Tracy Chapman's Grammy-winning guitar is made in Calgary

Sure, Taylor Swift broke a big record and announced a new album, but the real star of this year's female-dominated Grammy Awards was Tracy Chapman. The folk legend made a surprise appearance to perform 1988's “Fast Car,” a cover by country artist Luke Combs that became a Billboard #1 hit in 2023.

Tributes to the performance (including Combs surprising Chapman) have been a mainstay on social media throughout the week, along with memes parodying his words and pictures of silly cars saying “You've got a fast car.” . Chapman's performance vehicle—his guitar—has a surprisingly Canadian connection: It's made in Calgary.

The instrument was created by Judy Treat, a former philosophy professor and luthier who now plays viola in the Calgary Community String Orchestra. He built the guitar around 1999, and after it failed to sell in Calgary, he shipped it to a shop in Palo Alto, California called Gryphon Stringed Instruments, which Chapman bought in 2001.

“He wandered in one day, and Willie, the guy working on the floor, said, 'What are you looking for?' he asked. And he said, “My shoulder hurt because I was playing this great big dreadnought guitar. I'm looking for a smaller guitar,'” Tree told Global News. “He just reached out and gave him the guitar. He finally left the store with her.”

Although he's now retired from making instruments, Treat received an email from a friend after the awards show on Sunday (Feb. 4) informing him that Chapman had used his hand-built guitar on stage at America's biggest night in music.

“I was surprised. “It's been like this all along,” said the former luthier. – I saw pictures of him playing every now and then, but he refused to perform, so I didn't know if he was still around. So it was great to see him out there and playing it.”

Tri added: “It's amazing. I hope he hangs on to it because it's been a solid friend, and if so, that's great, because that's what everyone hopes for when building a guitar.”

With Combs, “Fast Car” could become something similar for a new generation of listeners. For those who already heralded it as a classic, we saw Chapman play it at our Lord's Grammys in 2024!