Song:Smooth Operator
Album:The Best Of Sade
Smooth Operator was the breakthrough hit for Sade (pronounced Shar-day) in 1985. It was a little confusing because the band was called Sade though lead singer Helen Adu adopted it as her stage name. She hasn't recorded much over the years but still has a strong following today. I'm not a big fan. I like my singers with a little more church in them. Helen Adu was born Jan. 16, 1959 in Ibadan, Nigeria and moved to London, England with her mom when her parents split up. While in college, she was part of the soul band Pride. Helen signed a solo contract with Epic in 1983 though she insisted the band be part of the deal. They were Stuart Mathewman on guitar and sax, Paul Spencer Denman on bass and Andrew Hale on keyboards. Their debut album Diamond Life produced by Robin Millar was released in England July 1984 and became a big hit there before the US release in Dec. The album didn't take off immediately but Smooth Operator became a hit when it was released as a single in July 1985. It was the third single. It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and propelled Diamond Life to 4XPlatinum sales and #5 on the Billboard Hot 200. Sade Adu wrote the song with Ray St. John of Pride. It was not a new song. It had been around for a while. It used samples from the Brook Benton & Dinah Washington classic You've Got What It Takes. I noticed that Clyde Otis and Murray Stein got songwriting credits. Sade's success continued through the late 80s and continues today though she has only released six CDs. She is on tour right now supporting her 2010 CD Soldier Of Love. Her sound hasn't changed much. It's more smooth jazz than R & B. This budget comp is a good sampling of Sade's music. The other members of Sade have had success as Sweetback. Here's the video for Smooth Operator by Sade.
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