Rob Thomas Wasn’t Meant to Sing ‘Smooth’ on Santana’s Supernatural
Smooth the hit single from Santana’s album Supernatural was a key factor in the album’s massive success, including achieving Diamond certification. However, Rob Thomas, who is known for his performance on the track, didn’t originally plan to be the singer.
Pete Ganbarg, an A&R executive at Arista, played a crucial role in bringing together Santana and Thomas for the song. Itaal Shur wrote the music, but when the lyrics needed reworking, Ganbarg suggested that Thomas, who was excited to write for Santana, take on the task.
Shur credits Ganbarg with the collaboration, saying, “if it wasn’t for him, this song wouldn’t have come together, because he put me and Rob together.”
Impressed
Thomas wrote Smooth with George Michael in mind as the vocalist and even tried to emulate his style in the demo. However, Santana was impressed with Thomas’s voice on the demo, telling VH1, “I like this guy. Does he sing? I believe it when he sings.” This led to Thomas being the voice on the final recording.
Smooth became a monumental hit, ranking third on Billboard’s all-time Hot 100 songs. Despite its success, it’s not the most streamed Santana song— that title goes to Maria Maria from the same album.
More chart hits
Santana and Thomas’s collaboration continued with more chart hits, but none reached the heights of Smooth, which could have been very different if Thomas’s original intention for the vocalist had materialized.
