We all love a good One-Hit-Wonder. But, they kind of raise a unique question. Since there are numerous examples of artists with a single hit to their names – are there any with only two? Is a Two-Hit-Wonder a thing? Well, shockingly it is – and one of the most famous among them is from right here in Ohio.
A Girl named Tracy Chapman was born on March 30, 1964, in Cleveland, Ohio, to a small family. As children tend to do, she lived a mostly quiet life. When she was three, her mother gave her a ukulele, and a few years after that she got her first guitar. Throughout her life, she appeared to love performing and could often be found busking near her schools or wherever she was living.
It was plainly obvious that the woman had talent, both as a performer and as a songwriter, but sometimes it’s hard for a good artist to get noticed. That all began to change in 1988 when she agreed to do a short set for Nelson Mandella’s 70th Birthday Tribute. She managed to get a little exposure to an international audience, but in mere minutes, that was about to change.
As Steevie Wonder was about to take the stage, he suffered a minor technical issue that would delay his performance a bit. As the show was being broadcast live, they needed someone to fill that time, and the closest they had was Tracy Chapman.
Sitting on a stool on the stage, armed only with her guitar, she first began to sing her song “Fast Car”. Suddenly, the world couldn’t get enough of Tracy Chapman. Radio stations began playing the song as often as they could. That year, she was awarded the Best New Artist Grammy (as well as Best Contemporary Folk Album and Female Pop Vocal Performance).
The Road to One Hit Wonder
Chapman would release her second album in 1989 and her third album in 1992. While both albums saw some success in terms of sales, neither managed to produce a hit single, and for a time it seemed as if Fast Car would be her One Hit Wonder song.
Personally, I think that was okay with her.
Chapman never tried to play The Fame Game. She never sought out celebrity status. Instead, she preferred to keep her private life … well, private. On rare occasions, she would make a television appearance, but that was usually in some support of a cause she believed in. (For example, a day or two before the 2020 presidential election, she appeared on Late Night with Seth Myers and sang Talkin’ ’bout A Revolution to encourage people to vote.)
The Second Hit
In 1995, Tracy Chapman released her fourth album, New Beginning and one song on that album was called Give Me One Good Reason.
To be fair, this wasn’t a new song for Chapman fans, as she bad been singing it while on tour during her Fast Car days – however once released as a single, it quickly proved to be just as commercially successful and popular as her earlier hit.
This song likewise exploded in popularity, reaching the top of the charts, as well as getting her to perform it on Saturday Night Live (December 16, 1989).
Following New Beginning, Chapman would go on to release four more albums, not including a few “Best Of” Collections that contained no new music.
Time Means Nothing – Tracy Chapman Today
In the 2023-2024 award season, the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music would nominate her for their prospective “Song of the Year” awards, however she only won the CMA Award, for her song Fast Car – giving Chapman the additional notoriety for being the first black woman to have won a CMA Award.
If you’re confused, that’s okay. I mean, that song was released in the 1980s, so what’s it doing winning an award in 2023? Well, it’s actually kind of simple – Tracy Chapman collaborated with Luke Combs when he recorded it on his album Gettin’ Old.
Today, it seems like we live in a culture where celebrities are often doing whatever they can to “stay famous” or “stay relevant” which has led them to go and do some pretty strange (sometimes awful) things. A few have commented that they fear they will never find success again if their names aren’t in the paper on a regular basis. (The reality is often the opposite, as it is hard to take many of those stars seriously considering all the crazy and stupid things they had done on the past.)
On the other hand, you have people like Tracy Chapman who silently comes out with new albums every so often (although it has been over a decade since her last) but she continues to stay relevant, as noted by her collaboration with Luke Combs and the success of her/their song.
Even now, Chapman refuses to discuss her private life, which is why I have remained as silent as I could be about those aspects of her life.
