Tracy Chapman singing 'Fast Car' with Luke Combs at the Grammys is getting attention for all the right reasons
Legendary singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman performed her iconic 1988 tune "Fast Car" with country star Luke Combs at Sunday's Grammy Awards. It was Chapman's first public performance in nearly a decade, and the duet has been getting a ton of attention — and for all the right reasons.
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What's the background?
You might recall that Combs' cover of "Fast Car" hit the top of the charts last year, and alongside the adulation was quite a bit of controversy.
See, Combs is a white, straight male, and Chapman is a black, queer woman — and the success of Combs' version rubbed certain folks the wrong way.
Holly G, founder of the Black Opry — a group for black country music singers and fans — told the Washington Post that "it’s hard to really lean into [the Combs' "Fast Car"] excitement knowing that Tracy Chapman would not be celebrated in the industry without that kind of middleman being a white man.”
Tanner Davenport, co-director of the Black Opry, added to the Post that Combs' rapid success covering Chapman "kind of just proves that when you put a white face on black art, it seems to be consumed a lot easier.”
Holly G added to the Post — speaking hypothetically to Combs — that “you used her art to enrich your career, and that opens you up to a little bit of responsibility giving back to the community.”
Today said one commenter on the Post article remarked that people of color "and women rarely get any play on country stations. I was listening to OKQ this morning, and they played 5 male artists before they played a female artist. It grinds my gears that Luke Combs remade a song that was near-perfect, and now it’s getting a ton of play. Every time I hear the remake, I wish I were hearing the original.”
As it happens, there was no controversy coming from the two most important people involved: Chapman and Combs.
"I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there," Chapman told Billboard in the wake of the success of Combs' cover. "I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car.’”
Combs' "Fast Car" rendition in November won two Country Music Association awards: Single of the Year and Song of the Year, Today said, adding that Combs in acceptance remarks said, "First and foremost, I want to thank Tracy Chapman for writing one of the best songs of all time."
He added to Billboard that his "Fast Car" cover "has surprised me more than you can imagine. Tracy Chapman wrote this perfect song that I first heard with my dad and it has stayed with me since I have played it in my live show now for six-plus years and everyone — I mean everyone — across all these stadiums relates to this song and sings along. That’s the gift of a supernatural songwriter. The success of my cover is unreal, and I think it’s so cool that Tracy is getting recognized and has reached new milestones. I love that she is out there feeling all the love and that she gave me a shout-out! Thank you, Tracy!”
In addition, Billboard noted last July that Combs’ rendition generated at least $500,000 in global publishing royalties — the bulk of which goes to Chapman since she owns the writer’s and publisher’s share of the song. What's more, the Daily Beast said that less than an hour after her Sunday duet with Combs, Chapman’s original version of "Fast Car" hit the top of the U.S. iTunes charts "for the first time ever."
How are folks reacting to the Chapman-Combs duet?
Reactions to Chapman's duet with Combs at the Grammys seemed overwhelmingly positive. Here's a sampling:
- "It looked like she was tearing up at the beginning when everyone was cheering... it was so dang beautiful and filled my heart with joy," one commenter said.
- "I loved that he let her lead (I know it’s her song)," another user observed. "He worked off her the entire song. Very respectful!"
- "The VIBE between these two!!" another commenter exclaimed.
- "I’m not crying you’re crying," another user wrote.
- "This makes me feel like maybe this world can work after all," another commenter concluded.
GRAMMYs: Tracy Chapman Makes RARE Appearance to Sing Fast Car With Luke Combsyoutu.be
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Florida woman discovers she owes $250K from lawsuit by singer Luke Combs over $380 she earned selling tumblers online
A woman whose only source of income was selling items online discovered that a judge had ruled against her and she owed $250,000 to country singer Luke Combs.
Nicol Harness was selling homemade tumblers and T
She told WFLA-TV that she sold only 18 tumblers with the likeness of the singer and made $380 off their sale.
The lawsuit was filed in an Illinois court against her and several others for selling counterfeit merchandise. The lawsuit was already settled before she found out about it, and she was ordered to pay $250,000.
“It’s very stressful. I don’t have money to pay my bills,” Harness said. “I just want this resolved. I didn’t mean any harm to Luke Combs. I quit selling the tumbler. I pulled it down. I just don’t understand.”
She found out something was wrong when she couldn't access the money in her Amazon account.
“I sent so many messages to Amazon asking for answers but couldn’t figure it out,” she explained.
Harness then found that an email notice about the lawsuit was sent to her account but went to the junk folder in October. It said that she would have to respond within 21 days, but she says she didn't see the email until it was too late.
In Florida, lawsuits are required to be delivered by hand, but Illinois just passed a new law that says lawsuits can be delivered through email.
Harness said she wanted to apologize to Combs.
“I would tell him I’m sorry, like I said I didn’t mean any harm," she said. "I’m a supporter of Luke Combs. I respect him. This is not something I meant to go wrong like this. I just want to get back to my day-to\day life.”
Combs responds
After making headlines, Harness was able to get a response from the performer.
Combs posted a message about the lawsuit to his Instagram account on Wednesday.
"I was completely and utterly unaware of this," Combs said in the video.
He went on to explain that the lawsuits were intended to go after large companies that make millions off of counterfeit merchandise, not individuals like Harness.
"That makes me absolutely sick to my stomach," he added. "It makes me sick, honestly, that this would happen, especially at the holidays, I can't imagine being in her shoes."
He said that he was able to obtain her phone number and he apologized to her personally. He also gave her a gift of $11,000, double the value of what was locked up in her Amazon account.
"She was never supposed to be involved in any of this, no fan should ever have to be involved in anything like this," he added.
He also said he would add a tumbler to his online shop and give the proceeds from sales to Harness to help with her medical bills. Thousands of fans praised him for his magnanimous response.
Here's a local news report about the lawsuit:
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Country star Luke Combs VILLAINIZED as a white supremacist over Tracy Chapman cover
If you’re a country music fan, then you already know that Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” cover continues to top the charts weeks after its release.
And if you’re not a country music fan, then surely you remember Tracy Chapman’s 1988 award-winning song “Fast Car.” Luke Combs, a major country star, recently released a cover of the song, claiming that it was one of the first songs he learned to play on the guitar and that singing it reminds him of spending time with his dad.
How selfish and terrible of him.
That’s how the left is painting the picture anyway.
Emily Yahr, a Washington Post reporter, tweeted:
Yahr’s claim that Chapman wouldn’t have been able to achieve the success Combs’ has seen is quite frankly a flagrant lie and an insult to Chapman’s actual achievements.
Twitter’s fact-checking system revealed that “‘Fast Car’ by Tracy Chapman was nominated for 3 Grammy awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. She won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best New Artist.”
The truth is this wouldn't be problematic if Tracy wasn’t a queer black woman and Luke wasn’t a straight white man.
“This white guy,” Dave Rubin mocks, who “must somehow also be a white supremacist,” is “going to make a whole bunch of money and win a whole bunch of awards on this Tracy Chapman song and she couldn’t. Oh, but she did win a whole bunch of awards and she became super rich on it.”
Not to mention she will make even more money on residuals because a famous country star loved her song so much that he decided to do a cover of it.
But here’s the best part:
Tracy Chapman herself has shown nothing but support for Luke.
“I never expected to find myself on the country charts,” she told People, “but I’m honored to be there.”
“I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car,”’ she said.
“Everybody’s making money, everybody gets to hear more of her songs,” and “Washington Post – the machine, the corporate press machine – decides to make it about race and racism and opening up conversations about queer blah blah blah,” Rubin ridicules.
“And it’s all B.S.”
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'Hard work pays off': 2 young fans chop wood to earn money for tickets to Luke Combs concert — and Combs pauses the performance to thank and reimburse them
Two young boys in Maine had an evening they will likely never forget after their country music star hero Luke Combs publicly acknowledged them for working hard to earn the money to attend one of his concerts.
Bo Fenderson, 12, of Cornish, Maine, and his friend Tanner both reportedly earned $100 a piece chopping wood so that they could purchase tickets to attend one of two Luke Combs "Middle of Somewhere" concerts in Bangor over the weekend. Not only did Combs notice the signs they held to explain their story, but he read the signs to the entire concert audience, reimbursed the boys for the tickets they bought, and then invited them both backstage to spend more time with him and the other musicians.
"We made $100 bucks stacking 5 cords of wood, bought two Luke Combs tickets," the boys' sign read. "Man, he sounds good. Our Dads swore it was a waste of time, oh but they were wrong. Today’s my 12th birthday, oh Lord when it rains it pours."
Once Combs understood that the two boys had spent their own hard-earned money to attend the concert that Friday, he decided to pay them back for all their effort.
"How much were you tickets? $100? $200? Y’all paid $200, a hundred dollars apiece. Oh my God, I only got $140 right here," Combs told the boys as he handed them cash from his pocket. "Y’all want that, pay yourselves back. I’ll get you some more."
Combs was better than his word. Not only did he give the boys the full $200, but he autographed their hats, and then spent time with them backstage after the concert was over — all on young Bo's 12th birthday.
"I prayed for it to happen," Bo said. "I hoped. I prayed, and it happened."
The mothers of the two boys were equally impressed by Combs's efforts to connect with his fans and reward them for their hard work.
"He’s a great role model to take the time and do that and really acknowledge what they did," said Bo's mom Desiree.
"It wasn’t just Luke," she continued. "It was the rest of the staff too that made it happen and made it a point to come find us and the boys and fulfill that promise that he made to them. I think for all of the sisters, the cousins, and the friends that they all learned a valuable lesson."
The boys recalled that Combs told them backstage that the two most important things in life are kindness and hard work.
"Hard work pays off," Tanner agreed.
Combs's kindness and generosity didn't stop with Bo and Tanner either. During his concert on Saturday night, Combs regretfully informed attendees that he would have to cut the show short because he was struggling with a throat issue. However, he reimbursed the entire crowd for the cost of their tickets — and still proceeded to give them a full performance, despite his struggles.
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