Sade -- Smooth Operator

 

Well, nice to finish off the turbulent month of March with something soothing for this week's Reminiscings of Youth.

Sade's "Smooth Operator" isn't the first song by the band that I heard when it was released in August 1984, but it was indeed the first song by them that got my undivided attention. It's classy, smoky and oh-so-velvety as the vocalist Sade Adu silkily sings about the love 'em-and-leave 'em con artist who even leaves her with his next victim as she's on the stage. Couldn't get more scoundrel than that (but no need to worry; in the extended version of the video, he does get his comeuppance).

"Smooth Operator" was created by Adu and Raymond St. John and it was the first single by Sade to break into the Top 10 in the USA by hitting No. 5, as it also did on the equivalent chart in Canada. It was also included in Sade's debut album "Diamond Life" that had been released a month earlier than the single.

I do love the percussion, the saxophone and the vocalist's recitation in the beginning of the extended version.

So, which songs were in the Top 3 of Oricon in August 1984?

1. Akina Nakamori -- Jikai (1984) (十戒 (1984))

2. Seiko Matsuda -- Pink no Mozart （ピンクのモーツァルト）

3. Asami Kobayashi -- Ame Oto wa Chopin no Shirabe （雨音はショパンの調べ）

(cover by Yuming)