Washington Post Humiliated After Trying to Make Country Cover of Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' a Racial Issue
The Washington Post bent over backward to make a white country music star’s cover of a black artist’s tune into a racial issue, but many of the paper’s points turned out to be fake news.
On Thursday, the Post published a deeply flawed piece by style reporter Emily Yahr titled, “Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs and the complicated response to ‘Fast Car.'”
But when all was said and done, it seems that the whole thing is only complicated to Emily Yahr, not anyone else looking at the issue, including Tracy Chapman herself.
The faux race controversy Washington Post writer Yahr was desperately trying to gin up was Combs’ cover of Chapman’s 1988 hit single “Fast Car.”
“In March, country music star Luke Combs, 33, released a new album, ‘Gettin’ Old,’ that included ‘Fast Car,’ a longtime favorite that he covered during live shows for years,” Yahr wrote. “But when the track hit streaming services, it took on a life of its own, racking up enormous numbers and going viral on TikTok.”
And it grew from there.
“Country radio stations started playing it, and the song was suddenly outpacing Combs’s actual single, ‘Love You Anyway,'” Yahr continued. “Combs and his team were stunned by the response, and his label eventually started promoting ‘Fast Car’ to country radio as well. Last week, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart; it was at No. 3 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart, after peaking at No. 2.”
This is all great stuff. As an entertainer, you really do want to see a cover of your past hit also become a hit for someone else. It is not only good for the bank account through royalties, but it also means that you, as an artist, have become relevant for a whole new generation of fans. And in this case, Chapman has even crossed over from pop to country, so she is being exposed to an entirely different audience than she has ever reached.
But to the increasingly untrustworthy Washington Post, this isn’t great stuff. Indeed, it is apparently “clouded,” racist and even anti-gay.
“Although many are thrilled to see ‘Fast Car’ back in the spotlight and a new generation discovering Chapman’s work,” Yahr ponderously wrote, “it’s clouded by the fact that, as a Black queer woman, Chapman, 59, would have almost zero chance of that achievement herself in country music.”
The whole point is absurd. Chapman has not wanted for recognition for “Fast Car.” Indeed, even Yahr’s tweet was slapped with a Twitter community note pointing out that Tracy Chapman has enjoyed tremendous success as a recording artist.
“‘Fast Car’ by Tracy Chapman was nominated for 3 Grammy Awards including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. She won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best New Artist,” the note stated, adding, “She has 7 other nominations for Grammy Awards and two wins.”
As Luke Combs’s hit cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” dominates the country charts, it’s bringing up some complicated emotions in fans & singers who know that Chapman, as a queer Black woman, would have an almost zero chance at that achievement herself: https://t.co/7pCIMW5F0N
— Emily Yahr (@EmilyYahr) July 13, 2023
Naturally, Yahr found some complainers to use as sources in her ginned-up piece attacking the success of the song, reaching back to Elvis Presley making a timeless hit “Hound Dog,” originally recorded in 1952 by Big Mama Thornton, a black singer-songwriter. (The song was written by the songwriting team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, two white men.)
But the actual truth is better demonstrated by the fact that Chapman herself is apparently nothing but grateful that Luke Combs has earned a hit with her song.
In comments published by Billboard, Chapman thanked Combs and country music fans everywhere.
“I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there,” Chapman told Billboard. “I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car.’”
Gee, that sure doesn’t sound like the artist who actually created the song is all weighed down in grievance, like the Post’s Emily Yahr, does it?
In fact, Billboard adds that Tracy Chapman just became the first gay black woman to have the sole credit for writing a No. 1 country hit!
“Not only has Chapman’s song reached No. 1 on Country Airplay, she is the first Black woman as a song’s sole writer to top the chart since its debut in 1990. Chapman also reached No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Songwriters chart, dated June 17, because of the success of Combs’ rendition,” Billboard reported.
Tracy Chapman has become the first Black woman in history to have the sole songwriting credit on a #1 country hit, as Luke Combs’ cover of her 1988 song “Fast Car.” It currently sits atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart this week. pic.twitter.com/JFHLvLYf88
— Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) July 5, 2023
The Washington Post seems to be trying to invent racial animosity where none exists. Luke Combs’ fans clearly don’t care a whit that their favorite singer is singing a song originally written and recorded by a gay black woman. And that gay black woman herself is thrilled to see her song becoming a smash hit for a whole new group of fans.
Many of the Twitter responses were simply humiliating for the newspaper. Here’s a sample:
I feel like the author of this piece has never heard of Tracy Chapman before and therefore thinks no one else has either. Even though she had major chart success in the 80s and 90s
— Jim (@realjimconroy) July 13, 2023
It’s a powerful song. Powerful lyrics. Talk about the true meaning of the song. Diversity has nothing to do with it.
— Tito (@T_RIVE22) July 14, 2023
Everything is racism if you’re WaPo
— Woven Dissent (@WovenDissent) July 13, 2023
She owns the song, right? She’s getting paid big time.
— blark blark (@blarkblark) July 13, 2023
Tracy Chapman understands that she has been afforded great respect for her work that is now a hit in two eras among two distinctly different sets of fans. This is something to celebrate. Not a reason to navel gaze and stoke racial division like the Washington Post is trying to do.
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