Tracy Chapman is the self-titled debut album by singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released on April 5, 1988 by Elektra Records. The album was recorded all in Hollywood, California. In 1987, Chapman was discovered by fellow Tufts University student Brian Koppelman. He offered to show her talent to his father, who owned a successful publishing company, however she did not consider. However, after multiple performances, Koppelman found a demo tape of her singing her single "Talkin' Bout a Revolution", where he took it to radio stations, and was eventually signed to Elektra Records.
Through the production of the album, many producers turned down Chapman as they did not favor her musical direction. However, David Kershenbaum wanted to produce the studio album and songs, as he has always wanted to record acoustic music. The album was recorded all in Hollywood, California within only eight weeks of recording. Most of the writing is based on political and social causes.
Tracy Chapman was critically acclaimed from basically all music critics, praising the simplicity, Chapman's vocal ability and the lyrical content. Critics also noted that because of Chapman's recording and writing back in the 80's era, critics said it has benefited off other mainstream artists. They also noticed the political and social lyrical content. Tracy Chapman received commercial success in most countries it charted in. The album peaked in the top spot in countries including Austria, New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark and the United Kingdom. The album also peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200, and was certified 6x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with sales exceeding over six million copies in the United States alone.
Three singles were released from the album, with the most commercial successful single being "Fast Car". The song was performed at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, which made it rise inside the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 and also charted in countries including Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom and other European countries.Tracy Chapman is the self-titled debut album by singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released on April 5, 1988 by Elektra Records. The album was recorded all in Hollywood, California. In 1987, Chapman was discovered by fellow Tufts University student Brian Koppelman. He offered to show her talent to his father, who owned a successful publishing company, however she did not consider. However, after multiple performances, Koppelman found a demo tape of her singing her single "Talkin' Bout a Revolution", where he took it to radio stations, and was eventually signed to Elektra Records.
Through the production of the album, many producers turned down Chapman as they did not favor her musical direction. However, David Kershenbaum wanted to produce the studio album and songs, as he has always wanted to record acoustic music. The album was recorded all in Hollywood, California within only eight weeks of recording. Most of the writing is based on political and social causes.
Tracy Chapman was critically acclaimed from basically all music critics, praising the simplicity, Chapman's vocal ability and the lyrical content. Critics also noted that because of Chapman's recording and writing back in the 80's era, critics said it has benefited off other mainstream artists. They also noticed the political and social lyrical content. Tracy Chapman received commercial success in most countries it charted in. The album peaked in the top spot in countries including Austria, New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark and the United Kingdom. The album also peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200, and was certified 6x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with sales exceeding over six million copies in the United States alone.
Three singles were released from the album, with the most commercial successful single being "Fast Car". The song was performed at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, which made it rise inside the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 and also charted in countries including Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom and other European countries.false2025-07-07 15:14:23Tracy Chapman7.819881988-04-011988-04-0136Folk RockRock1120422115981e9b905e6-0180-4a87-8f03-17f5a7f5ebff1129817c-488a-4096-80c1-77fc1b107c93a738bdf1-f610-30aa-9ae7-9a4f90d6f2d7/media/data/media4/Music/Tracy Chapman/Tracy Chapman (1988)/folder.jpgTracy ChapmanTracy ChapmanTracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, widely known for her hit singles "Fast Car" (1988) and "Give Me One Reason" (1995).
She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released her debut album, Tracy Chapman, which became a commercial success, boosted by her appearance at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert, and was certified 6× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album received six Grammy Award nominations, including one for Album of the Year, three of which she won: Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her single "Fast Car", and Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 1989, she released her second album, Crossroads, which earned her an additional Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Her third album, Matters of the Heart, followed in 1992.
Her fourth album, New Beginning, was released in 1995 and became another worldwide success. It was certified 5× platinum by the RIAA and yielded the hit single "Give Me One Reason", which earned her the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. Five years would pass before the release of her fifth album, Telling Stories (2000). Let It Rain and Where You Live followed in 2002 and 2005, respectively. Her most recent studio album, Our Bright Future, was released in 2008. The remastered compilation album Greatest Hits, which she curated, was released in 2015.
In 2023, Chapman became the first black person to score a country number one with a solo composition, and to win the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year, when Luke Combs covered her song "Fast Car".