James Beaty: OPINION: Ramblin' : Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' racing back up the charts

Feb. 16—Like I said last week when referring to Toby Keith's song "Don't Let the Old Man In" returning to the charts, you can't keep a good song down.

"Toby Keith 35 Biggest Hits" is the #1 album on the Billboard Top 200 albums this week — ahead of artists such as Morgan Wallen, SZA, Savage and Taylor Swift.

Now, another song is resurfacing on various music charts this week.

Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" is racing back up the charts, following her triumphant return to the stage to sing a duet of the song with country singer Luke Combs.

"Fast Car" is not the only song of Chapman's to return to the charts.

For example, in the wake of Chapman's and Combs' Grammy Awards performance, Chapman has an amazing five songs on the Rock Digital Songs charts. They include:

—"Fast Car" — #1.

—"Give Me One Reason" — #3.

—"Talkin' Bout a Revolution" — #7.

—"Baby Can I Hold You" — #9.

—"Stand By Me (Live From 'The Late Show with David Letterman') — #10.

Chapman's music has seen an amazing 13.5 million streams since her Grammy Awards performance.

Her 1988 debut album, the self-titled "Tracy Chapman" has reentered the Billboard Hot 200 this week at #59.

Not only that, Luke Combs' album, "Gettin' Old" is now climbing back up the charts at #22, with an arrow showing an upward trajectory.

When Chapman and Combs sang the song together on the Grammy Awards Show held in Los Angeles on Feb. 4 some media outlets hailed it as a surprise performance, but word had gotten out beforehand.

In a previous "Ramblin' Round" column, I gave readers a heads-up on the day before the Grammy Awards that the performances of Chapman and Combs, along with that of Joni Mitchell, would likely be highlights of the show.

Chapman hadn't performed on television since 2020, but Combs' success with his recording of Chapman's song, "Fast Car" brought her back into the spotlight.

Combs' version, from his album, "Gettin' Old" hit #1 on the Country Airplay charts and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Combs scored even higher on the charts with his version than Chapman did with her original 1988 release, which peaked at #6 on the Hot 100.

When a critic tried to cause a controversy by claiming that Chapman herself would not have been able to place a song on the country music charts as a Black woman, Chapman didn't buy into it.

Instead, she said she felt honored to be on the country music charts, saying she felt happy for Luke and his success and felt grateful that more fans were embracing "Fast Car."

Country music fans responded when the Country Music Association named "Fast Car" its Song of the Year — making Chapman the first Black woman to win the songwriting award.

It took a bit of arranging to get Chapman to agree to the Grammy Awards performance.

First, she wanted to make sure she could get the musicians who backed her on her original 1988 recording back together. It turned out she could.

To my surprise, that band turned out to include one of my favorite musicians, Larry Campbell.

A multi-instrumentalist as well as a singer and songwriter, Campbell is proficient on a multitude of instruments, including guitar, fiddle, mandolin, slide guitar and others.

Campbell's also known for playing in Bob Dylan's band in a lineup that also included guitar whiz Charlie Sexton. I once saw Dylan perform with a band that included Campbell and Sexton in the lineup at the Zoo Amphitheater in Oklahoma City, and they were sizzling hot.

Campbell also famously performed and recorded with Levon Helm, and produced Helm's Grammy Award-winning album, "Dirt Farmer" along with its successor, "Electric Dirt."

Campbell has also been a member of Phil Lesh and Friends, the band put together by the Grateful Dead's bass guitarist.

I could see why Chapman would want a musician like Campbell and the other band members behind for her return to the stage.

Unfortunately, the only time I saw Campbell during the Grammy Awards performance was a long shot where he's standing to Chapman's right after the performance ends. However, there were several excellent closeup shots of his fiddle!

During the Grammy Awards performance, the camera opens with a closeup on Chapman's hands, opening the song with her iconic acoustic guitar riff to thunderous applause from the audience.

Chapman appears almost luminous as she sings the song's opening lines:

"You've got a fast car and I want a ticket to anywhere. Maybe we can make a deal. Maybe together we can get somewhere."

She's obviously glad to be there and enjoying the revival of her most well-known song.

As she completes the first verse, Combs comes in for the second one, as they continue switching verses throughout the song. Then they come in together for the chorus, their voices blending as they sang:

"And I, I had a feeling that I belonged."

It's obvious that Combs, too, is glad to be there, as he glances towards Chapman.

Occasionally, the camera cuts to the audience, showing fellow performers such as Taylor Swift singing along.

Michael Trotter, of the duo The War and Treaty, seems especially elated with the performance, also singing along and smiling.

It's a magnificent performance, and has led to the resurgence of Chapman on the music charts and even has resulted in Comb's version of "Fast Car" heading up the charts again.

Here's how Combs related his thoughts on the experience through an Instagram post:

"When it comes to the performance it's still hard to process how amazing it really was to be up there on the stage. No doubt a defining moment of my career.

"Tracy, I want to send my sincerest thanks to you for allowing me to be part of your moment.

"Thank you for the impact you have had on my musical journey and the musical journey of countless other singers, songwriters, musicians and fans alike.

"I hope you felt how much you meant to the world that night. We were in awe of you up there and I was just the guy lucky enough to have the best seat in the house."

No doubt with the vast amount of sales that "Fast Car" and her other songs have achieved since her Grammy performance, Chapman is indeed feeling how much she means to the world.