Shawn Colvin’s “Sunny Came Home” won Grammys for Song and Record of the Year

Sunny Came Home Shawn Colvin

Writer(s): Shawn Colvin, John Leventhal (see lyrics here) Released: June 24, 1997 First Charted: February 1, 1997 Peak: 7 BB, 14 BA, 3 GR, 2 RR, 14 AC, 17 A40, 2 AA, 29 UK, 3 CN, 44 AU, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 14.9 video, 50.14 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Shawn Colvin’s first album, Steady On, dropped in 1989 when she was already in her early ‘30s. It would be nearly another decade before she found her greatest success with “Sunny Came Home,” a Grammy-winner for Record and Song of the Year in 1998. The song was released as the second single from Colvin’s fourth album, A Few Small Repairs. It was her highest-charting album, reaching #39 in the United States and becoming her only platinum release. While Colvin has had a handful of charting songs in the UK and on the adult contemporary charts in the United States, “Sunny Came Home” was her only chart entry on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #7. Music historian Steve Sullivan described it as “a quietly compelling account of a troubled woman who finally goes over the edge.” SS Washington Post’s Joshua Zarov said, “Colvin’s poetic lyrics, flawless finger-picking, and unusual guitar tunings give her songs a distinctive character; and her voice, breathy and gentle, is capable of swelling with strength and emotion when necessary.” JZ Colvin told Huffpost.com that “Sunny Came Home,” which she co-wrote with former romantic partner John Leventhal, was the last song written for the album. She’d already chosen the album cover – a painting by her friend Julie Speed of a woman holding a lit match with a fire raging in the background. It inspired Colvin to write a song about a woman who sets her own house on fire as revenge against someone who spurned her. She explained that she focused on imagery like the kitchen, the tools, and the fire but left the story open to listeners’ interpretations. Many have viewed it as a feminist anthem in which the narrator reacts to domestic abuse. Resources: MC Huffpost.com (9/28/2106). “‘Sunny Came Home’ Singer Shawn Colvin Reflects on Her Powerful, Cryptic Song” by Maddie Crum SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 340-1. JZ Washington Post (11/7/2008). Weekend section, page 7. By Joshua Zarov. Related Links: First posted 1/12/2025.

 

Tracy Chapman “Give Me One Reason” single released

Give Me One Reason Tracy Chapman

Writer(s): Tracy Chapman, Don Gehman (see lyrics here) Released: November 19, 1995 First Charted: January 20, 1996 Peak: 3 BB, 2 CB, 2 GR, 12 RR, 3 AC, 18 A40, 3 AA, 35 RB, 95 UK, 11 CN, 3 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.1 US, -- UK, 1.17 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.7 radio, 177.3 video, 284.83 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Tracy Chapman burst out of the gate so strongly with her 1988 debut album that it seemed clear the Ohio-born singer/songwriter would never reach such heights again. The album, which featured the iconic top-ten hit “Fast Car,” reached #1 in the United States and went six times platinum. Her next outing, 1989’s Crossroads, peaked at #9 and sold a million copies. By her third album, 1992’s Matters of the Heart, she was starting to look like an also-ran. The album went gold but stalled at #53. She’d also failed to crack the Top 40 again after “Fast Car.” Matters of the Heart didn’t even produce a charting single. Chapman, however, was not done. In 1995, she released the album New Beginning, which Pitchfork’s Eric Torrest said “brightened the corners of her folk music with an eye toward renewal and environmentalism.” PF It peaked at #4 in the U.S. and went five times platinum. Even more startling, however, was the success of single “Give Me One Reason,” the album’s “bluesy highlight.” PF The platinum-selling single actually outdid “Fast Car” commercially, getting to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and going platinum. In Pitchfork magazine’s ranking of the 250 best songs of the 1990s, Eric Torres said, the song was about “the push and pull of loving someone who can’t give you what you need.” PF In the UK magazine Music Week, Alan Jones said the song was “less intense and somewhat looser” MW than “Fast Car.” He also said the song “perfectly mixes her folksy style with traditional R&B qualities, intelligent lyrics and that edgy distinctive voice.” MW The song won a Grammy for Best Rock Song and received nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Resources: MW Music Week (3/22/1997). “Talking Music” by Alan Jones. Page 8. PF Pitchfork (9/27/2022). “The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s” by Eric Torres. Related Links: First posted 1/12/2025.

Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” remix released

Tom’s Diner Suzanne Vega with DNA

Writer(s): Suzanne Vega O,R, Steve Addabbo and Lenny Kaye R (see lyrics here) Released: June 1987 O; July 16, 1990 R First Charted: July 16, 1987 O; July 28, 1990 R Peak: 32 CO, 58 UK, 3 DF O; 5 BB, 4 CB, 10 GR, 8 RR, 7 MR, 2 UK, 13 CN, 8 AU, 7 DF R (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.2 UK, 1.10 world (includes US + UK) R Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 5.0 O, 52.66 R video, 38.2 O, 173.04 R streaming Codes: O original, R remix

Awards: O Click on award for more details. Awards: R Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Suzanne Vega was born in 1959 in California but grew up in New York. She attended the High School of the Performing Arts and started playing small clubs at Greenwich Village while studying at Barnard College. She released her self-titled debut in 1985. It didn’t gain a lot of attention in the United States, although it reached #11 in the UK and charted with the singles “Marlene on the Wall” (#21) and “Small Blue Thing” (#65). She gained more attention with the track “Left of Center” (#32 UK) from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack the next year. On her second album, 1987’s Solitude Standing, Vega “moved from coffee-house folk singing to exotic and unpredictable musical experimentations.” SS The album reached #2 in the UK and #11 in the United States, largely on the strength of “Luka,” (#3 BB) Vega’s first Billboard Hot 100 entry. It was significant because, as author Toby Creswell said, “Vega almost single-handedly started her own female folk boom.” TC The only other chart entry from the album in the U.S. was the title cut, which stalled at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, one of the highlights on the album was “Tom’s Diner,” which was featured as both an a capella and instrumental version. Vega wrote the song in the early ‘80s about the real-life New York coffee shop Tom’s Restaurant, which would later be famously featured as the hangout for the gang in TV’s hit ‘90s sitcom Seinfeld. TB At the time, the a capella version was a minor hit on the UK charts, peaking at #58. However, the song was not done. Three years later, the British producers known as DNA remixed the cappella version with a dance beat from Soul II Soul’s “Keep on Movin’.” They sent it to clubs without her permission but instead of suing for copyright infringement, A&M arranged to release the remix after consulting with Vega, who liked the interpretation. It “infected listeners with its hypnotic groove and innocent charm.” CS It became a club hit and gave Vega another top-five hit in 1990. Resources: TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 829. CS Chris Smith (2009). 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. Pages 190-2. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 246-7. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 244. Related Links: First posted 1/31/2025.