It’s one of the most recognizable songs of all time and if we write out the first lyrics, “man, it’s a hot one,” you know exactly what song we’re talking about.
LISTEN: Rob Thomas discusses “Smooth” and more on Life is Short with Justin Long
Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas joined the Life is Short with Justin Long podcast for a wide ranging discussion. Thomas is a master at self-deprecation and had a classic response when Long asked him how he responds to people who have no idea who he is or egg him on with “Smooth” references.
“I think people expect less of me now,” he joked.
Of course, the conversation then turned to “Smooth,” Thomas’ smash 1999 single alongside Carlos Santana. The song currently sits at number three on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs chart. The chart is based on historical performance from the Hot 100 (beginning in August 1958) and the Billboard 200 (beginning in August 1963) charts to track the most successful singles of all time.
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It’s easy to imagine two artists who come together for a megahit not having much of a relationship. That’s not how you would describe the one between Thomas and Santana though. “We speak almost every day,” Thomas exclaimed. He recalled a time when Santana called him after hearing “Smooth” on a TV station “for this lite rock FM thing.”
“He just calls me up and was like, ‘I don’t know what the went wrong, I just don’t know what went wrong,’” Thomas said.
Listen to Santana Radio, now on Audacy
Thomas then provided some incredible insight into the pair’s hit single. “When he wrote ‘Smooth,’” Thomas says, “it was a sexy song of the summer and hot young girls were dancing to it. Then it became the divorced dad anthem [and] we became the Steely Dan of that generation”.
“Time went on and it just moved itself back into popular culture,” he continued. “That’s just a ride, that song.” Thomas and Santana went on to maintain a strong working relationship as well saying that he wrote songs “for him, for him and Mary J. Blige, and for him and Seal.”
Listen to Thomas’ full interview above and check Audacy’s My Friends Rock where you can hear music from Matchbox Twenty and other great 90s artists.
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