Tracey Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, and in her own right a very famous personality in the field of folk rock.
She is a four-time Grammy Award winner and a multi-platinum musician. Tracy was born in Ohio to a middle-class family in Connecticut.
Her mother supported her musical endeavors. While Tracy was at Tufts University, where she studied anthropology and African studies, she began writing music.
At first, there were just lyrics for the songs, and then she began to perform in local coffee houses.
Through a friend at university, she met the producers of Elektra Records and her first album, Tracy Chapman, was released in 1988. This album became an instant hit, and the hit single "Fast Car" made a splash overnight.
She has recorded a total of eight studio albums, including "New Beginning" and "Our Bright Future". Most of her albums are certified platinum.
The singer also holds a significant position in various charitable organizations around the world and participates in many charity concerts.
She is a human rights activist and claims that due to her status, she can help those in need and draw people's attention to some important humanitarian issues.
early life
Tracey Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 30, 1964. At a young age, she moved with her family to Connecticut.
She was raised by her mother, who was always on the side of her daughter. It was she who bought her music-loving three-year-old baby a ukulele, even though she had little money.
Chapman began playing guitar and writing songs at the age of eight. She says she may have been inspired by the TV show Hee Haw.
Raised as a Baptist, Chapman attended Bishops High School and was accepted into the A Better Chance program, which sponsors students at preparatory colleges away from their home.
While studying anthropology and African studies at Tufts University in Massachusetts, Chapman began writing her own music and performing in Boston, as well as recording songs on local radio station WMFO.
Musical career
For the singer, 1986 was a significant year. It was in this year that her friend's father introduced her to the manager of Elektra Records, with whom she recorded her first self-titled album.
This album was released in 1988. Tracey Chapman climbed to No. 1 in the United States and the UK, and her popular single "Fast Car" went to No. 5 in the UK charts and No. 6 in the US charts.
That same year, Chapman performed at a Nelson Mandela 70th birthday concert held in the UK.
The album's second single, "Talkin' Bout a Revolution", was also widely acclaimed and placed competitively on the Billboard music charts.
Chapman received several awards after the album's release, including three Grammy Awards in 1989 for Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocalist and Best Contemporary Folk Album.
Despite the fact that the album won three Grammy awards and would be a real achievement for the first project of any musician,
Chapman wasted no time and quickly got busy with her next album.
In between performing songs from her Grammy Award-winning album, she continued to write and return to the studio to record Crossroads (1989).
Chapman dedicated one song to Mandela on her album, Freedom Now. Although the album did not receive the same recognition as the first, it also made the Billboard 200 as well as other charts.
A little about the life of the singer
The singer's musical success declined slightly in 1992 with the release of Matters of the Heart, which peaked at No. 53 on the Billboard 200 and received no real international exposure.
The Matters of the Heart featured less catchy songs than Chapman's previous singles. Fans were not happy that she moved away from folk and blues, and concentrated more on alternative rock.
It was probably difficult for Chapman to predict what would happen three years after the release of her fourth studio album.
As the album's title, "New Beginning" (1995), suggests, it became more successful, selling about 5 million copies in the United States alone.
The album far exceeded the expectations of the listeners thanks to the widely popular single "Give Me One Reason". Also a memorable hit was the single with a soulful melody "Smoke and Ashes".
And of course, it is worth mentioning the title track of the album “New Beginning”, in which the singer told her story.
Chapman received a fourth Grammy in 1997 for Best Rock Song ("Give Me One Reason"), as well as several Grammy nominations and other music awards.
Since the release of New Beginning, the artist has also released several albums, including Telling Stories (2000) and Our Bright Future (2008), and toured throughout 2009.
However, in recent years, Chapman has remained almost unnoticed.
social activist
Outside of her musical career, Chapman has long worked as an activist, speaking on behalf of several non-profit organizations including the AIDS Foundation and Circle of Life (no longer active).
During a 2003 event benefiting Circle of Life, Chapman duetted John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery" with Bonnie Raitt.
Awards and achievements
At the beginning of her career, Tracy was awarded three Grammy awards.
Her first studio album, Tracy Chapman, released in 1988, won three Grammys for Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performer and Best Contemporary Folk Album.
She received her fourth Grammy in 1997 for Chapman's New Beginning. The singer also received an award for the song "Give Me One Reason" in the category "Best Rock Song".
Personal life and legacy
There have always been various speculations about Tracy's sexual orientation as she has never revealed her partners.
She often mentions that her personal life has nothing to do with the professional work that she does.
It was later revealed that she dated writer Alice Walker in the 1990s. Tracy is a well-known political and public figure.
She often uses her status to discuss important humanitarian issues. And later she admitted to being a feminist
