Just a few months ago, country singer Luke Combs released a seemingly unremarkable cover of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 classic “Fast Car,” but now it’s somehow surpassed the original’s peak position on the Billboard Hot 100.
Combs’ version is the second single from his latest album, Gettin’ Old. This week, it rose from No. 8 to No. 4 on the Hot 100, moving past the No. 6 peak of Chapman’s original. In a recent interview with Music Mayhem, Combs said he chose to record the cover because the original was his “first favorite song probably ever.”
“I remember listening to that song with my dad in his truck when I was probably four years old,” Combs added. “He had a cassette, a tape of it, and we had this old brown camper top F-150. We rode around that thing, and he had a tape cassette player in there, and I have the original cassette — my dad brought it to me a couple of years ago… I have the one, and I have it in my shop.”
In addition to reaching the Top 10 of the Hot 100, the original “Fast Car” received Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, netting Chapman a win in the latter category.
Combs is currently performing his “Fast Car” cover during his massive world tour. Tickets are available here.
