You guys may be too young to remember, but I remember tuning in on TV with 600 million other viewers to watch Stevie Wonder live at Wembley Stadium for Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday celebration tribute in 1988. There were technical difficulties and Stevie Wonder couldn't go on yet. The crowd was antsy, milling around, singing their own songs. The TV cameras were rolling and the show had to go on, so TOTALLY UNKNOWN ARTIST TRACY CHAPMAN GOT UP ON STAGE AND PLAYED FAST CAR ARMED WITH ONLY HER GUITAR.
The crowd fell silent. Captivated by the absolute raw honesty and talent on display. Did we know we were witnessing history? A black queer artist who would rocket to fame and win a Grammy for this song the following year? I don't remember.
What I do remember is getting to the end of the song and not caring about Stevie Wonder any more. I wanted to know who this woman was!
Watch Tracy Chapman stun a rowdy crowd into silence:
Even though Taylor Swift releaseing a new album is going to be the main acknowledgment of the Grammys we should all acknowledge and support Annie Lennox for calling for a ceasefire on one of the biggest television shows globally. Thank you for that Annie ❤️
i joke a lot about being the reason for the fast car renaissance, but this is actually so beautiful and i’m glad tracy chapman got to have this moment tonight 🥹