Who Is Tracy Chapman?
Four-time Grammy winner Tracy Chapman began writing music and performing in Boston, where she recorded songs at the WMFO radio station. She caught her big break in 1986, when a friend’s father introduced her to a manager at Elektra Records. Her self-titled album released in 1988. The album’s most popular single, “Fast Car,” landed at No. 5 on the U.K. charts and No. 6 on the U.S. charts. Several years later, Chapman released New Beginning, another widely acclaimed album, which was carried by the hit song “Give Me One Reason.” Although that 1995 success has yet to be matched, Chapman stays busy as an activist, speaking and performing on behalf of various organizations.
Early Life
Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland on March 30, 1964. At a young age, she moved with her family to Connecticut. While attending Tufts University in Massachusetts, studying anthropology and African studies, Chapman began writing music and performing in Boston and recorded songs at the local WMFO radio station.
Musical Career: Songs and Albums
Chapman caught her big break in 1986 when a friend’s father introduced her to a manager at Elektra Records—with whom she recorded her first self-titled album that was released in 1988. Tracy Chapman rose to No. 1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and its popular single, “Fast Car,” landed at No. 5 on the U.K. charts and No. 6 on the U.S. charts. That same year, Chapman performed at Nelson Mandela’s 70th Birthday Tribute Concert, which was held in Great Britain. The album’s second single, “Talkin’ ’Bout a Revolution,” also met with wide acclaim and earned rank on Billboard’s music charts.
The musician received several honors following the release of Tracy Chapman, including three Grammy Awards in 1989. She won Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Fast Car,” and Best Contemporary Folk Recording.
Becoming a three-time Grammy winner is quite an accomplishment for any musician’s first project, but Chapman didn’t waste any time before working on her next one. Between performing songs from her Grammy Award–winning album, she continued to write and make rounds back to the studio to record Crossroads (1989), which she also co-produced. Chapman dedicated one song on the album, “Freedom Now,” to Mandela. Although the album didn’t receive the same acclaim as her first, it did find a place on the Billboard 200, as well as other industry charts.
Social Activist
Outside of her musical career, Chapman has long worked as an activist, speaking and performing on behalf of several nonprofit organizations, including the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Circle of Life (no longer active). During a 2003 event to benefit Circle of Life, Chapman performed a memorable duet with Bonnie Raitt, of the John Prine song “Angel Fro
m Montgomery.”
