Tracy Chapman

Calendar's choices of Taste Makers--people who move and shape our arts and entertainment in 1988--run the gamut. If the eight faces on the cover form a rather curious collection, it's because creative abilities come in many forms. As a result, our group's pursuits range from directing the distinguished PBS series "American Playhouse," to fronting the hard-living, hard-rock band Guns N' Roses.

What to wear to a Tracy Chapman concert? Pajamas and a cozy afghan would have been perfect Tuesday at the Wiltern Theatre. That's not to say it was a snooze. Though Chapman and her band often pushed the envelope of low-key, there was almost always something to keep the interest--from Chapman's firm, understated vocals to her charming fumble through a story setting up an earthy version of the blues song "Rollin' and Tumblin'."

Current events have caught up with Tracy Chapman. Like many Americans, the singer seems a bit perplexed by the urban strife that exploded last April in Los Angeles. Accordingly, she opened her concert at the Pacific Amphitheatre on Saturday with a song that spoke of the night "the riots begin" as the death of "the dream of America," and yet closed the set with another song calling for "poor people (to) rise up and get their share."

** 1/2 Tracy Chapman, "Telling Stories," Elektra. Collaborating with producer David Kershenbaum, who worked on her first two albums, Chapman (who plays April 18 at the Wiltern Theatre) offers a collection of spare, graceful, guitar-driven songs that emphasize her warm but gritty vocals and thoughtful, compassionate lyrics.

Folk singer Tracy Chapman shuns the fame she quickly found after her 1988 debut album soared to the top of the charts and won her three Grammy awards, including best new artist. "I guess if there were some way to choose what I wanted or didn't want from what my success has brought me, I would choose not to have the celebrity," Chapman said in an interview in the March 12 issue of Time. "I don't think I'm very good at it." Chapman's first album, "Tracy Chapman," hit No.

Current events have caught up with Tracy Chapman. Accordingly, she opened her concert at the Pacific Amphitheatre's scaled-down "Pavilion" configuration Saturday with a song that likened the night "the riots begin" to the death of "the dream of America" but closed the set with another song calling for "poor people (to) rise up and get their share."

Tracy Chapman was derailed Wednesday in her bid to become the most honored debut artist in the 31-year history of the record industry's Grammy Awards. The singer-songwriter, whose folk-flavored tales about society's underclass scored critical and commercial triumphs in 1988, won Grammys for best new artist, contemporary folk recording and female pop vocal.

It's a safe bet the third album by one of the country's most compelling songwriters--like her second--won't draw anywhere near the attention her acclaimed debut did back in 1988. But while her sophomore effort, "Crossroads," floundered because it was not nearly as inspiringly crafted as "Tracy Chapman," "Matters of the Heart" is destined to meet a subdued reception mainly because the media long ago abandoned female folksingers as today's trend.

The offer of hope to the downtrodden is a standard plank in the protest singer's platform, and a quiet flame of protest certainly burns through much of Tracy Chapman's work. Among the downtrodden who truly took hope from Chapman's musical breakthrough were her fellow singer-songwriters, the people who toil away crafting pop music that's literate and lends itself to intimate performance and close listening.

Tracy Chapman is about to become a household name. The 24-year old singer from Boston is expected to sweep the 31st annual Grammy Awards on Wednesday night, winning in all six categories in which she was nominated. That would represent the best showing ever by a new artist, surpassing Christopher Cross' five-award blitz in 1981.

Best Album * Beck, "Odelay" * Celine Dion, "Falling Into You" * The Fugees, "The Score" * The Smashing Pumpkins, "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" * Various artists, "Waiting to Exhale" soundtrack * Best Record * Tracy Chapman, "Give Me One Reason" * Eric Clapton, "Change the World" * Celine Dion, "Because You Loved Me" * Alanis Morissette, "Ironic" * The Smashing Pumpkins, "1979" * Most Nominations Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds: 12 The Smashing Pumpkins: 7 Tracy Chapman: 5 Vince Gill: 5

Tracy Chapman is an artist who has seen her star rise, fall and rise again. "New Beginning," her latest collection, is the singer-songwriter's most popular album since her 1988 self-titled debut. The album sold 78,000 copies last week according to SoundScan, and is currently at No. 6 on The Times' Southern California chart. Nas' "It Was Written" slips to No.2 behind Alanis Morissette's relentless "Jagged Little Pill" on the local front, but holds on to its national No.

It was probably among the more unlikely sights and sounds at the Greek Theatre so far this season: Tracy Chapman not only singing Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" for an encore, but dancing as she did so. And she even managed to get a little nice and rough with it. Of course, Tina Turner's still got nothing to worry about, but seeing Chapman liven up like that, bouncing in front of her five-piece band, was a bit of a revelation.

The "Fast Car" of Tracy Chapman's 1988 debut hit was a seductive and desirable thing, but to the song's narrator it became a symbol of superficiality and avoidance, a vehicle in which her lover escaped commitment and responsibility. For Chapman, pop stardom was in the same category.

Current events have caught up with Tracy Chapman. Accordingly, she opened her concert at the Pacific Amphitheatre's scaled-down "Pavilion" configuration Saturday with a song that likened the night "the riots begin" to the death of "the dream of America" but closed the set with another song calling for "poor people (to) rise up and get their share."

Current events have caught up with Tracy Chapman. Like many Americans, the singer seems a bit perplexed by the urban strife that exploded last April in Los Angeles. Accordingly, she opened her concert at the Pacific Amphitheatre on Saturday with a song that spoke of the night "the riots begin" as the death of "the dream of America," and yet closed the set with another song calling for "poor people (to) rise up and get their share."

Submitted for your approval: A young black woman on stage alone with an acoustic guitar; song titles like "I Was Born to Fight" and "Talkin' Bout a Revolution"; lyrics railing against police, conspicuous consumers and show-biz opportunists who would "turn me into a white man's drone"; a jam-packed crowd of mostly record industry folk affording standing ovations. All right, everybody, let's synchronize our watches. . . . This is 1988, right?

Tracy Chapman . . . Tracy Chapman . . . Tracy Chapman. No question about it: The 24-year-old folksinger from Cleveland-via-Boston was clearly the pop arrival of 1988. Chapman's debut album--a remarkable blend of understated commentary and disarming craft--has sold more than 6 million copies worldwide and Chapman was a key figure in Amnesty International's celebrated six-week, five-continent tour to promote human rights. But Chapman's success was more than merely a victory for her art.

Listening to some of Tracy Chapman's songs, you'd think that fame and riches have turned out to be sour prizes for her, ones that pose a threat to personal and artistic integrity. Fame and riches became issues in Chapman's life after the extraordinary and surprising success of her 1988 debut album. Folk-based albums with quietly intense songs about social injustice and romantic crises aren't expected to sell 9 million copies, as "Tracy Chapman" did worldwide.

The offer of hope to the downtrodden is a standard plank in the protest singer's platform, and a quiet flame of protest certainly burns through much of Tracy Chapman's work. Among the downtrodden who truly took hope from Chapman's musical breakthrough were her fellow singer-songwriters, the people who toil away crafting pop music that's literate and lends itself to intimate performance and close listening.