VARIOUS ARTISTS / “Smile” Mixtape
"Smile" is a song written by Charlie Chaplin and used as an instrumental theme in his 1936 movie Modern Times. In 1954 John Turner and Geodfrey Parsons added lyrics and it was first recorded by Nat King Cole in 1954. It is one of the ultimate “message” songs of pop music and has been covered by literally hundreds of singers and musicians.
When I heard Janelle Monáe’s version, Djavan’s version immediately popped to mind, which in turn inspired me to do what I initially thought was going to be six or seven versions. I grossly under-estimated the song and was surprised to find so many versions that I liked.
Here are nineteen, all of them with their own twist on a classic tune. While, as always, I have my own favorites, I’ll refrain from stating my preferences and encourage our audience to check out all of these versions especially the one by…
—Kalamu ya Salaam
Smile Mixtape Playlist
01 Metropolis: The Chase Suite - Janelle Monae 
02 Blue - Diana Ross 
03 Mood Indigo - Jimmy Scott 
04 Smile - Jacky Terrasson 
05 Smile - Lina Nyberg 
06 Almost Like Being In Jazz - Hugh Masekela 
07 Malasia - Djavan 
08 Lush Life - Jacintha 
09 Etta - Etta Cameron 
10 Live - Take 6 
11 Live in Marciac - Bireli Lagrene 
12 French Kiss - Donald Brown 
13 You Don't Know Me - Ruth Brown 
14 Centerpiece - Milt Jackson 
15 Greatest Hits, Part Two - Jerry Butler 
16 Sunup To Sundown - Kenny Burrell 
17 Terra - Mariza 
18 Portrait Of Sonny Criss - Sonny Criss 
19 Nuclear War - Sun Ra
This entry was posted on Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 8:10 am and is filed under Cover. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2 Responses to “VARIOUS ARTISTS / “Smile” Mixtape”
June 1st, 2010 at 10:47 am
Wow…Hugh Maskela’s version was enough for me. Still, there are so many other versions that could’ve been added. Including Michael Jackson’s.
June 4th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
looking forward to hearing this, thanks! original concept…yeah, i echo what Q said about MJ’s version…i had never heard the song until jermaine jackson said it was MJ’s favorite song in the world and sang an incredible cover of it at his funeral…
Leave a Reply
| top |