Oh, boy.... I think I'm about to pick a fight here. There is SO much overblown overthinking in this piece. It leaves me wondering whether the writer has a single clue how the music business works and how dramatically the culture of country music has evolved over the last 35 years.

First of all, singles get added to radio playlists because they've been promoted by the record label. Tracy Chapman's original version of "Fast Car" didn't get country airplay because the label didn't promote the song to country radio. And, the label would have been squandering its resources in those days because country radio wasn't ready for a record by a Black, female folksinger, especially one who didn't record in Nashville. That the Black, female folksinger in question also happened to be an out-lesbian would have gotten the label promo man tarred and feathered.

In 1988, country had room for one token Black artist, a non-threatening sweater-wearing cat named Charlie Pride. And Music Row had absolutely no tolerance for queer performers. Queer aspirants for country success obediently stayed in closets for their own survival (Randy Travis and KT Oslin, for two instances).

One of the primary reasons for "Fast Car's" original breakout success was that no one had ever heard anything like it. Tracy Chapman had invented a new style of songwriting... rapid-fire, percussive phrasing, coupled with old-folk revolutionary social consciousness. I have long opined that Tracy Chapman is one of the most innovative and influential pop songwriters of the last half-century. I've said it before, and I'll say it again... "There would be no Taylor Swift if not for Tracy Chapman."

Combs' faithful cover of "Fast Car" was a hit, first, because Combs is an established country superstar. Secondly, his label put their promotional might behind his single. But, more importantly, country radio embraced the record because, musically, it fits perfectly into today's country format. Listen to it alongside every other country hit and you can hear similar tempos, chord changes, and modalities and, most evidently, that same rhythmic, percussive phrasing Chapman invented 35 years ago. Combs' version was such a huge hit because country music has finally caught up with Tracy Chapman.

But the moar joyful thing about the mega success of Combs' record is that it demonstrates a new acceptance of diversity in the world of country music, an attitude that didn't exist in 1988. There are a number of successful country artists of color and the number of out queer performers and industry movers and shakers is growing yearly. A burly, straight, white, manly country singer dueting with a middle-aged, Black, lesbian-icon folksinger on the Grammys is a cause for celebration (so much so that I was inspired to write my own piece about the event the day after that Grammy broadcast): https://medium.com/prismnpen/lgbtq-history-made-on-the-grammys-a2cacdb3b7bc

Perhaps the embrace of "Fast Car" by a traditionally conservative audience does suggest that Trump is on the verge of getting pushed off the road. We'll see. I sure hope so. Peace.