The Two Americas Came Together on Grammy Night for Fast Car

I am just recovering from some kind of terrible flu (not COVID), which has set me back a bit, but I would be remiss if I did not post this wonderful duet with country star Luke Combs and Tracy Chapman singing her hit from the late 80s, Fast Car performed on the Grammys last night.

Luke Combs cover of the song boosted it to number one, making history:

I was thinking the other day about how great music was in the 90s, not just with Tracy Chapman, who was and remains brilliant, but Liz Phair, Sarah McLachlan, Ani DiFranco, PJ Harvey, and other female singers who did rock the house in a way we don’t seem to get much of anymore. Or maybe I’m just old.

As some of you remember, I posted this song by Chapman on my last piece:

Chapman wrote about the working class's struggles in the folk music tradition. She stood out at a time when there weren’t many black artists in the genre. She was so popular for so long, but people had almost forgotten about her at some point until Luke Combs covered Fast Car.

Last night’s duet was a coming together of two distinct Americas that mostly hate each other by now, or at the very least, no longer know each other. This duet proved, at least for a few minutes last night, that music can still bring us together when it is this good. Everyone was praising the duet on Twitter, with both sides celebrating not just Chapman’s success but Combs bringing the song back.

Combs has turned it into a country song but, as we saw with Oliver Anthony, there is a common thread that runs through the working class now that didn’t used to be there. Some artists are catching on.

The power of Chapman’s lyrics resonates through time, social status, and even race - bridging the gap and making us whole.

Maybe it does not seem like a big deal, but if we can come together with this song, perhaps all hope is not lost. Maybe art, music, comedy, and movies can unite us as long as we open our minds and hearts.

Anyway, in case you missed it, enjoy.

I’m working on a longer piece I hope to post either today or tomorrow (I have lost my voice for the most part, so we’ll see how it goes).