Tracy Chapman Trivia | 55 facts about the singer-songwriter

Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles “Fast Car” (1988).

So let’s find out some trivia and facts about her life and career.

1. Tracy Chapman was born March 30, 1964
2. She is an American singer-songwriter
3. Chapman is best known for her hit singles “Fast Car” (1988) and “Give Me One Reason” (1995)
4. She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987
5. The following year she released her debut album, Tracy Chapman
6. The album became a commercial success and boosted by her appearance at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert
7. The album was certified 6× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
8. The album received six Grammy Award nominations
9. Including one for Album of the Year
10. She won three awardsQ Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her single “Fast Car”, and Best Contemporary Folk Album
11. In 1989 she released her second album, Crossroads
12. The album earned her an additional Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Album
13. Her third album, Matters of the Heart, followed in 1992
14. Her fourth album, New Beginning, was released in 1995
15. The album became another worldwide success
16. It was certified 5× platinum by the RIAA and yielded the hit single “Give Me One Reason”
17. The song earned her the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song
18. Five years would pass before the release of her fifth album, Telling Stories (2000)
19. Let It Rain and Where You Live followed in 2002 and 2005, respectively
20. Her most recent studio album, Our Bright Future, was released in 2008
21. The remastered compilation album Greatest Hits was released in 2015
22. The compilation album was curated by her
23. In 2023, she became the first Black woman to score a country number one with a solo composition
24. And the first Black woman to win the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year, when Luke Combs covered her song “Fast Car”
25. Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio
26. She was raised by her mother, who bought her a ukulele at age three
27. Her parents divorced when she was four years old
28. Σhe began playing guitar and writing songs at age eight
29. She says that she may have been first inspired to play the guitar by the television show Hee Haw
30. In her native Cleveland she experienced frequent bullying and racially motivated assaults as a child
31. Raised a Baptist, she attended an Episcopal high school
32. Tracy Chapman was accepted into the program A Better Chance, which sponsors students at college preparatory high schools away from their home communities
33. She graduated from Wooster School in Connecticut then attended Tufts University, majoring in Anthropology
34. While a student at Tufts, she busked in nearby spots, including Harvard Square and on MBTA Red Line platforms
35. Chapman recorded demos of songs on the Tufts University radio station, WMFO
36. While she was a student there for copyright purposes, in exchange for the station’s right to play her songs
37. Chapman is politically and socially active
38. In 1988 she performed in London as part of a worldwide concert tour to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with Amnesty International
39. That same year she performed at a tribute concert in honor of South African activist and leader Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday, an event which raised money for South Africa’s Anti-Apartheid Movement and several children’s charities
40. She also performed at the event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Amnesty International held in Paris on December 10, 1998, known as “The Struggle Continues…”
41. She was one of the guest artists at Pavarotti & Friends for Cambodia and Tibet on June 6, 2000, at which she performed a critically acclaimed duet with Luciano Pavarotti of “Baby Can I Hold You Tonight”
42. In 2004 she performed and rode in the AIDS/LifeCycle event
43. She has been involved with Cleveland’s elementary schools, producing an educational music video highlighting achievements in African-American history
44. She sponsored “Crossroads in Black History”, an essay contest for high school students in Cleveland and other cities
45. She received an honorary doctorate from Saint Xavier University in Chicago in 1997
46. In 2004 she was given an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts by her alma mater, Tufts University, recognizing her commitment to social activism
47. I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to do my work and be involved in certain organizations, certain endeavors, and offered some assistance in some way
48. On April 16, 2023, The South African Presidency announced that she along with others would be bestowed with a National Order – The Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo which “recognizes eminent foreign nationals for friendship shown to South Africa. It is therefore an Order of peace, cooperation and active expression of solidarity and support”
49. The Order was bestowed in Silver on her “for her contribution to the fight for freedom by participating in efforts to free Nelson Mandela and raising awareness of human rights violations globally”
50. An investiture ceremony for the bestowment was held on April 28, 2023
51. She often performs at charity events such as Make Poverty History, amfAR, and AIDS/LifeCycle
52. She is a feminist
53. Although Chapman has never publicly discussed her sexual orientation
54. Writer Alice Walker has stated that she and Chapman were in a romantic relationship during the mid-1990s
55. Chapman maintains a strong separation between her personal and professional life