The song of the year for 2023 may just have been Luke Combs’ rendition of the hit 1988 Tracy Chapman-penned tune, “Fast Car.” The success of the song, which included a spot at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, has given Chapman and Combs a lot of deserved attention.
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But even before Combs breathed new life into the track, it had garnered Chapman three Grammy nominations and one win. It’s one of her most successful tracks, along with the indelible “Give Me One Reason” (see more below). So, to celebrate the star songwriter, we thought we would take a moment here to highlight several other songs she’s written solo that have impacted listeners.
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1. “Baby Can I Hold You”
Written by Tracy Chapman
From Chapman’s 1988 self-titled debut LP, this song hit No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 19 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart. Though it also hit the No. 1 spot across the ocean in Portugal. Later, Chapman released it in 2011 on her Greatest Hits record, Collection. A slow-moving, mellow love song, Chapman’s woodgrain voice soars in the chorus, which has her swelling with devotion, hoping to find that special connection with another. On the song, Chapman sings,
“Sorry”
Is all that you can’t say
Years gone by and still
Words don’t come easily
Like sorry, like sorry
“Forgive me”
Is all that you can’t say
Years gone by and still
Words don’t come easily
Like forgive me, forgive me
But you can say, “Baby
Baby, can I hold you tonight?
Maybe if I told you the right words
Ooh, at the right time
You’d be mine”
2. “Give Me One Reason”
Written by Tracy Chapman
Along with “Fast Car,” this song is Chapman’s other big career single. (And we wouldn’t be surprised if in a year or two someone else follows in Luke Combs’ footsteps and re-records this track.). Released on Chapman’s fourth LP, New Beginning, in 1995, the song hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Chapman’s biggest solo hit. It also hit No. 3 in Australia and topped the charts in Canada. But the accolades didn’t end there. Chapman garnered a Grammy for Best Rock Song for it, along with three other nominations. Later, guitarist Eric Clapton recorded a rendition of it for a live Christmas album. On the bluesy number, Chapman sings about wanting to go and leave her lover… unless she has a reason to stay. She sings,
Give me one reason to stay here
And I’ll turn right back around
Give me one reason to stay here
And I’ll turn right back around
Said I don’t want to leave you lonely
You got to make me change my mind
Baby I got your number
Oh and I know that you got mine
You know that I called you
I called you many times
3. “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution”
Written by Tracy Chapman
This song was also released in 1988 on Chapman’s self-titled debut LP. While it only hit No. 75 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the message of the song remains relevant today. As recently as 2016, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders used the song as part of his political campaign. In the song, Chapman talks about the poor rising up to “get their share” and “take what’s theirs.” The more one hears it, the more it sicks to bones and eardrums. On it, Chapman sings,
Don’t you know
They’re talking about a revolution?
It sounds like a whisper
Don’t you know
Talking about a revolution?
It sounds like a whisper
While they’re standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion
Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
