Tracy Chapman

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tracy Chapman in Bruges, 2009

Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964 in Cleveland , Ohio ) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. She has sold 44 million records, over 15 million of them in her home country alone and including her debut album with 27 million units.

life and work

Chapman learned to play the guitar and piano as a child and wrote his first songs. With the help of a scholarship, she completed a private school in Connecticut and then, also thanks to a scholarship, studied anthropology and African American studies at the private Tufts University . It was at this time that she recorded her first demos. The father of the future filmmaker Brian Koppelman , then a fellow student of Chapman, worked in the record industry, and so in 1987 she got a recording contract with Elektra Records .

Chapman in Budapest (1988)

Chapman became known for her double appearance at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute Concert (for the 70th birthday of the South African freedom fighter) on June 11, 1988 at Wembley Stadium in London , shortly after the release of her debut album. Since Stevie Wonder had to cancel his performance due to technical problems, she was asked by the organizer to go on stage a second time to bridge the break solo with the acoustic guitar. Through the worldwide broadcast of the concert, she also became known to an audience outside the United States. In the same year she went on a Human Rights Now! With Peter Gabriel , Bruce Springsteen , Sting and Youssou N'Dour . World Tour for Amnesty International .

From July 4, 2008 she worked with the American producer Larry Klein on her eighth album Our Bright Future, which was released on November 7 of the same year. In November 2008 a tour with 21 dates in Europe began.

Chapman performed Ben E. King's " Stand By Me " in one of the final episodes of the Late Show with David Letterman in April 2015. The performance went viral and has been the focus of various news articles, including some from Billboard and The Huffington Post .

On November 20, 2015, Chapman released the album "Greatest Hits", consisting of 18 tracks, including the live version of "Stand by Me", the album is Chapman's first global compilation.

In October 2018, Chapman sued rapper Nicki Minaj for copyright infringement , alleging Minaj sampled her song "Baby Can I Hold You" without permission. In her lawsuit, Chapman requested an injunction to prevent Minaj from releasing the song Sorry, stating that she had "repeatedly denied" "Baby Can I Hold You" could be sampled.

She has received numerous prizes and awards, including four Grammy Awards, for her mostly sparingly orchestrated pieces with socially critical texts in the folk-rock style .

Chapman's songs are often about the desolation of everyday life, social problems and the downside of the American Dream , for example in the song Fast Car .

In the mid-1990s, Chapman is said to have had a relationship with Alice Walker .

social commitment

Chapman is a politically and socially active musician. In a 2009 interview with American radio station NPR, she said, "I am approached by many organizations and people who want me to support their various charitable endeavors in some way. And I look at these requests and basically try taken to do what I can. And I have certain interests of my own, usually an interest in human rights ". She has performed at numerous socially committed events and continues to do so. In 1988 she performed in London as part of a worldwide concert tour on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with Amnesty International . That same year, Chapman also appeared at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute , an event that raised money for South Africa's anti-apartheid movement and seven children's charities. In 2004, Chapman appeared at the AIDS / LifeCycle event.

Chapman received an honorary doctorate from Saint Xavier University in Chicago in 1997 . In 2004 Chapman was awarded an honorary doctorate in fine arts by her alma mater , Tufts University , in recognition of her commitment to social activism .

Discography

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
Studio albums
1988 Tracy Chapman DE1
Ninefold gold
× 9
Ninefold gold

(95 weeks)DE
AT1
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(76 weeks)AT
CH1
Quadruple platinum
× 4
Quadruple platinum

(48 weeks)CH
UK1
Nine-fold platinum
× 9
Nine-fold platinum

(292 weeks)UK
US1
Six-fold platinum
× 6
Six-fold platinum

(61 weeks)US
First published: April 8, 1988
Sales: + 13,915,000
1989 Crossroads DE1
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(38 weeks)DE
AT3
platinum
platinum

(26 weeks)AT
CH2
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(27 weeks)CH
UK1
platinum
platinum

(16 weeks)UK
US9
platinum
platinum

(26 weeks)US
First published: September 29, 1989
Sales: + 3,475,906
1992 Matters Of The Heart DE13 (20 weeks)
DE
AT11 (16 weeks)
AT
CH10
gold
gold

(17 weeks)CH
UK19 (3 weeks)
UK
US53
gold
gold

(11 weeks)US
First published: April 27, 1992
Sales: + 525,000
1995 New beginning DE60
gold
gold

(10 weeks)DE
AT9
gold
gold

(16 weeks)AT
CH22 (11 weeks)
CH
UK-
silver
silver
UK
US4th
Seven times platinum
× 7
Seven times platinum

(95 weeks)US
First published: November 14, 1995
Sales: + 6,270,000
2000 Telling stories DE5
gold
gold

(21 weeks)DE
AT5
gold
gold

(20 weeks)AT
CH2
gold
gold

(31 weeks)CH
UK85 (3 weeks)
UK
US33
gold
gold

(22 weeks)US
First published: February 14, 2000
Sales: + 782,500
2002 Let it rain DE15 (12 weeks)
DE
AT6th
gold
gold

(20 weeks)AT
CH4th
gold
gold

(22 weeks)CH
UK36
silver
silver

(3 weeks)UK
US25 (9 weeks)
US
First published: October 11, 2002
Sales: + 300,000
2005 Where You Live DE12 (7 weeks)
DE
AT7 (7 weeks)
AT
CH4th
gold
gold

(16 weeks)CH
UK43 (2 weeks)
UK
US49 (8 weeks)
US
First published: September 9, 2005
Sales: + 120,000
2008 Our Bright Future DE28 (8 weeks)
DE
AT23 (7 weeks)
AT
CH9
gold
gold

(21 weeks)CH
UK75 (1 week)
UK
US57 (2 weeks)
US
First published: November 7th, 2008
Sales: + 215,000
Compilations
2001 Collection DE3
gold
gold

(16 weeks)DE
AT1
platinum
platinum

(25 weeks)AT
CH4th
gold
gold

(26 weeks)CH
UK3
platinum
platinum

(24 weeks)UK
-
First published: September 14, 2001
Sales: +1,105,000
2015 Greatest hits - - CH64 (1 week)
CH
UK30th
silver
silver

(4 weeks)UK
US105 (1 week)
US
First published: November 20, 2015
Sales: + 60,000
Number one albums DE2DE AT2AT CH1CH UK2UK US1US
Top 10 albums DE4thDE AT7thAT CH8thCH UK3UK US3US
Albums in the charts DE9DE AT9AT CH10CH UK9UK US9US

Singles

year Title
album
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1988 Almost Car
Tracy Chapman
DE81 (1 week)
DE
- - UK4th
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(47 weeks)UK
US6 (21 weeks)
US
First published: April 1988
Sales: + 1,258,000
Talkin 'Bout A Revolution
Tracy Chapman
- AT29 (2 weeks)
AT
- UK85
silver
silver

(3 weeks)UK
US75 (4 weeks)
US
First published: August 1988
Sales: + 200,000
Baby Can I Hold You
Tracy Chapman
- - - UK94
silver
silver

(2 weeks)UK
US48 (12 weeks)
US
First published: October 1988
Sales: + 200,000
1989 Crossroads
Crossroads
DE38 (17 weeks)
DE
AT21 (4 weeks)
AT
CH18 (7 weeks)
CH
UK61 (3 weeks)
UK
US90 (4 weeks)
US
First published: September 1989
1996 Give Me One Reason
New Beginning
- - - UK95
platinum
platinum

(1 week)UK
US3 (39 weeks)
US
First published: September 1989
Sales: + 1,070,000
2000 Telling Stories
Telling Stories
- - CH76 (3 weeks)
CH
- -
First published: December 1999
2008 Sing For You
Our Bright Future
- - CH48 (8 weeks)
CH
- -
First published: October 2008
Number one singles DE-DE AT-AT CH-CH UK-UK US-US
Top 10 singles DE-DE AT-AT CH-CH UK1UK US2US
Singles in the charts DE2DE AT2AT CH3CH UK5UK US5US

More singles

  • 1989: All That You Have Is Your Soul
  • 1992: Bang Bang Bang
  • 1992: Dreaming on a World

Awards

Prices

  • Grammy Awards
    • 1989:
      • Best contemporary folk recording for Tracy Chapman
      • Best female vocal performance for Fast Car
      • Best new artist
    • 1997:
      • Best rock song for Give Me One Reason

In addition to four Grammy Awards, the songwriter can boast a number of other awards, including an American Music Award , two BRIT Awards , three SKC Boston Music Awards and four Bammy Awards.

Awards for music sales

Country / Region Silver record icon.svg silver Gold record icon.svg gold Platinum record icon.svg platinum Diamond record icon.svg diamond Sales swell
Awards for music sales
(country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Argentina (CAPIF) Argentina (CAPIF) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 2 × gold2 Platinum record icon.svg 2 × platinum2 0! D.- 170,000 capif.org.ar ( Memento from May 31, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) AR2 ( Memento from July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Australia (ARIA) Australia (ARIA) 0! S.- 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg 18 × platinum18th 0! D.- 1,400,000 aria.com.au
Belgium (BEA) Belgium (BEA) 0! S.- 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum3 0! D.- 110,000 ultratop.be
Brazil (PMB) Brazil (PMB) 0! S.- 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg platinum1 0! D.- 250,000 pro-musicabr.org.br
Denmark (IFPI) Denmark (IFPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 2 × gold2 Platinum record icon.svg 7 × platinum7th 0! D.- 328,000 ifpi.dk
Germany (BVMI) Germany (BVMI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 5 × gold5 Platinum record icon.svg 7 × platinum7th 0! D.- 4,400,000 musikindustrie.de
Europe (IFPI) Europe (IFPI) 0! S.- 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg platinum1 0! D.- (1,000,000) ifpi.org ( Memento from January 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
Finland (IFPI) Finland (IFPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 0! P- 0! D.- 30,906 ifpi.fi
France (SNEP) France (SNEP) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 4 × gold4th Platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum3 Diamond record icon.svg diamond1 2,200,000 infodisc.fr snepmusique.com
Hong Kong (IFPI / HKRIA) Hong Kong (IFPI / HKRIA) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 Platinum record icon.svg platinum1 0! D.- 30,000 Individual evidence
Italy (FIMI) Italy (FIMI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 Platinum record icon.svg 6 × platinum6th 0! D.- 350,000 fimi.it
Canada (MC) Canada (MC) 0! S.- 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg 13 × platinum13 0! D.- 1,260,000 musiccanada.com
New Zealand (RMNZ) New Zealand (RMNZ) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 Platinum record icon.svg 6 × platinum6th 0! D.- 97,500 nztop40.co.nz
Netherlands (NVPI) Netherlands (NVPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 Platinum record icon.svg 2 × platinum2 0! D.- 230,000 nvpi.nl
Austria (IFPI) Austria (IFPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 2 × gold2 Platinum record icon.svg 4 × platinum4th 0! D.- 225,000 ifpi.at
Poland (ZPAV) Poland (ZPAV) 0! S.- 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg 4 × platinum4th 0! D.- 60,000 bestsellery.zpav.pl
Sweden (IFPI) Sweden (IFPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 3 × gold3 Platinum record icon.svg 6 × platinum6th 0! D.- 380,000 sverigetopplistan.se
Switzerland (IFPI) Switzerland (IFPI) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 6 × gold6th Platinum record icon.svg 6 × platinum6th 0! D.- 425,000 hitparade.ch
Spain (Promusicae) Spain (Promusicae) 0! S.- 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum3 0! D.- 240,000 promusicae.es ES2
United States (RIAA) United States (RIAA) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 2 × gold2 Platinum record icon.svg 14 × platinum14th 0! D.- 15,000,000 riaa.com
United Kingdom (BPI) United Kingdom (BPI) Silver record icon.svg 5 × silver5 0! G- Platinum record icon.svg 16 × platinum16 0! D.- 6,890,000 bpi.co.uk
All in all Silver record icon.svg 5 × silver5 Gold record icon.svg 31 × gold31 Platinum record icon.svg 123 × platinum123 Diamond record icon.svg diamond1

Individual evidence

  1. MJD: Tracy Chapman albums and songs sales. In: ChartMasters. June 25, 2019, Retrieved April 20, 2020 (American English).
  2. About-Tracy-Chapman.net: Biography
  3. ^ The Rolling Stone: Tracy Chapman
  4. Tracy Chapman: "Mandela Changed My Life". Interview by Alex Gernandt. Spiegel Online, June 11, 2017; Tracy Chapman: "The university saved me from the ghetto". Photo gallery on Spiegel Online, June 11, 2017.
  5. Rock's Conscience spotlights Mandela. On: top40-charts.com, May 25, 2002.
  6. ^ Nico Pitney: Tracy Chapman Singing 'Stand By Me' Will Break Your Heart. May 1, 2015, accessed April 20, 2020 .
  7. FOCUS Online: Tracy Chapman's "Greatest Hits". Retrieved April 20, 2020 .
  8. ^ Copyright dispute: Singer Tracy Chapman is suing rapper Nicki Minaj. October 24, 2018, accessed on April 20, 2020 (German).
  9. theguardian.com: No retreat
  10. ^ Without Further Ado, Singer Tracy Chapman Returns. Retrieved April 20, 2020 (English).
  11. ^ To Activist Remembers the Concert That Moved a Generation. January 24, 2014, accessed April 20, 2020 (American English).
  12. ^ Live Aid's legacy of charity concerts . June 30, 2005 ( bbc.co.uk [accessed April 20, 2020]).
  13. Previous Honorary Degree Recipients | Saint Xavier University. Retrieved April 20, 2020 .
  14. 2004 - Tracy Chapman, Doctor of Fine Arts. In: About Tracy Chapman. May 23, 2004, Retrieved April 20, 2020 (American English).
  15. a b chart sources:

Web links

Commons : Tracy Chapman  - collection of images, videos and audio files