Luke Combs‘ new version of Tracy Chapman‘s 1988 hit “Fast Car” is sitting at #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase Country charts. Luke says he’s thrilled he gets to be the one who introduces one of his favorite songs to a “whole generation” of new fans, even though he’s less than confident in his ability to perform it onstage.
“When I started teaching myself to play, it took me a long time to learn how to play that song … [it] was way more advanced on guitar than I was when I learned it,” says Luke. “I feel like I’m just now really proficient enough to play that song well enough to do it onstage.”
He adds, “It took me months to be able to play it — and then to be able to play it and sing it took even more time.”
Despite Luke’s belief that it’s only now, years into his career, that he can properly play “Fast Car,” he’s actually been performing it live since his college days.
“People just loved it as much as I loved it,” he notes.
“I love that song so much. And I think it’s such a great song that it deserves to be heard by a whole generation of people that haven’t heard it before,” Luke adds. “And so to be able to, like, have an opportunity to do that — especially with a song that’s meant so much to me and my love of music from as far back as I can remember — is super unique.”
If you want to watch Luke live to see if he messes up the song, he’s touring stadiums all summer. He’ll be at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, July 21 and 22.
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