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Tracy Chapman, who went to the Wooster School in Danbury, turns 50 on Sunday. The singer-songwriter was born March 30, 1964, in Cleveland.
During college, Chapman began busking in Harvard Square and playing guitar in Club Passim, the Nameless Coffeehouse, and other coffeehouses in Cambridge, Mass.
She signed a contract with Elektra Records and released the critically acclaimed album "Tracy Chapman" in 1988.
Her single "Fast Car" began its rise on the U.S. charts soon after she performed it at the televised Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert in June 1988. It became a No. 6 pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending Aug. 27, 1988. Rolling Stone ranked the song as No. 167 on its 2010 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
Later in 1988, she was a featured performer on the worldwide Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour.
She also known for her singles "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution," "Baby Can I Hold You," "Crossroads," "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories."
She was commissioned by the American Conservatory Theater to compose music for its production of Athol Fugard's "Blood Knot," a play on apartheid in South Africa, staged in early 2008.
Atlantic Records released her eighth studio album, Our Bright Future (2008).
She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.
In 1988, she performed in London as part of a worldwide concert tour to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with Amnesty International. She is also involved with Cleveland's elementary schools.
She often performs at and attends charity events such as Make Poverty History, amfAR and AIDS/Life Cycle, to support social causes.
In 2004, Chapman was given an honorary doctorate in fine arts by her alma mater, Tufts University and was appointed a member of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival U.S. documentary jury.
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