Remembering Tracy Chapman’s Big 1989 Grammy Night as the Singer/Songwriter Turns 60

Tracy Chapman celebrates her 60th birthday on March 30, 2024. The publicity-shy singer/songwriter has received renewed media attention in recent months after country star Luke Combs had a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts with his cover of her classic 1988 tune “Fast Car.”

Chapman’s duet performance of “Fast Car” with Combs was one of the most dramatic moments of the 2024 Grammys ceremony, but Tracy had an even bigger Grammy night 25 years earlier, near the start of her career.

[RELATED: Luke Combs Anoints “Fast Car” Duet a “Defining Moment” in His Career, Tracy Chapman Responds]

During the 31st annual Grammy Awards, on February 22, 1989, Chapman won three trophies thanks to “Fast Car” and her 1988 self-titled debut album. That night, she took home Grammys for Best New Artist, Best Contemporary Folk Album for Tracy Chapman, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Fast Car.”

In accepting the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance prize, Chapman first thanked her record company, her management, and the album’s producer, David Kershenbaum.

She then thanked her family, singing out two members: “My mother, who bought my first guitar, and my sister, who’s always been my best audience, my best critic, and my best friend. Thank you, very much.”

Chapman also performed “Fast Car” at the ceremony, with the audience giving her a standing ovation.

Chapman also was nominated for three other major Grammys at the 1989 event—Album of the Year for Tracy Chapman, and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Fast Car.”

Chapman’s Early Chart Success

The Tracy Chapman album was released in April 1988, and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in August of that year. “Fast Car” reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

More About Combs’ Cover of “Fast Car”

Interestingly, Combs’ version of the song peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100, and spent four weeks at the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs tally in the fall of 2023.

Thanks to Combs’ cover, Chapman made history in November 2023, when “Fast Car” took home the Song of the Year honor at the 57th Annual Country Music Association Awards. That made her the first Black woman to ever win a CMA Award, and the first Black songwriter to ever receive the CMA Song of the Year prize.

Chapman Won Another Grammy in 1997

Meanwhile, in 1997, Chapman won her fourth career Grammy, taking home the Best Rock Song prize for her tune “Give Me One Reason.”