| "Fast Car" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Tracy Chapman | ||||
| from the album Tracy Chapman | ||||
| B-side | "For You" | |||
| Released | April 6, 1988 | |||
| Recorded | 1987 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tracy Chapman | |||
| Producer(s) | David Kershenbaum | |||
| Tracy Chapman singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Fast Car" on YouTube | ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"Fast Car" | ||||
"Fast Car" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released on April 6, 1988, by Elektra, as the lead single from her 1988 self-titled debut studio album. Chapman's appearance at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert in June 1988 helped the song become a top-ten hit in the United States, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100, and led the album to top the Billboard 200. The single also reached number five on the UK Singles Chart.
"Fast Car" received three nominations at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, the last of which it won. It also received an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Female Video.
Since the release of Chapman's original, the song has had success in two electronic dance versions by Swedish DJ Tobtok and British DJ Jonas Blue, as well as a country cover by American singer Luke Combs. Combs's version was a number-one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts in 2023, and won Chapman the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year, making her the first black person to win the award.
- ^ Gerard, Chris (July 7, 2015). "The 50 Greatest Pop Songs of the '80s, Nos. 40-31". Metro Weekly. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ^ Duffy, Thom (September 6, 1988). "Poverty And Despair Crack The Top 10 Tracy Chapman Puts Social Issues To Music". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
- ^ Marsh, Dave (April 1996). "Rock 'n' Revolution". Mother Jones. p. 16. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- ^ Trust, Gary (February 20, 2016). "Tracy Chapman's Folk Classic 'Fast Car' Charts, Thanks to Two Dance Remakes". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2023.