Bleak yet hopeful. Sad and beautiful. A voice like we’d never heard and a chorus that was optimistic as well as infectious. Tracy Chapman came from nowhere with this monster song from 1988 that earned her a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance as well as Best New Artist. Though I couldn’t relate directly to the words of her song, I gravitated to the power of the music and the haunt of her voice. By far, Fast Car is one of my favorite songs of all time.
From the historical writing archive. Original date: November 17, 2015. Recovered from local source material; editorial review is still in progress.