‘Fast Car’ by Tracy Chapman: Who sings the new version? Everything about the song and singers

After 35 years Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car’ has returned to music charts around the world, in the form of a new version by a country music artist.

Luke Combs is a singer and songwriter who released his first track back in 2014 with ‘The Way She Rides’. His debut album, This One’s for You, reached number four on the Billboard 200 in 2017 and the follow-up, What You See Is What You Get, saw similar success two years later.

He released his cover of ‘Fast Car’ earlier this year on his fourth album, Gettin’ Old, and his version has enjoyed huge mainstream popularity. Within two months of its release the song had been streamed more than 65 million times on Spotify.

Luke Comb’s ‘Fast Car’ a reminder of his childhood

The original song has achieved a well-deserved iconic status and holds an emotional connection for people all around the world. Combs is certainly one of them and he has fond memories of listening to the song as a child.

At a recent concert Combs revealed that he recalled listing to Chapman’s self-titled debut album, which include ‘Fast Car’, as a young child because his father used to play it in the car.

“He played me all kinds of music, and one of the first songs that I remember hearing… I love this whole album, and there was this one song that really stuck out to me, though, and it was called ‘Fast Car,’” Combs said.

“That song has meant a lot to me ever since then for my whole life. I always think about my dad when it comes on, and us spending time together.”

Millions of people will have similar stories about early memories of the song. Combs’ reimagining of Chapman’s classic may well help the song to resonate with a whole new generation.

The history of ‘Fast Car’

The original version of ‘Fast Car’ was released by singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman in April 1988. It was the lead single on her debut album and its success aided by its performance for the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute event in Wembley Stadium, London.

It’s a gritty telling of the struggles of poverty, written from the perspective of a working class woman.

Initially it saw greatest success in the United Kingdom and that trend reemerged in 2011 when ‘Fast Car’ was featured on TV talent show Britain’s Got Talent. It was performed by Michael Collinge on the show, but he did not release it as a single.

However a version was released in 2015 by Swedish house music producer Tobtok, who initially published the song on SoundCloud. Another tropical house cover came later that year, this time from British producer Jonas Blue.

None of these versions came close to finding the mainstream appeal that Luke Comb’s take on ‘Fast Car’ has managed. The song currently sits at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and is still climbing.