Not sure what you meant by he didn’t ask for her permission to cover the song. That’s why ASCAP exists. Did Nat Cole have ask Chaplin’s permission to sing Smile? Did Feliciano need Jim Morrison’s permission to record “Light my Fire”? Songwriters write songs so they can be sung. And again you imply that Combs is paying Tracy Chapman royalties as some act of graciousness. She is owed that as a professional songwriter no matter who records the song, and the recording artist has no choice in the matter.
One last question. Would the author of this piece care if both the writer and artist were black (or both white)? I’m not sure if she is complaining about artistic integrity or racism.
I know he doesn't need to ask for permission, and I understand the logic of not doing more than one is legally required to. I didn't intend to imply that paying royalties is an act of graciousness; I think my language was straightforward.
Hi Ruth. Congratulations on finishing the Anne Frank book. Can't wait to read it. I want to thank you for your essay in The New Yorker from 2018, "How Should Children's Books Deal With the Holocaust." Can't tell you how important it was for me--and for my editor at Scholastic--as I was writing about the Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration camp in my book Stolen by Night, which is coming out this fall. In some ways your essay was a blueprint for what I didn't want to do--be escapist in any way in how I depicted the horrors of the camp in a historical novel for YA and Middle Grade readers. We'll see how well I succeeded, and if the story speaks to these young readers, but regardless of the sales or response, the experience of researching and writing it--with your essay very much in mind--has been deeply meaningful. So thanks again. And all best again with your new book. btw, my daughter tells me Sudan Archives incorporates some of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" lyrics in the song "ChevyS10" on Sudan Archives's "Natural Brown Prom Queen" album. Definitely homage and not cultural appropriation.
I recently heard the new "Fast Car" version and had a lot of these same questions -- and one of my biggest was what his version adds, since it is almost exactly like Tracy Chapman's (or at least as I heard it, which was on a store's sound system, and it took me a minute to register what I was hearing). I'm glad she's getting money for it!
"Summer People" is one of my favorites too, and I think you'd like the novel "That Time of Year" by Maria NDiaye, which has a similar concept, but drawn out over a novel, and with a particular French attitude. It's funny and creepy and great.
Not sure what you meant by he didn’t ask for her permission to cover the song. That’s why ASCAP exists. Did Nat Cole have ask Chaplin’s permission to sing Smile? Did Feliciano need Jim Morrison’s permission to record “Light my Fire”? Songwriters write songs so they can be sung. And again you imply that Combs is paying Tracy Chapman royalties as some act of graciousness. She is owed that as a professional songwriter no matter who records the song, and the recording artist has no choice in the matter.
One last question. Would the author of this piece care if both the writer and artist were black (or both white)? I’m not sure if she is complaining about artistic integrity or racism.
I know he doesn't need to ask for permission, and I understand the logic of not doing more than one is legally required to. I didn't intend to imply that paying royalties is an act of graciousness; I think my language was straightforward.
Hi Ruth. Congratulations on finishing the Anne Frank book. Can't wait to read it. I want to thank you for your essay in The New Yorker from 2018, "How Should Children's Books Deal With the Holocaust." Can't tell you how important it was for me--and for my editor at Scholastic--as I was writing about the Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration camp in my book Stolen by Night, which is coming out this fall. In some ways your essay was a blueprint for what I didn't want to do--be escapist in any way in how I depicted the horrors of the camp in a historical novel for YA and Middle Grade readers. We'll see how well I succeeded, and if the story speaks to these young readers, but regardless of the sales or response, the experience of researching and writing it--with your essay very much in mind--has been deeply meaningful. So thanks again. And all best again with your new book. btw, my daughter tells me Sudan Archives incorporates some of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" lyrics in the song "ChevyS10" on Sudan Archives's "Natural Brown Prom Queen" album. Definitely homage and not cultural appropriation.
Thanks so much for this! I'm really glad to hear my piece was useful to you.
If others are interested in reading: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/23/how-should-childrens-books-deal-with-the-holocaust
I so wish I could take this course, Ruth. Sounds so interesting.
I recently heard the new "Fast Car" version and had a lot of these same questions -- and one of my biggest was what his version adds, since it is almost exactly like Tracy Chapman's (or at least as I heard it, which was on a store's sound system, and it took me a minute to register what I was hearing). I'm glad she's getting money for it!
"Summer People" is one of my favorites too, and I think you'd like the novel "That Time of Year" by Maria NDiaye, which has a similar concept, but drawn out over a novel, and with a particular French attitude. It's funny and creepy and great.
Oh, that does sound like something I'd like! Adding to my list.
As far as I can tell, the biggest thing is cover adds is that ... he's a white man? Which I think is a lot of what makes me uncomfortable.
Thanks for this. Loved reading and thinking about it.
This is a good reminder that art, in all its forms, can be a powerful catalyst for important conversations about society and identity.