Tracy Chapman Wins Song of the Year at 2023 CMA Awards Thanks to Luke Combs’ Cover of 1988 Hit “Fast Car”

Luke Combs’ chart-topping cover of folk-rocker Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit “Fast Car” was nominated in two categories, Single of the Year and Song of the Year, at the 57th annual CMA Awards held Wednesday night at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

After winning the Single of the Year prize as the first award given out during the televised show, “Fast Car” also took home the Song of the Year honor, with the trophy going to Chapman as the songwriter.

[RELATED: Luke Combs Wins Single of the Year for “Fast Car” at 2023 CMA Awards]

The award was presented by Sara Evans and country legend Bill Anderson. Chapman wasn’t in attendance at the ceremony, but she sent a message that read, “I’m sorry I couldn’t join you all tonight. It’s truly an honor for my song to be newly recognized after 35 years of its debut. Thank you to the CMAs and a special thanks to Luke [Combs] and to all of the fans of ‘Fast Car.’”

According to Rolling Stone, the honor made Chapman the first Black songwriter, male or female, ever to win the Song of the Year award in the history of the event.

Combs’ cover of “Fast Car” spent four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in September and October of this year, marking the first time a tune written solely by a Black female artist had topped the tally. Combs’ version peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, four positions higher than Chapman’s original rendition reached in 1988.

“Fast Car” beat out some very stiff competition to win the Song of the Year prize. The other nominees were Lainey Wilson’s “Heart Like a Truck,” which she co-wrote with Trannie Anderson and Dallas Wilson; Jordan Davis’ “Next Thing You Know,” co-written by Davis, Greylan James, Chase McGill, and Josh Osborne; Megan Moroney’s “Tennessee Orange,” which Moroney co-wrote with David Fanning, Paul Jenkins, and Ben Williams; and the HARDY/Lainey Wilson duet “wait in the truck,” which HARDY co-wrote with Renee Blair, Hunter Phelps, and Jordan Schmidt.

Meanwhile, when Combs accepted the Single of the Year honor earlier in the evening he gave major props to Chapman.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Tracy Chapman for writing one of the best songs of all time,” Combs said at the podium. “I just recorded it because I loved the song. It’s the first favorite song that I ever had, at 4 years old.”

Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images