Smooth Operator

"Smooth Operator"
Single by Sade
from the album Diamond Life
B-side
  • "Spirit"
  • "Red Eye"
Released 15 September 1984 (UK)
2 March 1985 (US)
Format
Recorded 1983–1984; The Power Plant
(London)
Genre
Length 4:58
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Robin Millar
Sade singles chronology
"Hang On to Your Love"
(1984)		 "Smooth Operator"
(1984)		 "The Sweetest Taboo"
(1985)

"Hang On to Your Love"
(1984)		 "Smooth Operator"
(1984)		 "The Sweetest Taboo"
(1985)

"Smooth Operator" is a song by English band Sade from their debut studio album Diamond Life (1984). It was released as the fourth and final single from Diamond Life (in both the United States and the United Kingdom) as a 7-inch single with "Spirit" as its B-side, and as a 12-inch maxi single with "Smooth Operator" and "Red Eye" on side A and "Spirit" on side B. The song is also more or less the album's title track as the title comes from the first sung line in the song following a spoken introduction.

"Smooth Operator" became Sade's first Top Ten hit in the US, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in May 1985. The song spent 13 weeks in the Top 40, 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 US charts, and their most successful single internationally.

Background

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 co-wrote the song in 1982 while still members of Pride, yet did not get around to recording it because St. John left Pride shortly after Sade joined.

Sony Music Entertainment holds the license to this ballad.

Composition and lyrics

"Smooth Operator" is about a fashionable, devious man who lives a jet-set lifestyle. He is popular with women and breaks many hearts. The lyrics "Coast to Coast/LA to Chicago/Western Male/Across the North and South to Key Largo/Love for sale" imply that he uses women to obtain his income. It is also clear that he does not hold sincere affection for these women, as Adu sings near the end, "his heart is cold." The video to this song reinforces the message and the operator appears to be a professional criminal. In one scene, he displays a gun to an interested customer and in others, he appears to be a pimp. He succeeds in evading law enforcement, who have him under surveillance.

This song is noted for Adu's spoken recitation in the song's introduction. Some radio edits have omitted the spoken introduction, and proceeded with the opening sung line of the title of the album, "Diamond Life". Some radio edits have shortened the instrumental saxophone solo, as well as the first repeat of the lines that come after the chorus portions.

Cover versions

Track listings and formats

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 20
Austrian Singles Chart[5] 12
Dutch Top 40[6] 19
German Singles Chart[7] 11
Irish Singles Chart[8] 17
South African Top 20 [9] 6
Swiss Singles Chart[5] 14
UK Singles Chart[10] 19
Chart (1985) Peak
position
French Singles Chart[5] 9
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 5
US Billboard Hot Black Singles[11] 5
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[11] 1
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[11] 11

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Hogan, Ed. "Album Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017.
  3. ↑ Paloma Faith: Upside Down / Smooth Operator
  4. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. p. 263. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and June 19, 1988.
  5. 1 2 3 "Sade – Smooth Operator – swisscharts.com". SwissCharts.com. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  6. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 42 – 1984". Top 40 (in Dutch). Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  7. ↑ "Musicline.de – Sade – Smooth Operator". Musicline.de (in German). Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  8. ↑ "The Irish Charts". IRMA. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  9. ↑ Currin, Brian. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts (S)". rock.co.za. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  10. ↑ "Chart Stats – Sade – Smooth Operator". Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Sade > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-01-09.

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