amassed over 2 billion streams on Spotify.

While Chapman has been publicly supportive of Combs, a white man gaining acclaim for a woman of color’s work has rubbed some the wrong way. 

“On one hand, Luke Combs is an amazing artist, and it’s great to see that someone in country music is influenced by a Black queer woman — that’s really exciting. But at the same time, it’s hard to really lean into that excitement knowing that Tracy Chapman would not be celebrated in the industry without that kind of middleman being a White man,” said Holly G, founder of the Black Opry, to the Washington Post.