"I adore Tracy Chapman. So much. And this gives me a chance to once again share my favorite "sometimes it's just the one thing" music history story about how Fast Car rose to prominence. It involves Stevie Wonder and Nelson Mandela (Mandela mostly peripherally.)
… and it also involves Prince and Bono. So, the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday celebration concert, June 1988. Producer Tony Hollingsworth had called Stevie Wonder every Friday for months, trying to get him to commit to doing the concert. Stevie ducked his calls until the Wednesday before the show, when he called Hollingsworth and asked if there was any time for him. Miraculously, there were 25 minutes after UB40. It had been saved for a Bono and Prince duet that both singers backed out of at the last minute, so Hollingsworth had to frantically fill the slot. Stevie's call was a godsend.
[...] Stevie flew into Wembley Saturday morning, and was set to play Saturday evening. When UB40 finished playing their tunes (btw playing Red Red Wine at the Nelson Mandela concert is v funny to me Imao) Stevie Wonder stood sidestage while his equipment was set up. Right when he went to take the stage, he noticed that in his haste to get to London, he'd forgotten to bring his synclavier, which had all of the synthesized music for his set. He ran down the ramp in tears, and refused to take the stage (he eventually returned later that night, playing with Whitney's band).
Tracy Chapman's debut album had been out for about two months, and had performed less than modestly, as had its lead single, a tune called Fast Car. Fast Car had performed so modestly that Chapman, who played a small set earlier in the day to a smaller crowd, didn't even play it. She was given time for three songs and she played "Why?" "Behind The Wall," and "Talkin 'Bout A Revolution."
But then, Stevie Wonder vanished, there was empty time to fill, a much bigger crowd was growing restless later in the day, and Tracy Chapman was close to the stage. Someone saw her, put her guitar in her hand, and sent her back out to do two songs to fill the time. And so it was 24 year old Tracy Chapman with an acoustic guitar vs. a crowd of 75000 agitated and chanting concert goers who were...not expecting Tracy Chapman. She decides to play Fast Car. Within 30 seconds, the audience is stunned to near-silence. It's an unbelievable moment.
From where I sit, this is one of the greatest single-song performances in music history. She has sounded better and less nervous performing it, but the stakes and context of the moment, the degree of difficulty. This is just an impossible throw for a 24 year old debut artist to make, entirely unexpectedly. Listen to how silent it is! Fucking Wembley! 75 THOUSAND people! [...]
I have a long list of "sometimes it's just the one thing" stories that I love and this is among my favorite. A couple of Just The One Things. Maybe Bono and Prince decide to do the duet after all, and there's no time for Stevie Wonder, and he never gets on the plane in the first place. Or maybe Stevie Wonder slows down just a step while packing and doesn't forget his synclavier, and goes on and does his set as planned. Maybe Tracy Chapman isn't lingering close to the stage when everything fell apart. If just any small piece goes differently, we almost certainly do not understand Tracy Chapman in the same way. Fast Car maybe isn't the standard. What a series of miracles.
Anyway, I am so thankful for Tracy Chapman. One of the defining artists of my life. I see a gap between what she deserves and what she has gotten, and I hope a generous and thoughtful deep dive of her life and work arrives sometime soon, in whatever shape that takes. I think many people could learn from it. I admire her so deeply as a writer of language, a teller of stories, someone who sees the scene beyond the scene, the heartbreak beyond the heartbreak, and the love that is maybe waiting for you right around the corner."
— Hanif Abdurraqib on his instagram story
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