"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, T ...

and

Juice Newton Juice Newton (born Judith Kay Newton; 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 198 ...

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 trad ...

on their 1977 album '' Passage''.

Background

"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 musician who was the lead vocalist and early drummer of the highly successful duo the Carpenters, formed with her older brother Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard. Wi ...

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), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

was not interested in the song. Newton's manager, a friend of the Carpenters, was playing the demo 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''. Richard Carpenter would acknowledge the Carpenters' career decline: "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 a list of the 40 currently 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. "To ...

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 #7.

Other versions

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 record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of Wencke Myhre'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 by RCA Records. The song topped the charts in Australia, ...

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