Background
In 1987, Chapman was discovered by fellow Tufts University student Brian Koppelman. In an interview he stated "I was helping organize a boycott protest against apartheid at school, and told me there was this great protest singer I should get to play at the rally." He went to see Chapman perform at a coffeehouse called Cappuccino. He said "Tracy walked onstage, and it was like an epiphany, Her presence, her voice, her songs, her sincerity — it all came across." After this, Koppelman told her that his father, who was then co-owner of SBK Publishing, however she did not consider.
However, Koppelman was very interested in Chapman, so he attended most of her shows. She finally agreed to talk to him, but did not record any demo's for him. However, Koppelman found out she recorded demos at the Tufts radio station, WMFO, for copyright purposes. Her demo of the song "Talkin' Bout a Revolution" was taken to radio stations and after the success, he copied the demo and took it to his father. According to the interview, "He immediately got the picture and flew up to see her." Her demo lead her to a signing to Elektra Records. She said "I have to say that I never thought I would get a contract with a major record label All the time since I was a kid listening to records and the radio, I didn't think there was any indication that record people would find the kind of music that I did marketable. Especially when I was singing songs like 'Talkin' Bout a Revolution' during the Seventies I didn't see a place for me there."
According to the producer, David Kershenbaum, he said the album was "made for the right reasons." He continued saying ""There was a set of ideas that we wanted to communicate, and we felt if we were truthful and loyal to those ideas, then people would pick up on the emotion and the lyrical content that was there."
Read more about this topic: Tracy Chapman (album)
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