Like most other girls my age, and most certainly the readers of this article, I spent my Sunday night on February 4th huddled around the TV watching the Grammys with my roommates. For me, it was a casual watch. I don’t pay too much attention to the music industry, let alone music at all outside of my gym playlist and some country favorites. I was scrolling on my phone when I heard one of my favorite country singers, Luke Combs, start to talk about his father’s 1988 Ford F-150, pick-up truck. I looked up at the screen and immediately put my phone down.
Throughout his interview, Combs explained how “Fast Car,” originally performed and recorded by Tracy Chapman in 1988, was his “favorite song before [he] knew what a favorite song was.” When he was younger, he didn’t pay that much attention to the lyrics. He just loved the song and continually played it on his guitar. His love for this song continued into his adulthood when, during the recording of his latest album “Gettin’ Old,” Combs suggested they record a cover of the song, just because he wanted to do it. Little did he know this seemingly off-the-cuff passion project would reach number 2 on the Hot 100 chart, be nominated for a grammy, and breathe new life into this decades old song.
It seems as though Chapman was also surprised by the success and popularity of this song back in 1988 when it reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Chapman, who was raised by a single mother in a working class neighborhood, wrote this song about people who were “1. Working hard and 2. Hoping that things would get better.” Although she has largely remained out of the spotlight until her 2024 Grammy performance, Chapman showed much support for Combs and is “grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car.’”
Both Combs and Chapman recognize the unifying power of “Fast Car.” In an interview on BBC Radio in 2010, Chapman detailed the times people came up to her feeling like this is “their song” or even accusing her of stealing their mail because of how she “seemed to know their story.” Combs has echoed this sentiment both in his enjoyment of the song in his younger years as well as in the present day. When he would perform it live, Combs looked out over an audience screaming every lyric. Combs says in his interview before the performance that the song “can be felt and related to by all kinds of people all around the world.”
As the lights panned to Combs and Chapman on the stage, I felt a chill down my spine. Not only does this optimize every artist’s dream of living up to their idol, but the two taking the stage together embodied the spirit of the song in a way I can’t seem to compare to anything else. There’s something about a black, lesbian woman and a bearded white guy joined together, singing about struggle and hope that transcended the Grammy stage. This picture is even more powerful today as our country seems even more divided. This moment served as an example of the unifying power of music. No matter who you are, what you look like, or whether or not you like country music, everyone can relate to struggle, perseverance, and wanting to escape reality, perhaps by means of a “Fast Car.”