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Fast Car

"Fast Car" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released on April 6, 1988, by Elektra, as the lead single from her self-titled debut studio album (1988). Chapman's appearance on the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute helped the song become a top-ten hit in the United States, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, it reached number five on the UK Singles Chart in 1988.

For other uses, see Fast Car (disambiguation).

"Fast Car"

"For You"

April 6, 1988 (1988-04-06)

1987

  • 4:57 (album version)
  • 4:26 (single version)

"Fast Car" received three Grammy Award nominations: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, the last of which it won in 1989. It also received an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Female Video in 1989.


Since the release of Chapman's original, the song has had success in two electronic dance versions by Swedish DJ Tobtok and British DJ Jonas Blue, as well as a country music cover by singer Luke Combs. Combs's version was a number-one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts in 2023, and won Chapman the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year, making her the first black person to win the award.

Music and lyrics[edit]

According to Metro Weekly critic Chris Gerard, "Fast Car" tells a grittily realistic story of a working poor woman trying to escape the cycle of poverty, set to folk rock music.[1] The song's arrangement was described by Orlando Sentinel writer Thom Duffy as "subtle folk-rock",[2] while Billboard magazine's Gary Trust deemed the record a "folk/pop" song.[4] Dave Marsh said it was perhaps an "optimistic folk-rock narrative", whose characters are in a homeless shelter.[3]

Release and promotion[edit]

Elektra Records released "Fast Car" on April 6, 1988, one day after the parent album, Tracy Chapman.[5] That June, Chapman appeared at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert, where she was scheduled to sing three songs.[6] Just before surprise guest Stevie Wonder walked onstage, he learned that his keyboard's floppy disk had gone missing. He left in a panic, forcing the event organizers to usher Chapman back to the stage with nothing but a microphone and her guitar. As the organizers readied the stage for the following act, Chapman performed "Fast Car" and "Across the Lines".[5][6] This performance brought attention to Chapman's music, with sales for Tracy Chapman increasing greatly, enough for it to top the Billboard 200 chart on August 27, 1988.[6][7] "Fast Car" itself would reach number six on the Billboard Hot 100 the same week.[8]


A remastered recording was issued by Elektra in 2015.[9]

Critical reception[edit]

John Tague from NME wrote, "'Fast Car' is a typically well expressed lament, not for those who have suffered extraordinary circumstances, but for those who escape one form of dead end existence only to fall into another, relative material success without the consolation of dreams for the future. It's a keenly felt depiction of the impossibility of escape, rendered tastefully and gracefully, charming in its simplicity."[10] Rolling Stone ranked "Fast Car" number 167 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[11] It is Chapman's only song on the list, and the highest-ranking song performed and written solely by a female artist. When Rolling Stone updated the list in 2021, "Fast Car" was promoted to the 71st spot.[12] Pitchfork named it the 86th-best song of the 1980s.[13]

Renewed British success[edit]

In April 2011, "Fast Car" entered the UK top ten for the second time at number four after Michael Collings performed it on Britain's Got Talent, one position higher than its initial chart success in 1988.[14] The single was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2024, based on downloads and streaming.[15] By 2016, it had sold 661,500 copies in the United Kingdom.[16]

Tracy Chapman – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion

Denny Fongheiser – drums

– bass guitar

Larry Klein

Ed Black –

steel guitar

"Fast Car"

October 30, 2015 (2015-10-30)

3:27

Tracy Chapman

Tobtok

December 4, 2015 (2015-12-04)[67]

2015

3:32

Tracy Chapman

Jonas Blue

April 18, 2023 (2023-04-18)[153]

4:25

Tracy Chapman

The initial version of the song "" by Gabrielle was based around a sample of "Fast Car" but this was removed from the final version because the sample could not be cleared.[208]

Dreams

American musician, multi-instrumentalist and former member Jim O'Rourke performed a 33-minute long rendition of "Fast Car" in Tokyo in 2002.[209]

Sonic Youth

"Fast Car" was included in the deluxe version of the Black Pumas 2019 debut album, .

Black Pumas

List of number-one singles of 2016 (Australia)

List of number-one dance singles of 2016 (U.S.)