April 5: Tracy Chapman released “Fast Car” on this date in 1988

Twenty-four years ago today, Tracy Chapman released "Fast Car" -- a song that has less to do with cars than freedom -- as a single from her eponymous first album. Two months later, she performed it live at Nelson Mandela's televised 70th birthday tribute concert in London to an estimated audience of 600 million people, and a star was born. Rolling Stone magazine ranks "Fast Car" as 167 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."