"Sweet, Sweet Smile" is a C&W song composed by

Otha Young Otha Young (a.k.a. Robert Otha Young) (May 10, 1943 – August 6, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and the longtime musical partner of country-pop artist Juice Newton. Otha was born on May 10, 1943 in Tulare, Cal ...

and

Juice Newton Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well ...

introduced by the

Carpenters Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

on their 1977 album ''

Passage Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ''The Passage'' (1979 film), starring ...

''. The track features drummer

Ron Tutt Ronald Ellis Tutt (March 12, 1938 – October 16, 2021) was an American drummer who played concerts and recording sessions for Elvis Presley, the Carpenters, Roy Orbison, Neil Diamond, and Jerry Garcia. Early life Born in Dallas, Texas, United ...

who regularly backed

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. "Sweet, Sweet Smile" is one of the few songs recorded by the Carpenters which was chosen by

Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was praise ...

rather than Richard Carpenter. Juice Newton and her bandleader Otha Young had written "Sweet, Sweet Smile" for Newton herself to record but Newton's label

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

was not interested in the song. Newton's manager, who was a friend of the Carpenters, was playing the

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

of "Sweet, Sweet Smile" at his home while Karen Carpenter was visiting. Karen Carpenter liked the song and brought it to the attention of her brother Richard Carpenter who'd recall: "I liked it immediately...now there's one that, to me, should have done better than it did" referring to the track's January 1978 release as the third single from ''Passage''. Acknowledging the Carpenters' career decline, Richard Carpenter would add: "I think if someone else had done Sweet, Sweet Smile'at that time, it would have been a bigger hit." John Tobler''The Complete Guide to the Music of the Carpenters'' (1997); Omnibus Press, London; ; p.81 "Sweet, Sweet Smile" fell short of the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

with a #44 peak on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 but gave the Carpenters the sole C&W chart hit of their career rising as high as #8 C&W; on the ''Billboard'' Easy Listening chart "Sweet, Sweet Smile" reached number 7. A translation of "Sweet, Sweet Smile": "Der Mann auf einem Seil", served as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

Wencke Myhre Wenche Synnøve Myhre (born 15 February 1947), known in some countries as Wencke Myhre, is a Norwegian singer who has had a great number of hit songs since the 1960s in the Norwegian, Danish, German and Swedish markets and languages. Early caree ...

's 1978 German hit "Lass mein Knie, Joe" ("

It's a Heartache "'It's a Heartache'" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. Written by Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe, and co-produced with David Mackay, the single was released in November 1977 through RCA Records. The song topped the charts in Australia ...

") (#16). A Finnish rendering: "Sä Oot Niin Kultainen", was recorded by

Lea Laven Lea Laven (née Luukinen; after that Marjanen, Forssell and Tulonen; born 19 June 1948, Haukipudas) is a Finland, Finnish pop singer. Laven grew up in meager circumstances in the small town of Haukipudas: she began singing in shows while in sch ...

for her 1978 album ''Aamulla rakkaani näin''. In 2011, Juice Newton released her own, newly recorded version of "Sweet, Sweet Smile" as a bonus track on her ''The Ultimate Hits Collection'' album.

Chart performance

References

1977 singles The Carpenters songs Songs written by Otha Young 1977 songs A&M Records singles {{1970s-pop-song-stub