S.O.D. "Smooth" by Santana
6/28/2015 Quite the accomplishment as this tune was the final #1 Hot 100 hit of the 90s, the #2 Hot 100 hit of the 20th century, the only song to appear on two decade-end Billboard charts and is ranked the 2nd most successful song of all time by Billboard. Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals are the 3 Grammys it has earned.
The collaboration being Santana and Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20. Thomas and Itaal Shur wrote the masterpiece which was a 1999 release and produced by Matt Serletic, who has produced records for many popular groups and solo artists. Itaal Shur is an American record producer, composer and musician who has also written and produced songs for many musical acts including Enrique Iglesias and the Kronos Quartet. He is the founding member of the acid jazz group, Groove Collective.
Originally the song was conceived by Shur and called "Room 17". It was then given to Thomas without the lyrics who rewrote it for his wife as "Smooth". Thomas stated in an interview that the lyric "My Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa" comes from the 1972 Elton John song "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" which references the 1961 Ben King song "Spanish Harlem". It was the first #1 hit for Carlos Santana in his career.