At Elektra , she released '' Tracy Chapman '' ( 1988 ) . The album was critically acclaimed , and she began touring and building a fanbase . " 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 167 on their 2010 list of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time " . 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 . " 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 )
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
Tracy Chapman