Madi Diaz (from left), Joy Oladokun, Allison Russell and Gaby Moreno. Muriel Margaret, Brian Higbee/Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs perform "Fast Car" during the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP hide caption
Tracy Chapman became the first Black person to win Song of the Year at the 57th annual Country Music Awards in Nashville on Wednesday. Above, Chapman performs on NBC's "Today" show in 2005. Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press hide caption
Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" takes a simple, Springsteenian plea for escape and uses it as a jumping-off point for a life's story. Sounds like a country song. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images hide caption
Paramore's Brand New Eyes and Tracy Chapman's Tracy Chapman are featured in our Records That Changed Our Lives series. Photo Illustration by Estefania Mitre/NPR/Getty Images hide caption
Records That Changed Our Lives: Finding hope in Tracy Chapman and 'Brand New Eyes'
Tracy Chapman's debut album "was the music that I needed at a time when I felt pressure to know everything before it was taught," says writer and scholar Francesca T. Royster. Photo Illustration by Renee Klahr/NPR; Getty Images; Courtesy of Elektra Records hide caption
Singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman performs in Carhaix-Plouguer, France, in 2006. Andre Durand/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
John Lennon (by Steve Morley), Tracy Chapman (by Bryan Bedder), Simon & Garfunkel (by David Redfern) Getty Images hide caption
Tracy Chapman performs on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Nov. 2, 2020. Screenshot by NPR hide caption
Lil Baby performs during a Juneteenth voter registration rally on June 19, 2020 at Murphy Park Fairgrounds in Atlanta, Ga. One week earlier, he released "The Bigger Picture," a song protesting police brutality. Paras Griffin/Getty Images hide caption
Tracy Chapman, shown here at the 39th Grammy Awards, is included in our starter kit for women's music. Timothy Clary/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was released on Oct. 18, 1988. Courtesy of Wilbury hide caption
Etta James, left, Marvell Thomas and David Hood rehearse a song before recording at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala., circa 1967. House Of Fame LLC/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images hide caption
Tracy Chapman's self-titled debut album was released on April 5, 1988. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Clockwise from upper left: Sleigh Bells, Blood Orange, Mind Spiders, James Vincent McMorrow Courtesy of the artists hide caption