Tracy Chapman’s angry and touching self titled debut album quickly climbed to No. 1 on the pop music charts in 1988, catapulting the 24-year-old folkie to international fame and celebrity. Chapman’s powerful narratives, sparsely arranged music, and smoky contralto were a revelation — both a throwback to the protest music of the civil rights era and unlike anything else on the radio at the time. In songs like the hit “Fast Car,” Chapman sang about poverty’s human toll, racial violence, domestic abuse, police indifference, and obsessive love. Stephen Pond wrote in Rolling Stone Magazine, “Chapman hits emotional chords the way the best folk singers always have, but whereas female folkies have traditionally been painted as vulnerable, fragile creatures singing about their love and fears, Chapman trashes that stereotype. While there’s vulnerability in her best songs, there’s no fragility, just forthright dignity.” The self-titled debut album sold millions of copies, spawned a ubiquitous video for “Fast Car,” and won three Grammy Awards, including best new artist.

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Tracy Chapman’s Revolution Fansite