Songoftheday 2/23/16 - You see my old man's got a problem, he live with the bottle that's the way it is he says his body's too old for working...

"Fast Car" - Tracy Chapman
from the album Tracy Chapman (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 12

Today's song of the day comes from the folk singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman, who had been going to college and busking on the street before being signed to a record deal, releasing her self-titled debut album in 1988. The first single from the record was a vivid story about a young couple struggling and failing at their dreams written by the artist, "Fast Car". With her flawless voice wringing out the emotion of a girl willing to bet her life on her chances with a man, the song was quiet where it needed to be, and strong as well, and offered a whole different perspective of African-American life than rap or soul music could...

"Fast Car" became Tracy's first top-10 pop hit in America in August of 1988. The single also crossed over to #7 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart, and peaked at #19 on their Mainstream Rock radio list. Internationally, the record originally went to #5 in the UK after her performance at the Nelson Mandela Birthday concert in 1988, then reappeared at #4 in 2011 after a contestant on Britain's Got Talent covered the song. The song also went to #1 in Canada, Belgium, and Ireland, and reached the top ten in Australia (#4), the Netherlands (#8), and Sweden (#9). Traci would go on to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1989, along with best Folk Album and Best Female Rock Performance for "Fast Car".

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Here's Chapman on her breakthrough performance at the Nelson Mandela concert in 1988...

Next up, after winning three Grammys, Tracy performing "Fast Car" at the Grammy Awards in 1989...

In 2010 the group Boyce Avenue and singer Kira Grannis teamed up for a cover of the song which has racked up more than 35 million views on YouTube..

The performance of this singer on Britain's Got Talent caused the original "Fast Car" to climb to a new peak of #4 on the British charts...

Sam Smith put a new spin on the song at the BBC Live Lounge in 2014...

This year, two acts have reinvented "Fast Car" as a tropical house dance number. First in British producer Jonas Blue and singer Dakota, which has gone to #1 in Australia, #2 in the UK, Germany, and Sweden, and has just started to climb the American dance chart at #39...

Meanwhile, another version from Swedish act Tobtok went to #19 in Australia, and top-40 in Ireland, Denmark, and Norway...

...and finally, back to Tracy from a show in 2013...

Up tomorrow: A suave Englishman is hard to pass up.