• last year
Country crooner, Luke Combs took home Single of the Year for his cover of Tracy Chapman's 1988 hit 'Fast Car.' While Chapman made history for becoming the first black songwriter to win CMAs Song of the Year, 35 years after its debut. Although Combs never met Chapman, he shouted her out after the win calling her a 'trendsetting, barrier breaking artist.' 'All credit to Tracy for writing one of the best songs ever,' he told us after the win, 'I would just tell her thank you and congratulations.'
Transcript
00:00 (drums beating)
00:02 I didn't record this song for recognition.
00:05 I didn't record it to try to have a career moment.
00:09 I recorded it because I love it and because I love music.
00:12 And I love what that song has meant for me
00:15 throughout my entire life.
00:16 You know what I mean?
00:17 It's something that reminds me of me and my dad
00:21 and you know, the song that I'll play for my son
00:24 and a song that ultimately will go down in my history too.
00:28 You know, it'll be synonymous with me now as well
00:30 which is insane to think about
00:32 because it's meant so much to me.
00:33 It's insane really, you know, the journey of,
00:37 I remember sitting in my apartment.
00:39 I was teaching myself how to play guitar at,
00:40 you know, 21 years old and spending just days
00:45 and days and days trying to teach myself
00:47 how to play that lick, you know,
00:49 which we all know is so iconic.
00:51 And I finally figured it out after about a month and a half
00:56 or two months, 'cause I was so new at playing guitar
00:59 but I knew that I wanted to play that song.
01:01 And I remember the first time I got it down,
01:04 then I tried to sing while I was playing it
01:07 and I couldn't do it.
01:09 'Cause it was so advanced of a thing for me
01:12 and where I was as a guitar player.
01:15 And then it took me a few more months to be able to sing it
01:18 and play it at the same time.
01:19 And it's been a long journey.
01:21 That song's been a huge part of my life for a long time.
01:24 And all credit to Tracy for writing
01:26 one of the best songs ever.
01:27 And yeah, it's insane to be holding this for sure.
01:32 I've never met Tracy.
01:32 We haven't communicated outside of our, you know,
01:35 kind of official correspondences to each other.
01:38 But that's something that I hope to do.
01:39 You know, I think she was a, you know,
01:41 a trend-setting barrier-breaking artist when she came out
01:44 and she continues to be that to this day.
01:46 I think tonight is point proven in that.
01:48 So I'm super, super humbled to just be
01:52 a super small part of that.
01:53 So I would just tell her thank you and congratulations.
01:58 (upbeat music)

Recommended