| "Smooth Operator" | |||||||||||
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| Single by Sade | |||||||||||
| from the album Diamond Life | |||||||||||
| B-side | "Spirit" | ||||||||||
| Released | 15 September 1984 (UK) 2 March 1985 (U.S.) |
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| Format | 7" single, 12" maxi single | ||||||||||
| Genre | Soul, Smooth jazz, R&B | ||||||||||
| Length | 4:54 | ||||||||||
| Label | Epic, Portrait | ||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Sade Adu, Ray St. John | ||||||||||
| Producer | Robin Millar | ||||||||||
| Sade singles chronology | |||||||||||
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"Smooth Operator" is a song by the English group Sade released as the fourth and final single from their debut album, Diamond Life (1984). It was released (in both the U.S. and the UK) as a 7" single with "Spirit" as its B-side and as a 12" maxi single with "Smooth Operator" and "Red Eye" on side A and "Spirit" on side B. In the U.S. it was the follow-up to "Hang on to Your Love".
This was Sade's first top ten hit in the U.S., peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in May 1985. The song spent thirteen weeks in the top forty and also topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks. Although "Your Love Is King" remains Sade's biggest hit in the UK to date, "Smooth Operator" is the band's breakthrough hit on the U.S. charts, and their most successful single internationally.
Ray St. John, who co-wrote "Smooth Operator" with Sade Adu, was previously a member of Adu's former band Pride, although he was not a member of the band Sade. The pair had co-written the song in 1982 while still members of Pride, but did not get around to recording it because St. John left Pride shortly after Sade joined. St. John later went on to play guitar with the band Halo James, which scored a UK top ten hit with "Could Have Told You So" in February 1990.
The song is about a fashionable man who lives a jet-set lifestyle. He is very popular with the ladies, and breaks a lot of hearts in his travels. With the lyrics, "Across the north and south, to Key Largo, love for sale", it is implied that the women he uses also supply his wealth. It is also clear that he does not return the affections of these women, as Adu sings near the end, "His heart is cold."
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Music video
The video for "Smooth Operator", directed by Julian Temple, was nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards in 1985, Best Female Video and Best New Artist.[1] The full-length version runs around eight and a half minutes, and shows the entire story of the song.
Popular culture
- "Smooth Operator" was the subject of a segment on Australian comedy variety show Micallef Tonight in 2003. The lyric "Coast to coast / LA to Chicago" was lampooned by Shaun Micallef for its geographical inaccuracy ("good thing she's a smooth operator, not a tour operator").[2]
- "Smooth Operator" was lampooned by comedian Lenny Henry as 'Lathe Operator'
- The comedy show Mystery Science Theater 3000 referenced "Smooth Operator" while riffing on the short film Why Study Industrial Arts?, during an episode of the sixth season. In response to the phrase "Tool operators", Mike and the Bots begin singing "tool operator" to the tune of "Smooth Operator".
Cover versions
- Filipino bossa nova singer Sitti recorded a cover of the song in 2007 for her second studio album My Bossa Nova.
- Helena Paparizou performed the song live at Mad Secret Concert 2005. The song was officially released at her album "Iparhei Logos"
- Covered by Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaría on his 1987 release Soy Yo (along with another '80s quiet storm hit, Anita Baker's "Sweet Love"). Also featured on his 2000 release Mucho Mambo Mongo.
- Basix recorded the song for their The Grass album.
- It was also covered in a death metal version by Ten Masked Men on their 1999 The Ten Masked Men Strike Back EP.
- Señor Coconut y Su Conjunto covered the song on their 2003 Fiesta Songs album.
- Swedish crooner James Gicho released a cover version in 2005, produced by Håkan Lidbo.
Track listings and formats
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Charts
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart[3] | 12 |
| Dutch Top 40[4] | 19 |
| German Singles Chart[5] | 11 |
| Irish Singles Chart[6] | 17 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[3] | 14 |
| UK Singles Chart[7] | 19 |
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
| French Singles Chart[3] | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[8] | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[8] | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[8] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[8] | 11 |
References
- ^ Stage6 · Diva Channel · Videos
- ^ Micallef's Online World: High Horse (Micallef Tonight)
- ^ a b c "Sade – Smooth Operator – swisscharts.com". SwissCharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sade&titel=Smooth+Operator&cat=s. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 42 – 1984" (in Dutch). Top 40. http://www.top40.nl/index.aspx?week=42&jaar=1984. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Musicline.de – Sade – Smooth Operator" (in German). Musicline.de. http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/title/SADE/Smooth+Operator/single. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "The Irish Charts". IRMA. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Chart Stats – Sade – Smooth Operator". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=11895. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ a b c d "Sade > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:0ifexqr5ldke~T51. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
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