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==Biography==
==Biography==
Tracy Chapman was born in [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]]. She was raised by her mother, who recognized Tracy's love of music and, despite not having much money, bought her a [[ukulele]] when she was just three.<ref>Williamson, Nigel [http://www.about-tracy-chapman.net/biography-by-nigel-williamson-2001/ Tracy Chapman Biography] All About Tracy Chapman, July 2001</ref> Chapman began playing [[guitar]] and writing songs at the age of eight. She says that she may have been first inspired to play the guitar by the television show ''[[Hee Haw]]''.<ref name=Ado>Martin, Michael [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112056043&ft=1&f=1003 "Without Further Ado, Songster Tracy Chapman Returns"] National Public Radio, August 20, 2009</ref>
Tracy Chapman was born in [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]]. He was raised by her mother, who recognized Tracy's love of music and, despite not having much money, bought him a [[ukulele]] when he was just three.<ref>Williamson, Nigel [http://www.about-tracy-chapman.net/biography-by-nigel-williamson-2001/ Tracy Chapman Biography] All About Tracy Chapman, July 2001</ref> Chapman began playing [[guitar]] and writing songs at the age of eight. She says that he may have been first inspired to play the guitar by the television show ''[[Hee Haw]]''.<ref name=Ado>Martin, Michael [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112056043&ft=1&f=1003 "Without Further Ado, Songster Tracy Chapman Returns"] National Public Radio, August 20, 2009</ref>


Chapman was raised Baptist and went to an Episcopal high school.<ref name=Ado/> She was accepted into the program "A Better Chance", which helps minority students attend private schools. She graduated from [[Wooster School]] in [[Connecticut]], then attended [[Tufts University]].<ref>[http://www.about-tracy-chapman.net/biography.htm Biography] All About Tracy Chapman</ref> She graduated with a B.A. degree in [[anthropology]] and [[African studies]].<ref name=Pando1>Erlewine, Stephen Thomas [http://www.pandora.com/music/artist/tracy+chapman Tracy Chapman] All Music Guide</ref>
Chapman was raised Baptist and went to an Episcopal high school.<ref name=Ado/> She was accepted into the program "A Better Chance", which helps minority students attend private schools. She graduated from [[Wooster School]] in [[Connecticut]], then attended [[Tufts University]].<ref>[http://www.about-tracy-chapman.net/biography.htm Biography] All About Tracy Chapman</ref> She graduated with a B.A. degree in [[anthropology]] and [[African studies]].<ref name=Pando1>Erlewine, Stephen Thomas [http://www.pandora.com/music/artist/tracy+chapman Tracy Chapman] All Music Guide</ref>

Revision as of 20:53, 30 July 2012

Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman in Bruges in 2009
Tracy Chapman in Bruges in 2009
Background information
Born (1964-03-30) March 30, 1964 (age 60)
OriginCleveland, Ohio, U.S.
GenresFolk, blues-rock, pop, soul
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, harp, bouzouki, banjo, clarinet, keyboards, organ, percussion, harmonica
Years active1986–present
LabelsElektra Records
Websitetracychapman.com

Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Crossroads", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.[1]

Biography

Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He was raised by her mother, who recognized Tracy's love of music and, despite not having much money, bought him a ukulele when he was just three.[2] Chapman began playing guitar and writing songs at the age of eight. She says that he may have been first inspired to play the guitar by the television show Hee Haw.[3]

Chapman was raised Baptist and went to an Episcopal high school.[3] She was accepted into the program "A Better Chance", which helps minority students attend private schools. She graduated from Wooster School in Connecticut, then attended Tufts University.[4] She graduated with a B.A. degree in anthropology and African studies.[5]

In the mid-1990s, Chapman dated author Alice Walker.[6] Chapman maintains a strong separation between her personal and professional lives. “I have a public life that’s my work life and I have my personal life,” she said. “In some ways, the decision to keep the two things separate relates to the work I do."[7]

Chapman often performs at and attends charity events such as Make Poverty History, amfAR and AIDS/LifeCycle, to support social causes. She lives in San Francisco.

Career

During college, Chapman began busking in Harvard Square and playing guitar in Club Passim and within other coffeehouses in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[citation needed] Another Tufts student, Brian Koppelman, heard Chapman playing and brought her to the attention of his father, Charles Koppelman. Koppelman, who ran SBK Publishing, signed Chapman in 1986. After Chapman graduated from Tufts in 1987, he helped her to sign a contract with Elektra Records.[5]

Chapman playing in Budapest, Hungary.

At Elektra, she released Tracy Chapman (1988). The album was critically acclaimed, and she began touring and building a fanbase. Chapman's "Fast Car" began its rise on the US charts soon after she performed it at the televised Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert in June 1988; it became a number 6 pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 27, 1988. Rolling Stone ranked the song number 165 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[8] It is the highest ranking song both written and performed by a female performer. "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", the follow-up, charted at number 75 and was followed by "Baby Can I Hold You", which peaked at number 48. The album sold well, going multi-platinum and winning three Grammy Awards, including an honor for Chapman as Best New Artist. Later in 1988, Chapman was a featured performer on the worldwide Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour. According to the VH1 website, "Her album helped usher in the era of political correctness — along with 10,000 Maniacs and R.E.M., Chapman's liberal politics proved enormously influential on American college campuses in the late '80s."[9]

Her follow-up album Crossroads (1989) was less commercially successful, but still achieved platinum status. By 1992's Matters of the Heart, Chapman was playing to a small and devoted audience. Her fourth album New Beginning (1995) proved successful, selling over three million copies in the U.S. The album included the hit single "Give Me One Reason", which won the 1997 Grammy for Best Rock Song and became Chapman's most successful single to date, peaking at Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Following a four-year hiatus, her fifth album, Telling Stories, was released in 2000. Its hit single, "Telling Stories", received heavy airplay on European radio stations and on Adult Alternative and Hot AC stations in the United States. Chapman toured Europe and the US in 2003 in support of her sixth album, Let It Rain (2002).

To support her seventh studio album, Where You Live (2005), Chapman toured major US cities in October and throughout Europe over the remainder of the year. The "Where You Live" tour was extended into 2006; the 28-date European tour featured summer concerts in Germany, Italy, France, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the UK, Russia and more. On June 5, 2006, she performed at the 5th Gala of Jazz in Lincoln Center, New York, and in a session at the 2007 TED (Technology Entertainment Design) conference in Monterey, California.

Chapman was commissioned by the American Conservatory Theater to compose music for its production of Athol Fugard's Blood Knot, a play on apartheid in South Africa, staged in early 2008.[10]

Atlantic Records released Chapman's eighth studio album, Our Bright Future (2008).[11] Chapman made a 26-date solo tour of Europe. She returned to tour Europe and selected North American cities during the summer of 2009. She was backed by Joe Gore on guitars, Patrick Warren on keyboards, and Dawn Richardson on percussion.[12]

Social activism

Chapman is widely regarded as a politically and socially active musician. In a 2009 interview with American radio network NPR, Chapman is quoted as saying: "I'm approached by lots of organizations and lots of people who want me to support their various charitable efforts in some way. And I look at those requests and I basically try to do what I can. And I have certain interests of my own, generally an interest in human rights."[3] This interest in human rights can be seen lyrically in her music. Songs such as 1988's "Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution" highlight the importance of speaking up against injustice. An example is this lyric from "Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution":

Don't you know, talking 'bout a revolution sounds like a whisper / when they're standing in the welfare lines.

Chapman's song "Fast Car" also brings awareness to the struggles of poverty, with lyrics such as:

I know things will get better / you'll find work and I'll get promoted / we'll move out of the shelter / buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs

Chapman's activism extends further than her lyrics. She has performed at numerous socially aware events, and continues to do so. In 1988, Tracy Chapman performed in London as part of a worldwide concert tour to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with Amnesty International.[13] The same year Chapman also performed in the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, an event which raised money for South Africa's Anti-Apartheid Movement and seven children's charities.[14] More recently, in 2004 Chapman performed (and rode) in the AIDSLifeCycle event.[15]

Chapman has also been involved with Cleveland’s elementary schools. A music video produced by Chapman that highlights significant achievements in African-American history has become an important teaching tool in Cleveland Public Schools. Chapman also agreed to sponsor a "Crossroads in Black History" essay contest for high school students in Cleveland and other cities.[16]

In 2004, Chapman was given an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts by her alma mater, Tufts University, recognizing her commitment to Social Activism.[17]

I'm fortunate that I've been able to do my work and be involved in certain organizations, certain endeavors, and offered some assistance in some way. Whether that is about raising money or helping to raise awareness, just being another body to show some force and conviction for a particular idea. Finding out where the need is - and if someone thinks you're going to be helpful, then helping.

— Tracy Chapman[18]

Discography

Main article: Tracy Chapman discography

Contributions

Duet songs:

Covered songs:

Awards and nominations

Grammy Award History
Other Awards
Year Ceremony Award Nominated Work Result
1988 Billboard Music Awards Best Female Video "Tracy Chapman" Won
1989 Soul Train Music Awards Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Album of the Year, Female Herself Nominated
Grammy Awards New Artist Herself Won
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Herself Won
Song of the Year "Fast Car" Nominated
Best Contemporary Folk Recording "Tracy Chapman" Won
Album of the Year "Tracy Chapman" Nominated
Record of the Year "Fast Car" Nominated
BRIT Awards International Breakout Herself Won
International Female Herself Won
MTV Video Music Awards Best Female Video "Fast Car" Nominated
American Music Awards Favorite Pop Rock New Artist Herself Won
Favorite Pop Rock Female Artist Herself Nominated
1990 Grammy Awards Best Contemporary Folk Recording "Crossroads" Nominated
1996 MTV Video Music Awards Best Female Video "Give Me One Reason" Nominated
1997 Grammy Awards Best Pop Album "New Beginning" Nominated
Best Rock Vocal Performance Female Herself Nominated
Best Rock Song "Give Me One Reason" Won
Song of the Year "Give Me One Reason" Nominated
Record of the Year "Give Me One Reason" Nominated
2002 IFPI Platinum Europe Music Awards Album Title "Collection" Won
2006 Meteor Ireland Music Awards Best International Female Herself Nominated
2009 SXSWi: Web Awards Honor Pop Music Herself Nominated
2010 Grammy Awards Best Contemporary Folk Recording "Our Bright Future" Nominated

References

  1. ^ GRAMMY Award Winners Grammy.com
  2. ^ Williamson, Nigel Tracy Chapman Biography All About Tracy Chapman, July 2001
  3. ^ a b c Martin, Michael "Without Further Ado, Songster Tracy Chapman Returns" National Public Radio, August 20, 2009
  4. ^ Biography All About Tracy Chapman
  5. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas Tracy Chapman All Music Guide
  6. ^ Wajid, Sara "No retreat", The Guardian, December 15, 2006
  7. ^ 2002 – Tracy Chapman still introspective? All About Tracy Chapman, October 2002
  8. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2004-12-09. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  9. ^ "Tracy Chapman" VH1.com
  10. ^ "A.C.T. Tackles Big Issues in Fugard's Blood Knot". American Conservatory Theater. January 18, 2008.
  11. ^ "Tracy Chapman". Atlantic Records. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  12. ^ Tracy Chapman European / US Tour Dates 2009 All About Tracy Chapman, December 22, 2008
  13. ^ "Who We Are/History". Amnesty. Amnesty International. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  14. ^ "Live Aid's Legacy of Charity Concerts". BBC. BBC News. 30 June 2005. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  15. ^ "AIDS LifeCycle 2004". Online Posting. Youtube. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  16. ^ "School Uses Video To Teach Black History". Curriculum Review. 29 (8): 11. 1990. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  17. ^ "Commencement Speaker Announced". E-News. Tufts University. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  18. ^ Younge, Gary (28 September 2002). "A Militant Mellow". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tracy Chapman.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Grammy Award for Best New Artist
1989 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
1989
for "Fast Car" 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Steve Goodman
for Unfinished Business
 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album
1989
for Tracy Chapman 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Grammy Award for Best Rock Song
1997
for "Give Me One Reason" 		Succeeded by

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