"Smooth" is a collaboration between latin rock band Santana and Rob Thomas of the rock group Matchbox Twenty. The song was written by Thomas and Itaal Shur, sung by Thomas, produced by Alan Menken and won three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
[edit] Concept and background
"Smooth" was originally conceived by Shur as a song called "Room 17". The lyrics were stripped off and the track was given to Thomas, who re-wrote the lyrics and melody and re-titled it "Smooth", then recorded the song as a demo to play for Santana. After hearing the song, Santana decided to have Thomas record the final version.[1] Matt Serletic (who produced Matchbox Twenty's debut album Yourself or Someone Like You) produced the song and it was released from Santana's album Supernatural.
Thomas wrote "Smooth" for his wife, Marisol Maldonado. He stated in interviews that the lyric "My Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa" was inspired by the 1972 Elton John song "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters", which includes references to the 1961 Ben E. King song "Spanish Harlem".
[edit] Success
"Smooth" became a massive hit in 1999, spending 12 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 beginning with the October 23, 1999 issue. It was the first chart-topping song in Carlos Santana's long-running career (his previous biggest hit being "Black Magic Woman", which peaked at number four in 1971). The song was the last number one hit of the 1990s and the final number one hit of the 20th century.
"Smooth" also spent a record-breaking ten consecutive weeks at the top of the VSpot Top 20 Countdown, a record that held up until the Dixie Chicks broke it in 2006.
[edit] Legacy
On Billboard magazine's rankings of the top songs of the first 50 years of the Hot 100 singles chart, "Smooth" was ranked as the number-two song overall (behind only "The Twist)[2] and the number-one rock song in the history of the chart.[3]
[edit] Cover versions
A cover version of the song is included in the Nintendo Wii version of Samba de Amigo. Post-hardcore group Escape the Fate also recorded a cover version of the song for the compilation album Punk Goes Pop 2, released on March 10, 2009.
[edit] Remixes
- Chris Staropoli Remix 3:53
- Club Mix 7:29
- Club Mix [instrumental] 7:29
[edit] Track Listing
- Smooth (Edit) - 3:55
- El Farol - 4:59
[edit] Extended credits
- Producer - Matt Serletic
- Engineer - Andy Grassi , Michael McCoy
- Recorded and mixed by - David Thoener
- Vocals and lyrics - Rob Thomas
- Music by - Itaal Shur, Rob Thomas
- Video director - Marcus Raboy
- Video editing - Bruce Ashley
[edit] In popular culture
- Prior to starts at Citi Field, Johan Santana uses "Smooth" as his introductory song.
- On the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars, Toni Braxton and Alec Mazo danced a Cha-Cha-Cha to this song.
- Bill Richardson used "Smooth" as his introductory music at campaign events for his 2008 presidential campaign
- This was featured on popular sitcom Friends season 10 special "The One With All the Other Ones" and featured on the soundtrack album "Friends: The Ultimate Soundtrack".
[edit] Charts
[edit] Peak positions
|
[edit] Year-end charts
| Chart (1999) |
Position |
| Canadian RPM Singles Chart[4] |
9 |
| Canadian RPM Rock Chart[5] |
8 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[6] |
19 |
| Chart (2000) |
Position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7] |
2 |
[edit] Decade-end charts
| Chart (1990-1999) |
Position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[8] |
41 |
| Chart (2000-2009) |
Position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[9] |
33 |
[edit] All-time charts
| Chart (1953-2003) |
Peak
position |
| US Billboard Hot 100[10] |
2 |
|
[edit] See also
[edit] References
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Santana albums |
|
|
| Carlos Santana albums |
|
Studio albums
|
|
|
|
Live albums
|
|
|
|
| Live albums |
|
|
| Compilations |
|
|
| Unofficial releases |
|
|
| Singles |
|
|
| Other Songs |
|
|
| Related articles |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Smooth"* by Santana (Rodney Holmes, Tony Lindsay, Karl Perazzo, Raul Rekow, Benny Rietveld, Carlos Santana, Chester Thompson) featuring Rob Thomas
engineered/mixed by David Thoener, produced by Matt Serletic (2000) |
"Beautiful Day"* by U2 (Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen, Jr.)
engineered/mixed by Richard Rainey & Steve Lillywhite; produced by Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois (2001) |
"Walk On" by U2 (Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen, Jr.)
engineered/mixed by Richard Rainey & Steve Lillywhite; produced by Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois (2002) |
"Don't Know Why"* by Norah Jones;
engineered/mixed by Jay Newland; produced by Arif Mardin, Jay Newland & Norah Jones (2003) |
"Clocks" by Coldplay (Guy Berryman, Jon Buckland, Will Champion, Phil Harvey, Chris Martin)
engineered/mixed by Coldplay, Ken Nelson & Mark Phythian; produced by Coldplay & Ken Nelson (2004) |
"Here We Go Again" by Ray Charles and Norah Jones
engineered/mixed by Al Schmitt, Mark Fleming, & Terry Howard; produced by John R. Burk (2005) |
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day (Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Frank Edwin Wright III)
engineered/mixed by Chris Lord-Alge & Doug McKean, produced by Green Day & Rob Cavallo (2006) |
"Not Ready to Make Nice"* by Dixie Chicks (Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, Emily Robison)
engineered/mixed by Chris Testa, Jim Scott & Richard Dodd; produced by Rick Rubin (2007) |
"Rehab"* by Amy Winehouse
engineered/mixed by Tom Elmhirst, Vaughan Merrick, Dom Morley, Mark Ronson & Gabriel Roth; produced by Mark Ronson (2008) |
"Please Read the Letter" by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant
engineered/mixed by Mike Piersante; produced by T-Bone Burnett (2009) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Itaal Shur & Rob Thomas - "Smooth" (2000) · Adam Clayton, David Evans, Larry Mullen, Jr. & Paul Hewson - "Beautiful Day" (2001) · Alicia Keys - "Fallin'" (2002) · Jesse Harris - "Don't Know Why" (2003) · Richard Marx & Luther Vandross - "Dance with My Father" (2004) · John Mayer - "Daughters" (2005) · Adam Clayton, David Evans, Larry Mullen, Jr. & Paul Hewson - "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" (2006) · Emily Burns Irwin, Martha Maguire, Natalie Maines Pasdar & Dan Wilson - "Not Ready to Make Nice" (2007) · Amy Winehouse - "Rehab" (2008) · Guy Berryman, Jonathan Buckland, William Champion & Christopher Martin - "Viva la Vida" (2009)
|
|
|
|
|
