Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” has earned its place in some of the most covered songs in history, after having more than 15 versions, with Luke Combs’ version currently the most liked, loved, and streamed. Creating even more popularity for the 33-year-old American Country Musician who rose to fame in 2015 after re-dropping his single, “Hurricane” under Sony Music Nashville.
For an artist who is dedicated to providing the best country music and making sure that lovers of such music get to feel the vibrations and cloud-9 feeling that comes with the vibe, Luke Combs has headlined 4 tours, with the 5th one “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour” coming next year, so ensure to by-pass the tickets-battle by getting Luke Combs tickets from a reliable marketplace.
Even though Luke Combs has managed to keep up with the performance of “Fast Car” in most of his concerts, if not all, his love for this song has sparked a lot of controversies and currently, it is unclear how the world received his version of “Fast Car.”
How “Fast Car” Changed My Life – Luke Combs
Luke confessed to loving “Fast Car” and he connects his love for this country song to a childhood memory that springs up from years back when he spent time with his dad.
Luke spent quality time with his dad when he was young. He talks about the experience he has with his dad every opportunity he gets while touring and recently, in one of his concerts, he recalled learning to play “Fast Car” his first song with a guitar while learning to play and that was because his dad had always put “Fast Car” on repeat every time they went out riding back in the days, in North Carolina.
For Luke Combs, “Fast Car” is not a song that he started performing for the sake of fame, or even after fame. Luke’s performance of “Fast Car” started years back while still in college, before dropping out of school to pursue his musical career.
The life-changing impact “Fast Car” has on Luke is the fact that he has spent most of his time on the road, right from when he rode in his dad’s car while “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman was on repeat, to his numerous performances of the same song while on the road, chasing success in the musical path.
Creating his version of “Fast Car” and making it available for fans online came shortly after he had recorded himself performing the song in his garage, during the pandemic back in 2020. Fans who liked his solo at that time encouraged him to make the song available for them to stream, and they soon got their wish years later.
In one of Luke Combs interviews, he mentioned that “Fast Car” changed his life, and even though he is very famous with more than 13 of his songs claiming the No.1 spot on the Billboard Chart, part of his recently acquired fame can be attached to his version of “Fast Car” after it surpassed 65 million streams on Spotify upon release.
Why the Sudden Hate on Luke Combs Version of “Fast Car”?
Even though Luke’s version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” received global recognition, that recognition came with a few controversies that resulted in sudden hate for the Country Musician.
Going through the lyrics of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” reflected a trapped soul longing for freedom. The voice and the tone of the song expressed deeply, the need for that soul to get away from whatever was tying it down. At the time of Tracy’s “Fast Car” release, even though slavery had been abolished, racism was in full-fledged practice.
Many believed it is that same racism that hindered Tracy Chapman’s version of “Fast Car” from receiving airplay on country radios back then, and now, and also landing it on the no.6 spot of Billboard’s Hot 100 even though it was one of the biggest country music to be released, as proven now.
For these believers, it might have initially been a mere speculation, or assumption, especially from fans who love the original version of “Fast Car.”
Their assumptions soon became solid facts upon the recorded success of Luke Combs, after making a cover of the same song that Tracy had sung years back but still didn’t get celebrated like Luke.
There’s a chance that you’ve had to listen to the cover of “Fast Car” by Luke Combs from your car radio, in the past couple of weeks or months ever since its release, for much more than you bargained for. Many people, especially black artists believe that is so because Luke Combs is a white artist and not a black-queer-female-artist.
It is evident that Luke’s version of “Fast Car” has received more plays than Tracy’s version since its release, even though many believe that listening to Luke’s version is nothing compared to the original version by Tracy Chapman.
Although recent comments made by some listeners of country music create a whole different perspective to the case insisting that the hate for Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” is not necessarily racist, but misogyny since they will have to listen to at least 5 country songs sung by male artists before listening to 1 sang by a female artist on the country radio.
The majority believe it is factual enough that Tracy Chapman would never have received the recognition she is receiving now for her song, “Fast Car,” as a black queer female country musician without a middle-white man like Luke Combs.
Unfortunately, the same song topping the charts now as a cover only proves that Tracy Chapman was partially deprived of her success and recognition as the founder of a global anthem for country folks supporting the majority’s point.
Tracy Chapman’s Comment on Luke Combs’s Version of “Fast Car”
Even though Luke confessed to never seeking Tracy’s permission to cover her song, or even informing her of the aftermath of his project, the 59 years old American Songwriter and singer who has been off the radar for years came out in the middle of this year to share her thoughts on Luke’s version of her global hit.
She said, “I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there. I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car.’”
Her opinion is what many thought to express her pains even more seeing that she never got the kind of recognition that Luke is receiving now. She made that clear in her speech where she mentioned, “Never expected to find myself on the country charts.”
On the other hand, Tracy seems happy with the attention her “Fast Car” has received and is still receiving and is thankful to the new troop of “Fast Car” lovers that have been drawn thanks to Luke Combs.
With the way things are going, we expect a future collaboration between the two, and hopefully, a stage performance with time. After all, Luke Combs did portray Tracy Chapman as his role model from his previous interviews.
