By PAUL CANTIN
Senior Reporter, JAM! Showbiz
Matchbox Twenty singer Rob Thomas reached a whole new audience with his blockbuster collaboration with Santana on the song "Smooth," but if he'd had his way, George Michael would have been singing the song.
"I wanted George Michael to do 'Smooth.' I kind of thought he would nail it," Thomas says on the phone during a break from rehearsals for the tour in support of his group's new album, "Mad Season By Matchbox Twenty" (in stores May 23). (The band plays The Guvernment in Toronto, May 28.)
Thomas said he was originally contacted by his song publisher and asked if he would help out songwriter Itaal Shur (who plays with the bands Groove Collective and Big Muff) on a track for Santana's then-in-progress album, "Supernatural."
"I was living in New York at the time, and (the publisher) said there was a guy who lived three blocks from you, working on the new Santana record. Do you want to go see what you think," Thomas recalls.
"I went over there, and me and Itaal worked it out. Then that was it. I was supposed to just help write it."
He was pleased with the demoed composition, but says he had no idea "Smooth" would unleash a Grammy-winning comeback for Santana.
"I don't think that ever happens (that you know you've written a hit). You are just looking at the pieces of a record. I listen to it even now, and sometimes I go: 'That is pretty good.' But my wife, when she heard it, she said: 'That is huge. That is a smash. Trust me'."
Although Thomas thought George Michael was the right man for the job, one week after the writing session, he received a call from the Santana camp.
"They were saying they hadn't figured anything out ( who would sing the song) yet, but Carlos had listened to the demo and he believed me when he heard me do it, and did I want to do it?
"I had time off, (Matchbox Twenty) weren't doing anything. It was funny. The first thing I did is call Paul (Doucette), our drummer, to make sure it was okay with the band and they weren't going to have a problem with it. If they would have, I wouldn't have done it," he says.
"But they were all excited for me. They said, 'You have time off, I can't tell you no. Go f--king do it'.
"It just became what it became, and everyone was really happy about it."
Everyone was especially happy when the song powered "Supernatural" to a triumph at the Grammys. Despite his success with his own band, Thomas said he didn't understand the wide exposure the collaboration provided until immediately after the Grammy ceremony.
"We were at a restaurant in LA. I went out back to smoke a cigarette, and these 40-year-old Spanish men came up to me to take their picture with me. They said: 'Excuse me, Mr. Thomas?' ... What? Oh, my God," Thomas laughs at the memory.
"My wife, her dad is a 53-year-old Spanish man, and I got to introduce him to Carlos Santana. I won points in the son-in-law book. I'm telling you, once I got him to meet Carlos and Willie Nelson, I won son-in-law of the year."
More importantly, the experience with Santana helped him make a new friend in the veteran musician and his band, with future live collaborations likely.
"They are the most genuine guys you could meet. I really look forward to working with them. I'm going to work with them on a show in London. We are playing the same festival in Germany, and I am going to hook up," he says.
While Thomas has been hoping to downplay the Santana connection for the sake of "Mad Season's" release, he recognizes that in parts of the world, Santana and "Smooth" will be the group's calling-card.
"To be quite honest, in Europe we are riding the Carlos coattail," he laughs.
"Here, we are totally trying to avoid it. I got to London three weeks ago to do some press, and I am in the London airport in the passport agency. (The agent) looks up and goes: 'You are Rob Thomas from Santana, aren't you?
"I said: So that's how it is going to be, huh?"