Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs performing Fast Car at the Grammys

Tracy Chapman has herself said that she didn’t mind the remake because she is the sole writer of the song, and as such, she appreciates the royalties.

Luke’s version is getting a lot of airtime, but so is Tracy’s original version.

And Luke’s sincere and obvious appreciation of Chapman’s song is just icing on the cake:

When Luke Combs set out to cover Tracy Chapman's 1988 hit “Fast Car”, he did it out of complete admiration for the song

Although not every lyric makes sense being covered by a male vocalist, he decided not to deviate from the original lyrics out of respect for its original songwriter.

“You want to just be mega respectful of the original song,” Combs tells Kelleigh Bannen on Today's Country Radio. “That's why in that song ... it’s, ‘Work in the market as a checkout girl.’ I didn’t change that in my version — I really wanted to just do the original version of the song.”

Combs really wanted to bring the song as it was intended to be in presenting it to a new generation of fans who may have only been vaguely familiar with the original.

“It’s weird because you’re doing a cover of it, and you say, ‘I don’t want to make it my own, because I really just want to shine a light on the original version and bring that.’”

“Because I think there’s so many people that maybe know that song, or it would be familiar to them, but they really don’t know anything about it,” he explains. “They’ve never really listened to it.”

“When I recorded this, literally the engineer in there asked me who I wrote that song with,” Combs adds.

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i love this. i love you music. i love you music. i love you music connecting people of all different backgrounds, religons, races, genders, sexualities etc together. i'm crying.

Taylor during the performance of Fast Car by Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs at the 2024 GRAMMYS (x)

The Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs version of Fast Car together... how they were both so stoked to be there.... how he was visibly nervous because he's loved the song since he was a kid and he wanted to do it justice... it's all so cute

Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs - Fast Car

66th Annual Grammy Awards (2024)

The Official Video of Fast Car at the 2024 Grammys.

Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs perform 'Fast Car' at the 2024 Grammys

Because I know cbs is gonna be a bunch of cunts, here it is for anyone who didn't get to watch the Grammy's.

Tracy Chapman 🎸

I remember this song so well,I was stationed in Germany serving in the U.S. Army when it came out, what a beautiful moment in music history for her to return to the stage,to sing it again with Luke Combs.

Grammy Awards 2024

Monday

02.05.2024

L.George

tracy chapman and luke combs performing fast car together!!!

That Fast Car performance was phenomenal

This is what the Grammys should be

Tracy Chapman singing her hit "Fast Car" from 1988.

becauseofthem:

The legendary Tracy Chapman just performed her 36-year-old hit Fast Car at the 2024 Grammy Awards, making it her first public performance in over 9 years! This moment truly warmed our hearts and brought us back➡️➡️ Chapman performed alongside Luke Combs, following Combs’ chart-topping cover of the hit song, released more than three decades after its first release. She then became the first Black woman in history to have the sole songwriting credit on a number 1 country hit, when Luke Combs’ cover of her 1988 song “Fast Car” hit the top of the chart last year.⁠ Combs calls it "one of the best songs of all time," adding that "there's nothing like Tracy's version." ⁠We absolutely love to see Tracy continuing to get her flowers so many years after the original release of this incredible record. The duo receive a standing ovation from the Grammys audience. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾📹: @cbstv @mrernestowens #becauseofthemwecan #homeofblackexcellence #tracychapman⁠ 👉🏾Follow @becauseofthem to join our community for more positive and uplifting Black stories, news, and more ✨⁠

Taylor who? Crying at Tracy Chapman performing live for the first time in 20 years. 🥹