Rate-O-Rama: Fast Car

Welcome to Rate-O-Rama!

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Rate-O-Rama is a reader participation game.

Every Thursday evening I will publish a Rate-O-Rama article which will feature three versions of a popular song.

The object is to listen to each of the music videos provided within the post.

After listening to each video you can rate each song in the comments section below.

(You must be a member to comment. If you are not a member you can join Vocal Media for FREE. You don’t ever have to pay for membership unless you choose to upgrade your membership)

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The rating method is easy. Simply give each song a rating of 1 to 100.

(The more you like the song the higher the rating).

If possible, please provide a brief comment to let us now what you think of each song.

After a week (Thursday evening) I will tally the ratings and in the next Rate-O-Rama post, I will announce the average rating each song received.

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Last week we featured the Pop Rock - Surf Rock classic: “California Girls" as recorded by The Beach Boys (1965), Leif Garrett (1977), and David Lee Roth (1984).

The following are the average ratings for each song as a result of the votes:

🥇 The Beach Boys: 92.1

🥈 David Lee Roth: 72.9

🥉 Leif Garrett: 64.2

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The Twenty-Third Edition of Rate-O-Rama features three renditions of the Folk Rock - Folk Pop classic: “Fast Car."

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Tracy Chapman (1988)

Tracy Chapman's debut album simply titled Tracy Chapman was a huge hit mostly on the strength of the song “Fast Car.” However the album is a solid collection of songs written by Tracy Chapman. It reached #1 in nine countries around the world and #2 in an additional four countries. Overall the album has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide with six million in the US alone.

Tracy has commented that while writing “Fast Car” she wasn't sure who she was writing about. In retrospect she believes she was writing about her parents as a young working class couple trying to make ends meet. Fans of the song have gleaned different interpretations such as escaping alcoholism, or escaping abuse.

The song received major airplay and was a huge hit reaching #1 in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, and Portugal. It also made it into the Top Ten in six other countries including #4 in the UK and #6 in the US. The song won a 1988 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It also won an MTV Music Video Award for Best Female Video.

Currently “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman has re-entered the chart and is at #42 in the US, and #37 in Canada and will undoubtedly move up the charts. This resurgence is due to her 2024 performance of the song with Luke Combs on the Grammy Awards broadcast.

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Jonas Blue featuring Dakota (2015)

Jonas Blue is a popular British record producer and DJ. He has had many hits throughout the world including nine top 40 hits in the UK. His biggest hit overall is his cover of Tracy Chapman's “Fast Car.” He made it into the top three all throughout Europe and also number one in Australia and New Zealand with the song. "Fast Car" is his only song that has charted in the US making it to number 98. “Fast Car” was his first single release.

Jonas Blue's rendition features British singer Dakota on lead vocals. She has released another half dozen singles but “Fast Car” is her only chart appearance.

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Luke Combs (2023)

Luke Combs experienced major success with his cover of “Fast Car.” Like Chapman, Combs reached worldwide success with the song reaching #1 in Canada and #2 in the US and Australia. He also reached the Top 30 in five other countries. In the U.S. Combs made it to #1 on the Country Music charts and #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts. This marked the first time that a song written by a black female artist topped the country music charts and was the first and only time that Luke Combs made it on to the adult contemporary charts.

Luke Combs won a Country Music Association (CMA) Award for Single of the Year for the song and Tracy Chapman won Record of the Year. Chapman became the first black female to win a CMA award.

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My Thoughts

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Tracy Chapman:

This is such a beautiful song and Tracy sings it to perfection. Her vocal timing and phrasing are amazing. She puts every ounce of her soul and emotions into the song. Her performance is powerful and the song is meaningful. I can't give Tracy any other score than 100.

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Jonas Blue featuring Dakota:

I like Jonas Blue's synth arrangement. He's put an ethereal mood to a dance rhythm and he did it well. Had he chosen a stronger vocalist I'd give it a better rating. As is I give the song a 70.

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Luke Combs:

Luke does a fine job with the song. But there's something missing in her vocal performance. I just don't feel the soul like I do in Tracey's rendition. I give Luke an 85.

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I will be back next week with the results of this Rate-O-Rama Edition.

Last Week's Rate-O-Rama:

With Love, RHC ❤️