According to Metro Weekly critic Chris Gerard, "Fast Car" tells a grittily realistic story of a working poor woman trying to escape the
cycle of poverty, set to
folk rock music.[1] The song's arrangement was described by Orlando Sentinel writer Thom Duffy as "subtle folk-rock",[2] while Billboard magazine's Gary Trust deemed the record a "folk/pop" song.[4]Dave Marsh said it was perhaps an "optimistic folk-rock narrative", whose characters are in a
homeless shelter.[3]
Release and promotion
Elektra Records released "Fast Car" on April 6, 1988, one day after the parent album, Tracy Chapman.[5] That June, Chapman appeared at the
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert, where she was scheduled to sing three songs.[6] Just before surprise guest
Stevie Wonder walked onstage, he learned that his
keyboard's
floppy disk had gone missing. He left in a panic, forcing the event organizers to usher Chapman back to the stage with nothing but a microphone and her guitar. As the organizers readied the stage for the following act, Chapman performed "Fast Car" and "Across the Lines".[5][6] This performance brought attention to Chapman's music, with sales for Tracy Chapman increasing greatly, enough for it to top the
Billboard 200 chart on August 27, 1988.[6][7] "Fast Car" itself would reach number six on the
Billboard Hot 100 the same week.[8]
A remastered recording was issued by Elektra in 2015.[9]
Critical reception
John Tague from NME wrote, "'Fast Car' is a typically well expressed lament, not for those who have suffered extraordinary circumstances, but for those who escape one form of dead end existence only to fall into another, relative material success without the consolation of dreams for the future. It's a keenly felt depiction of the impossibility of escape, rendered tastefully and gracefully, charming in its simplicity."[10]Rolling Stone ranked "Fast Car" number 167 on their list of the
500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[11] It is Chapman's only song on the list, and the highest-ranking song performed and written solely by a female artist. When Rolling Stone updated the list in 2021, "Fast Car" was promoted to the 71st spot.[12]Pitchfork named it the 86th-best song of the 1980s.[13]
Renewed British success
In April 2011, "Fast Car" entered the UK top ten for the second time at number four after Michael Collings performed it on Britain's Got Talent, one position higher than its initial chart success in 1988.[14] The single was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom by the
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2024, based on downloads and streaming.[15] By 2016, it had sold 661,500 copies in the United Kingdom.[16]
Personnel
Tracy Chapman – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion
In 2015, a
tropical house version was released by Swedish record producer Tobtok, featuring vocals from British singer River. Tobtok's version was published on
SoundCloud on October 30, 2015,[53][54] and released commercially on November 27, 2015, through
Good Soldier Records,[55] and subsequently licensed to Neon Records in Australia[56] and Disco:wax in the United States.[57] Tobtok also released an accompanying music video. Although the Jonas Blue version released shortly after was far more successful, Tobtok's version also charted in a number of charts, notably Australia, where it received significant airplay (some stations like
2Day FM played it over the Jonas Blue version) and reached number 19 on the
ARIA Singles Chart in January 2016, while Jonas Blue's version was at number two.[58][59] The Tobtok version also charted in the Norwegian
VG-lista, Irish
IRMA, and Danish
Tracklisten charts.
In 2015, a
tropical house cover of "Fast Car" was released by British record producer
Jonas Blue. It is Blue's debut single and features the vocals from British singer
Dakota; it is also her debut single.[68] It is the lead single of Blue's debut album Blue (2018). The Club Mix was included on Blue's compilation, Jonas Blue: Electronic Nature – The Mix 2017.
Background and inspiration
In an interview with
iHeartRadio, Blue stated Chapman's original 1988 hit is a favorite of his mother, who would often play it in the car. "It was a good song in London [during] that time when I was growing up, so it was always on the radio," he went on to say. "And it just kind of stuck with me. It was that song on the long journeys, and I loved it."[69]
Regarding Dakota, who provides vocals on the song, Blue said, "... she [said], 'Oh, I've never done dance music before or anything like that so, I'm not kind of sure.' And I was like, 'Listen, you'd be great.' And she came the next day to record it, and what you hear on the radio is her coming in the next day after her show to record it."[69] Blue also admitted that he wanted to create a Swedish-esque sound on the record: "I think with things like the synth lead lines in it, giving it that second hook, I was kind of going for a very kind of Swedish-y kind of sound. That's kind of the influence behind that kind of lead synth line, and that was something which I don't think people have picked up on yet, but they just like the song because of what it is."[69]
Composition
Jonas Blue's version of "Fast Car" is performed in the key of
A major with a
tempo of 114 beats per minute in
common time, with Dakota's vocals ranging from E3 to F♯4.[70][71]
Chart performance
The Jonas Blue version peaked at number two on the
UK Singles Chart, behind
Zayn Malik's "
Pillowtalk".[72] Its UK peak meant it charted higher than Chapman's original, which peaked at number five on the chart in May 1988 and a position higher upon a re-release in April 2011.[73]
Outside the United Kingdom, the Jonas Blue version reached number one in Australia[74] and Hungary, while peaking within the top ten in Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, and Sweden. In the United States, the Jonas Blue version went to number one on
Dance Club Songs.
It reached one billion streams on
Spotify in late February 2023.[75]
American
country music artist
Luke Combs released a version of the song on his 2023 album Gettin' Old.[154] It was sent to US Top 40 and Hot AC radio as the second single from the album, marking the first time that Combs has had a song sent to contemporary hit radio, as well as the first single that he did not have a hand in writing.
Combs' version uses most of Chapman's original lyrics, including the line "I work in the market as a checkout girl". Combs' manager Chris Kappy told Billboard magazine, "Luke is a songwriter too and Tracy is one of his favorite artists. So his goal was to never change the song. His goal was to honor the perfection that it is, and changing the gender never crossed his mind."[155]
In an interview with Billboard, Chapman spoke favorably of Combs and his rendition of "Fast Car", stating, "I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I'm honored to be there. I'm happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced 'Fast Car.'"[156] According to Billboard, Chapman earned about $500,000 in publishing royalties in the first few months of the release.[157]
When Combs's version of "Fast Car" hit number one on the
Country Airplay chart in July 2023, Chapman became the first black woman to score a country number one with a solo composition.[158][159] At the
57th Annual Country Music Association Awards in November 2023, Chapman notably became the first Black woman to ever win a
CMA Award, winning
Song of the Year for "Fast Car", which also made her the first Black songwriter to ever win that award.[160][161] In February 2024, Chapman performed the song with Combs at the
66th Annual Grammy Awards, in her first televised live performance in nine years.[162]
Combs' version of "Fast Car" became a smash hit at radio, reaching number two on the
Billboard Hot 100, higher than Chapman's original version, and on the
Canadian Hot 100, tying it with "
Forever After All" as Combs' highest-charting single on the former.[166][167] On the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated August 5, 2023, it sat at number three, behind
Jason Aldean's "
Try That in a Small Town" and
Morgan Wallen's "
Last Night" at numbers one and two, respectively, making it the first time in that chart's history that the top three positions were all occupied by country artists.[168]
The song reached number one on the
Country Airplay chart in July 2023, making Chapman the first black woman to score a country number one with a solo composition.[169][170] Additionally, it became the first cover of a pop single to top a Billboard chart based on country radio airplay since
Blake Shelton's version of
Michael Bublé's 2005 single "
Home" reached number one in 2008.[171] On the Country Airplay chart dated September 9, 2023, it held the number two position behind Combs' own "
Love You Anyway" at the top, making it the first time in that chart's history that the top two positions were simultaneously occupied by a solo act with no accompanying acts, and only the second time that such a distinction has been achieved by any act overall.[172]
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Other notable versions
The initial version of the song "
Dreams" by
Gabrielle was based around a sample of "Fast Car" but this was removed from the final version because the sample could not be cleared.[208]
American musician, multi-instrumentalist and former
Sonic Youth member
Jim O'Rourke performed a 33-minute long rendition of "Fast Car" in
Tokyo in 2002.[209]
"Fast Car" was included in the deluxe version of the Black Pumas 2019 debut album, Black Pumas.
^"Fast Car (feat. River) by Tobtok". Spotify. November 27, 2015.
Archived from the original on November 27, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2022. The release date can be seen in the source code: <meta property="music:release_date" content="2015-11-27">.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201611 into search.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201611 into search.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201624 into search.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201612 into search.