Crossroads is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released in 1989. Chapman was also a producer on this album, the first time she had taken on such a role. The song "Freedom Now" is dedicated to Nelson Mandela.

Track listing

All songs written by Tracy Chapman.

  1. "Crossroads" – 4:11
  2. "Bridges" – 5:24
  3. "Freedom Now" – 4:02
  4. "Material World" – 3:02
  5. "Be Careful of My Heart" – 4:39
  6. "Subcity" – 5:09
  7. "Born to Fight" – 2:46
  8. "A Hundred Years" – 4:20
  9. "This Time" – 3:43
  10. "All That You Have Is Your Soul" – 5:16

Personnel

Musicians

  • Tracy Chapman – acoustic guitar, harmonica (tracks 6, 10), electric guitar (tracks 3, 8), vocals, background vocals (track 3), 12 string guitar (tracks 6, 9), stagecoach guitar (track 10)
  • Charlie Bisharat – viola (track 6), electric violin (track 6), violin pizzicato (track 1)
  • Peggie Blu – background vocals (track 3)
  • Marc Cohn – piano (track 2)
  • Paulinho da Costa – tambourine (track 3), conga (track 8)
  • Carolyn Dennis – background vocals (track 3)
  • Denny Fongheiser – drums (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8)
  • Bobbye Hall – percussion (tracks 1, 4, 5), conga (tracks 3, 6), tambourine (track 7)
  • Jack Holder – banjo (track 3), piano (tracks 2, 7), acoustic stagecoach guitar (track 9), organ (track 9)
  • Larry Klein – bass guitar (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9)
  • Danny Kortchmar – electric guitar (track 8)
  • Russ Kunkel – drums (tracks 2, 6, 9)
  • Jim Lacefield – cello (track 10)
  • Tim Landers – bass guitar (tracks 3, 7)
  • Steve Lindley – electric piano (track 8)
  • Bob Marlette – keyboards (tracks 1, 2)
  • Frank Marocco – accordion (track 1)
  • Sheila Minard – background vocals (track 3)
  • Scarlet Rivera – violin (track 9)
  • Roz Seay – background vocals (track 3)
  • G.E. Smith – acoustic picking guitar (track 1), mandolin (track 5), electric guitar (track 4)
  • William D. "Smitty" Smith – organ (tracks 4, 6, 8)
  • John X. Volaitis – piano (track 9)
  • Elesecia Wright – background vocals (track 3)
  • Snooky Young – trumpet (track 7)
  • Neil Young – acoustic guitar (track 10), piano (track 10)

Production

  • Producers: Tracy Chapman, David Kershenbaum
  • Kevin W. Smith – engineer, mixing
  • Herb Ritts – cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1989)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (AFYVE)

|align="center"|3

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1989)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)

| 40

|-

! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

| 58

|-

! scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)

| 1

|-

! scope="row"|Portugal Albums (AFP)

| 10

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1990)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

! scope="row"| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)

| 27

|-

! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

| 16

|-

! scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)

| 30

|-

! scope="row"| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)

| 30

|-

! scope="row"| US Billboard 200

| 73

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Year

!Single

!Chart

!Position

|-

|1989

|"Crossroads"

|Mainstream Rock Tracks

|26

|-

|1989

|"Crossroads"

|Modern Rock Tracks

|7

|-

|1989

|"Crossroads"

|The Billboard Hot 100

|90

|}

Certifications and sales

Awards

32nd Annual Grammy Awards

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! colspan="6" align="center"| Grammy Awards

|-

! Year

! style="width:200px;" | Work

! style="width:300px;" | Award

! width="65" | Result

! width="20" | Ref

|-

|1990

|Crossroads

|Best Contemporary Folk Album

|

|rowspan=6 align="center"|

|-

|}

References