Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' song wins CMA award 35 years after its debut

Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" ended up driving her right to the coveted CMA award for song of the year — 35 years later.

The Country Music Association donned the 59-year-old singer with the song of the year honor during the awards show on Nov. 8. The song first debuted in 1988 on Chapman's self-titled album and peaked at No. 6 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart that same year. Chapman's "Fast Car" also notched a Grammy win for best female pop vocal performance and two additional Grammy nominations in 1989, and the song regained attention this year when Luke Combs covered it.

The crowd was brought to its feet when award presenters Sara Evans and Bill Anderson announced Chapman as the category winner. The "Telling Stories" singer did not attend the awards show but sent in a statement that Evans read.

“It’s truly an honor for my song to be newly recognized after 35 years of its debut,” Chapman's statement said. “Thank you to the CMAs and a special thanks to Luke and all of the fans of ‘Fast Car.’”

Combs' cover of "Fast Car" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in September and No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart over the summer. He won the single of the year award for Chapman’s song at this year's CMAs. In his acceptance speech, he thanked Chapman for writing "one of the best songs of all time."

“I just recorded it because I love this song so much,” Combs said. “It’s meant so much to me throughout my entire life.”

"Fast Car" has been covered before, but none have become as popular as Combs' version. His cover is therefore credited for introducing Chapman to new audiences.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com