Tracy Chapman

Between working there for several years, commuting through there on the T, and just generally liking to hang out there before it became all gentrified, I have spent a lot of time in Harvard Square over the past several decades.

There have always been buskers performing for basket-cash in Harvard Square, but most of them were just part of the eclectic scene. You might catch part of a lyric that sounded familiar or some really good guitar playing, but then you’d walk on to wherever it was you were headed.

But there was one busker I do remember who stopped me dead in my tracks one day until she had finished her song, and I was reminded of her by Walter Panova’s Facebook post:

“Singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman (b. 1964) is pictured here busking in Harvard Sq. while attending nearby Tufts University in 1985. She also played in some of the nearby coffee shops where she was discovered and ultimately signed to a record deal after graduating. By 1988 she had recorded a successful album and was a multi-Grammy winner.”

The voice, the command of her instrument, and especially her presence stopped a lot of people that day and even now when I hear one of her songs I recall that sunny afternoon in Harvard Square and the discovery of an artist whose presence and power will always be part of my life.