How Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs’ ‘Fast Car’ performance at the Grammys came together

It took eight months to plan Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs’ surprise performance of “Fast Car” at the 66th Grammy Awards.

The idea to have the duo sing Chapman’s 1988 hit was first floated in May 2023 by Grammys executive producers Raj Kapoor and Patrick Mention, Kapoor told Rolling Stone.

To reach Chapman, who keeps a below-the-radar public profile, Kapoor and Menton went through Combs’ publicist, Carla Sacks, to get in touch with the senior vice president at Nonesuch Records, Matthew Rankin, who is a friend of Chapman’s, according to the Rolling Stone article.

Sacks said it was “pure magic” that she knew how to reach Chapman, 59, who lives in San Francisco, according to People.

“I knew the doorbell to ring,” she said. “And quite frankly, I think that made it very helpful to not be reaching out as a stranger and to be able to open the line of communication.”

Kapoor and Menton didn’t want an immediate answer from Chapman but wanted to “let her think about this creatively and what it could be,” and told her, through Sacks, to return when and if she was ready.

Finally, eight months later, in January, Chapman approved the performance with Combs at the 66th Grammys, which unfolded Feb. 4 at Crypto.com Arena in LA.

“It never felt like a ‘no’ or a ‘maybe,’” Kapoor said. “They said, ‘We agree; let’s take our time and walk through this. And let’s make sure this is what we all want it to be.’ It felt like a long ‘yes.’”

According to Rolling Stone, Rankin spoke with Chapman about the upcoming performance, saying it was “a moment of confluence, coming 35 years to the month since Tracy first performed ‘Fast Car’ at the Grammys, and following a year of such success for Luke Combs.”

Combs’ manager, Chris Kappy, explained that Combs, 33, insisted that Chapman have complete creative control of the performance — wanting her to have “every opportunity to shine.”

Combs’ cover version of “Fast Car” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 2023, so he was more than familiar with the song.

For the live performance, Chapman chose musicians she’d worked with before, including original “Fast Car” drummer Denny Fongheiser and bassist Larry Klein.

Also included were Larry Campbell (fiddle) and guitarist Joe Gore, according to Rankin in the Rolling Stone article. Kurt Ozan, a member of Combs’ band, played pedal steel guitar.

“The one thing that was really mentioned was that there was enough time to rehearse, for both artists to come together and have enough time to explore, to play through it,” Kapoor said.

“There’s a lot of different things on our show — sets, production, visuals — but ultimately, this performance was about the music and the song.

Added Rankin: “We knew we were working towards something rare and special, but the performance was everything we hoped it would be and more, and the subsequent response has been incredible, exceeding our expectations in so many ways.”

The day following the Feb. 4 Grammys, Chapman’s original recording of “Fast Car” shot to No. 1 on the iTunes charts.