Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason".
Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987.[1] The following year she released her debut album, Tracy Chapman, which became a commercial success, boosted by her appearance at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert, and was certified 6× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album received six Grammy Award nominations, including one for Album of the Year, three of which she won; Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her single "Fast Car", and Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 1989, Chapman released her second album, Crossroads, which earned her an additional Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Her third album, Matters of the Heart, followed in 1992.
Chapman's fourth album, New Beginning, was released in 1995 and became another worldwide success. It was certified 5× platinum by the RIAA and yielded the hit single "Give Me One Reason", which earned Chapman the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. Five years would pass before the release of her fifth album, Telling Stories (2000). Let It Rain and Where You Live followed in 2002 and 2005, respectively. Chapman's most recent studio album is Our Bright Future, released in 2008. The remastered compilation album Greatest Hits, which was curated by Chapman herself,[2] was released in 2015.
She appeared on Saturday Night Live and made her musical guest debut on the November 19, 1988 episode, the sixth episode and the Thanksgiving show of SNL's 14th season, hosted by actor John Lithgow, where she performed "Mountains O' Things" and a medley of "Freedom Now" and "Baby, Can I Hold You".
She returned to SNL for her 2nd musical guest appearance on the December 16, 1989 episode, the ninth episode and the Christmas show of SNL's 15th season, hosted by actress Andie MacDowell, where she performed "Give Me One Reason" and "All That You Have".
Chapman made her major-stage debut as an opening act for women's music pioneer Linda Tillery at Boston's Strand Theater on May 3, 1985.[10] Another Tufts student, Brian Koppelman, heard Chapman playing and brought her to the attention of his father, Charles Koppelman. Koppelman, who ran SBK Publishing, signed Chapman in 1986. After Chapman graduated from Tufts in 1987, he helped her to sign a contract with Elektra Records.[7]
At Elektra, she released Tracy Chapman (1988).[3] The album was critically acclaimed,[11] and she began touring and building a fanbase.[3] "Fast Car" began its rise on the U.S. charts soon after she performed it at the televised Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in June 1988. At the concert, Chapman initially performed a short set in the afternoon, but reached a larger audience when she was a last-minute stand in for Stevie Wonder, who had technical difficulties.[12][13] This appearance is credited with greatly accelerating sales of the single and album.[14] "Fast Car" became a No. 6 pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 27, 1988.[15] Rolling Stone ranked the song No. 167 on their 2010 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[16] "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", the follow-up to "Fast Car", charted at No. 75 and was followed by "Baby Can I Hold You", which peaked at No. 48.[17] The album sold well, going multi-platinum[18] and winning three Grammy Awards, including an honor for Chapman as Best New Artist.[17] Later in 1988, Chapman was a featured performer on the worldwide Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour.[3]
Chapman's follow-up album, Crossroads (1989), was less commercially successful than her debut had been, but it still achieved platinum status in the U.S.[18] In 1992, Chapman released Matters of the Heart.[19] Her fourth album, New Beginning (1995), proved successful, selling over five million copies in the U.S. alone.[18] The album included the hit single "Give Me One Reason", which won the 1997 Grammy for Best Rock Song and became Chapman's most successful single in the U.S. to date, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100,[20] and going Platinum.[18] Following a four-year hiatus, her fifth album, Telling Stories, was released in 2000, and later went gold.[18] Chapman released her sixth album, Let It Rain, in (2002).[21]
Chapman was commissioned by the American Conservatory Theater to compose music for its production of Athol Fugard's Blood Knot, a play on apartheid in South Africa, staged in early 2008.[22] Atlantic Records released Chapman's eighth studio album, Our Bright Future (2008).[23] The album earned Chapman a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Album the following year.[17]
Chapman was appointed a member of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary jury.[24] Chapman performed Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" on one of the final episodes of the Late Show with David Letterman in April 2015. The performance became a viral hit and was the focus of various news articles including some by Billboard and The Huffington Post.[25]
On November 20, 2015, Chapman released Greatest Hits, consisting of 18 tracks including the live version of "Stand by Me", the album is Chapman's first global compilation release.[26][better source needed]
In October 2018, Chapman sued the rapper Nicki Minaj over copyright infringement, alleging that Minaj had sampled her song "Baby Can I Hold You" without permission.[27] Chapman stated that she had "repeatedly denied" permission for "Baby Can I Hold You" to be sampled. The lawsuit alleged that Minaj had engaged in copyright infringement (a) by creating the song "Sorry" and (b) by distributing it; she requested an injunction to prevent Minaj from releasing the song. According to the lawsuit, Chapman has a policy of declining all requests for permission to sample her songs. In September 2020, District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips granted summary judgment in favor of Minaj on the first count of Chapman's complaint, stating that Minaj's experimentation with Chapman's song constituted fair use rather than copyright infringement.[28] However, the judge ruled that the second count of the complaint should go to trial. In January 2021, the dispute was settled when Minaj paid Chapman $450,000.[29]
On the eve of the 2020 United States presidential election, Chapman performed "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution" on Late Night with Seth Meyers, encouraging people to vote.[30]