>either my mother or my aunt (her youngest sister) had bought
>the album and we played that (and Bobby McFerrin's album)
>between Charlotte and Indiana that year on a ride home...
>totally left field of what was out there in that time, across
>genres.

I mean... an a capella reggae joint? I can't imagine that EVER not being a chart non-sequitur.

And neither can the fake bass (fish, not isntrument) someone gave my dad that sings it when you push the button. Thankfully it's stored in the basement.


Chapman (like Vega) actually came out of the vibrant Fast Folk-led singer-songwriter scene; there were lots of people doing what she was doing (though not nearly as many as there would be in a few years). but the fact that a major label would take a chance on her and score a major hit - several, even - was surprising as hell at the time, and the only other acoustic act* to reach anything close to that level of chart success since has been Indigo Girls.

*of course the Acoustic Joint has long been a staple of rock band repertoires, but it seems to me there was a noticeable uptick in quality following 'Fast Car' - GnR 'Patience' and Green Day 'Time of My Life' both being far superior to '80s dreck like 'Five Man Acoustical Jam.'