Sara Smile (original) (raw)

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1975 single by Hall & Oates

"Sara Smile"
side-A labelSide A of the US single
Single by Daryl Hall & John Oates
from the album Daryl Hall & John Oates
B-side "Soldering"
Released 1975
Recorded 1975
Genre Soft rock[1] R&B[2] soul[3]
Length 3:07
Label RCA Victor
Songwriter(s) Daryl Hall, John Oates
Producer(s) Chris Bond, Daryl Hall, John Oates
Daryl Hall & John Oates singles chronology
"Alone Too Long" (1975) "Sara Smile" (1975) "She's Gone" (1976)

"Sara Smile" is a song written and recorded by the American musical duo Hall & Oates. It was released as the third single from their album Daryl Hall & John Oates. The song was the group's first top 40 and first top ten hit in the US, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

Release and chart performance

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"Sara Smile" first appeared in August 1975 as the second cut on the RCA Records album Daryl Hall & John Oates. The song was performed by Hall & Oates during their September–November 1975 tour in support of the album, with a reviewer noting that listeners who liked "She's Gone" would also like the softer ballad "Sara Smile".[4] In late 1975, "Sara Smile" was prepared as a 45 rpm 7-inch single release – the third single from the album. It first entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on January 31, 1976, at number 91.[5]

Cowritten by both halves of the duo, "Sara Smile" turned out to be Hall & Oates' breakthrough single,[6] reaching a number 4 peak on the Hot 100 at the end of June 1976.[7][8] It was written about Hall's then-girlfriend, stewardess Sara Allen.[9] The couple were together for almost 30 years before breaking up in 2001.[10]

The song also peaked at No. 23 on the Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 18 on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 11 best-selling song of 1976. On the R&R Airplay chart, the song debuted at No. 38 on April 2, 1976, and peaked at No. 7 seven weeks later.[11] The single earned a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[12]

The album Daryl Hall & John Oates was moving slowly on Billboard's chart until "Sara Smile" started becoming a hit.[13] The album picked up momentum to hit number 17 on the Billboard 200, peaking simultaneously with "Sara Smile" on June 25, 1976.[14]

Record World said that "Daryl and John leave no question as to their ability to come up with another 'She's Gone.'"[15] Nathan Brackett and Christian Hoard, in the Rolling Stone album guide, referred to the song as a "love bead ballad,"[16] and Steve Pond of the Los Angeles Times cited it as an example of the duo's R&B influences.[2]

Following the success of "Sara Smile," the Atlantic Records label re-released the duo's previous single, "She's Gone", which had missed the Top 40 chart during 1973–74. In its re-release it rose to number 7 in late October 1976.[17]

Jimmy Wayne version

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"Sara Smile"
Single by Jimmy Wayne with Daryl Hall and John Oates
from the album Sara Smile
Released October 3, 2009
Genre Country
Length 3:46
Label Valory Music Group
Songwriter(s) Daryl Hall, John Oates
Producer(s) Dann Huff
Jimmy Wayne singles chronology
"I'll Be That" (2009) "Sara Smile" (2009) "Just Knowing You Love Me" (2010)

Country music singer Jimmy Wayne released a cover version in 2009, with backing vocals from Hall & Oates. This version debuted at #51 on the Hot Country Songs chart dated October 3, 2009 and serves as the title track for Wayne's third album, Sara Smile. It became Hall & Oates' first single to chart on the country charts.

Sam Gazdziak of Engine 145 gave the song a thumbs-down, saying that it was "almost reverential" to the original and that Wayne's vocals showed R&B influences, but added that it "has no business being played on a country radio station."[27] Bobby Peacock of Roughstock gave a more positive review, also saying that it was well-sung but not country-sounding, but adding that it was a "refreshing change of pace" from the "bombast of Do You Believe Me Now", Wayne's last album.[28] Thom Jurek described the cover favorably in his review of the album, saying that Wayne "basically apes Hall's lead vocal[…]note for note" but "pulls it off in spades."[29]

Jimmy Wayne's version of "Sara Smile" debuted at number 51 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in September 2009. After seven weeks on the country chart, the song peaked at 31 in December 2009.

Chart (2009) Peakposition
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[30] 31

Other notable cover versions

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R&B group After 7 released a cover version for their greatest hits album The Very Best of After 7 (1997). The version peaked at number 31 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts,[31] number 99 in Australia,[32] and number 130 in the UK.[33]

British female singer-songwriter Rumer released a cover version on July 30, 2012 as the second single from her second studio album Boys Don't Cry (2012). The song peaked at number 47 on the Belgian Ultratip Bubbling Under (Flanders) chart.[34] Rumer and Daryl Hall perform the song together on Live From Daryl's House. A music video of Rumer's version was made and then released to the public.

The chorus of "Sara Smile" was reworked in 1996 by Northern California rapper B-Legit into the song "Ghetto Smile", collaborating with Hall who recorded new vocals.[35]

The song was produced by Redwine and B-Legit and features guitars by Thaddeus Turner. The song was released in 1996 on B-Legit's second album, The Hemp Museum.

The song was later used in the 1997 film Dangerous Ground and was released as a single and a music video to promote the film's soundtrack. The music video features the clean version of the song and has B-Legit rapping and Hall and guitarist Turner performing on a separate set interspersed with scenes from the film.

  1. ^ Jesse Sendejas Jr. (August 7, 2014). "The '70s' Seven Sexiest Soft-Rock Songs". Houston Press.
  2. ^ a b Steve Pond (Oct 31, 1976). "Pop Album Briefs". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  3. ^ Molanphy, Chris (January 15, 2022). "Rock 'n Soul Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  4. ^ Jackson, Dana Sue (September 14, 1975). "Some Electronic Philly Soul – with Ballads, Too". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "The Hot 100 – Week of January 31, 1976". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Frank Halvonik (Sep 10, 1976). "Hall & Oates album "bigger" and better". The Collegian. Retrieved Sep 29, 2009.
  7. ^ "Chart History – Daryl Hall John Oates – Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  8. ^ Chuck Taylor (Feb 15, 2003). "A Little Rock & Soul Goes A Long Way". Billboard. p. H3.
  9. ^ Maury Dean (2003). Rock N Roll Gold Rush: A Singles Un-Cyclopedia. Algora Publishing. p. 545. ISBN 978-0-87586-207-1.
  10. ^ "Biography for Daryl Hall". IMDb. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  11. ^ "Sara Smile".
  12. ^ "Search results for Hall & Oates". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  13. ^ Lazell, Barry (1989). Rock Movers & Shakers. Billboard Publications. p. 219. ISBN 9780823076086.
  14. ^ "Chart History – Daryl Hall John Oates – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  15. ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. January 24, 1976. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  16. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 358–359. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
  17. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; J. Scott McClintock. "Hall & Oates biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  18. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4147a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  19. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1976-05-15. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  20. ^ "Daryl Hall & John Oates – Sara Smile". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  21. ^ "Daryl Hall & John Oates Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  22. ^ "Hall + Oates". Archived from the original on 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
  23. ^ "Daryl Hall & John Oates Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  24. ^ "Daryl Hall & John Oates Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  25. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  26. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  27. ^ Gazdziak, Sam (2009-09-28). "Jimmy Wayne — "Sara Smile"". Engine 145. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  28. ^ Bobby Peacock (2009-09-17). "Jimmy Wayne — "Sara Smile"". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 2009-12-02. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  29. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Sara Smile review". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  30. ^ "Jimmy Wayne Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  31. ^ After 7 - R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Billboard. Accessed December 14, 2016.
  32. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 06 Apr 1997". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 2017-06-24. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  33. ^ "Chart Log UK 1994–2010 > A – Azzido Da Bass". zobbel.de. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  34. ^ "Rumer – Sara Smile". Ultratop. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  35. ^ Chairman Mao (December 1996). "Soul to Soul – B-Legit and Daryl Hall put on a happy face". Vibe. Vol. 4, no. 10. p. 64. ISSN 1070-4701.