Smooth (1999)

"Smooth" is a song performed by American rock band Santana and Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, who sings the lead vocals. It was released to radio on June 15, 1999, as the lead single from Santana's 1999 studio album, Supernatural, and was physically released as a single in August. It was written by Itaal Shur and Thomas, who re-wrote Shur's original melody and lyrics, and produced by Matt Serletic.

The song was a top-40 hit in several countries. On the US Billboard Hot 100, it was the final number-one hit of the 1990s and the first number-one hit of the 2000s, and the only song to appear on two decade-end Billboard charts; the song spent 12 consecutive weeks at the top spot. "Smooth" was ranked as the second-most-successful song ever on Billboard's Hot 100 60th Anniversary listing. In 2000, the song won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. "Smooth" also reached number one in Canada and number three in the UK and Ireland.

Concept and background

"Smooth" was originally conceived by Itaal Shur as a song called "Room 17". The lyrics were stripped off as they were deemed too sexual by EMI Records, so the track was given to Rob Thomas, who re-wrote the lyrics and melody and re-titled it "Smooth". Within a few hours, Thomas had written the new chorus, after which he returned to Shur with the reworked song and recorded a demo to play for Santana. Thomas had originally not intended to perform the song's vocals and instead viewed "Smooth" as his "first foray into writing". George Michael was among the names considered to sing "Smooth", although Clive Davis and Matt Serletic suggested that Thomas sing it instead.

Thomas cited his wife as an inspiration for some of the lyrics, who he had recently met after moving to New York City. Upon hearing it, his wife insisted that it would be commercially successful.

Serletic (who produced Matchbox Twenty's debut album Yourself or Someone Like You in 1996) produced the song, and it was released from Santana's 1999 album Supernatural. Thomas originally had George Michael in mind to sing the song.

Chart performance

By June 1, 1999, "Smooth" was leaked and played by some radio stations before its official release. The single became a chart-topping hit that summer, spending 12 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 beginning with the week of October 23, 1999. It was the first chart-topping hit in Carlos Santana's long-running career, peaking higher than his previously-biggest hit, "Black Magic Woman" (1971) which had peaked at number four. "Smooth" stayed in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for 30 weeks and the top 100 for 58 weeks. At the time, "Smooth" had the record for the most weeks in the top ten, eclipsing Savage Garden's "Truly Madly Deeply" record by four weeks. "Smooth" hit number one thirty years after Santana's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Jingo", making it the longest span of team between an artist's debut on the chart and their first time reaching number one.

During its original release, "Smooth" entered the top 40 in all countries in charted in. In the United Kingdom, "Smooth" first appeared at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1999. After a full release on March 20, 2000, it peaked at number three, spending eight weeks in the top 40. The song also peaked at number three in Ireland in March 2000, spending 10 weeks on the Irish Singles Chart. It remains Santana's highest-charting single in both the UK and Ireland. The song also peaked at number one on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart for a week in November 1999.

Legacy

On Billboard magazine's rankings of the top songs of the first 50 years of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, "Smooth" was ranked as the number-two song overall and the number-one rock song in the history of the chart.

In the 21st century, particularly during the summer of 2016, the song became the subject of several internet memes. Writing for MTV, Sasha Geffen compared the situation to similar resurgences of "All Star" by Smash Mouth and "One Week" by the Barenaked Ladies, going on to attribute the song's popularity to "the merits of its vocal absurdity." They wrote, "There's something ridiculous about how eagerly Rob Thomas lays his earnest alt-rock croon over Santana's guitar, sweating out lines about how his 'Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa' is 'just like the ocean under the moon' without a hint of self-consciousness or irony".

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the Supernatural album booklet.

Studios

Recorded at Fantasy Studios (Berkeley, California)

Mixed at the Record Plant (New York City)

Mastered at A&M Mastering Studios (Los Angeles, California)

Personnel

Cover versions

A cover version of the song is included in the 2008 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.