Sanborn, who suffered from polio in his youth, has been a highly regarded session player since the mid 1970s. One of his first professional gigs was as a member of Paul Butterfield's band. One of Sanborn's earliest guest recordings was on David Bowie's Young Americans. Around this time his output as a session player became prolific and over the next ten years he played with a dazzling array of artists, such as Paul Simon, James Taylor (contributing to the remake of the Marvin Gaye classic "How Sweet It Is"), The Rolling Stones, The Eagles and Stevie Wonder.
In the late 1980s he was a regular guest member of Paul Shaffer's band on Late Night with David Letterman. From 1988-89, he co-hosted a late-night TV music show on NBC with Jools Holland. The show, "Night Music", following producer Hal Willner's eclectic approach, drew Sanborn together with many famed musicians, such as Miles Davis, Lou Reed, Santana, Curtis Mayfield, and many others.
Throughout his career, Sanborn has skirted the edges of free jazz: In his youth he studied with Roscoe Mitchell and Julius Hemphill, and performed on Tim Berne's Diminutive Mysteries, dedicated to Hemphill. His 1991 album Another Hand, produced by Hal Willner, features Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, and various other players not usually associated with smooth jazz.
In television, Sanborn is well-known for his sax solo in the theme song for the NBC hit drama L.A. Law. He has also dabbled in writing for film, contributing to such scores as Lethal Weapon and Scrooged.
In 2004, David Sanborn was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
You can find photographs and additional information on David's official website, www.DavidSanborn.com.
Smile
David Sanborn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it threw me off sky for awhile
But when I looked up you were gone.
It was all in your smile,
Something I hadn't found for awhile
But when I woke up you were gone.
(Oh oh oh)
It was all in your smile.
It was all in your smile.
It was all in your smile.
And it was all in your smile,
And it threw me off sky for awhile,
But when I looked up you were gone.
It was all in your smile
Something I hadn't found for a while.
(Oh oh oh)
[Chorus]
Smile.
The lyrics of David Sanborn's song "Smile" seem to revolve around a fleeting moment in time that the song’s speaker or narrator shared with someone. The opening lines suggest that this person's smile had a profound effect on the singer or the singer. The smile caused the singer to feel like he was thrown off into the sky for a while, indicating that the person's infectious and radiant smile had a significant emotional impact on him. The phrase, "But when I looked up you were gone," suggests that the person was only there for a brief moment or that the singer somehow missed an opportunity to connect with them.
As the song continues, it becomes clear that the person's smile represents a precious and elusive quality that the singer has not found in a while, and when he awakens, it is too late. The chorus repeats the phrase "it was all in your smile" several times, emphasizing the importance of this singular moment in time. The song ends with the simple directive to "smile," which is, in essence, Sanborn's way of encouraging listeners to embrace this fleeting happiness whenever it arises.
Overall, "Smile" is a touching and poignant song about the power of small, fleeting moments of joy and their ability to make a lasting impact on our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
And it was all in your smile
The reason behind the emotions felt was the smile expressed by the other person.
And it threw me off sky for awhile
The smile was capable of making the person lost in the whirlpool of their thoughts for some time.
But when I looked up you were gone.
The feeling of euphoria only lasted for a short while since the person who smiled had already left.
It was all in your smile,
The only thing that mattered to the person at that point was the smile on the other person's face.
Something I hadn't found for awhile
The smile was a rare occurrence that the person had not seen in a very long time.
But when I woke up you were gone.
The dreamlike feeling of the moment faded away when the person woke up to realize that the other person was no longer there.
It was all in your smile.
The smile served as a catalyst for a rush of emotions that the person felt.
It was all in your smile.
The only thing that the person could remember or associate with the moment was the smile of the other person.
It was all in your smile.
The memorable aspect of the moment that stuck with the person was the smile of the other person.
Smile.
A gentle reminder of the impact that something as simple as a smile can have on someone.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BARBARA WYRICK, STE MC GREGOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kurt Froberg
This is just one of those “Holy CRAP!!” songs.Found the “Straight To The Heart” album in ‘86 (when I was in college), and loved every second of it from then till now. Thanks, David and company! What a genuine treasure y’all have been throughout the course of my life. 🤘🏾
Chuckmuchingo
❤
Richard werkNprog Hall
This entire live recording was highly musical, and highly influential. Tons of bands started trying to emulate this unique blend of Soul, Funk, R&B, and Jazz.
Jon Q
CLASSIC!!! I first heard this cut about 30 years ago. It truly impacted me then, and it still does now in 2020!
Michele Sturtevant
David Sanborn was very young during this video
Jonno Bloggs
Sanborn has a brilliant sense of phrasing both technically and melodically.He knows exactly at what point to burn and when to hold back and this makes his solos infinitely more satisfying and exciting than somebody from the Berkeley Jazz Mafia blowing endlessly through 784 full pages of sqemihemidemisemiquavers.
BIG C Bartee
The intro makes me cry. Look at his determination in getting out EVERY inch of that tune. Then it goes into the song. I LOVE MUSIC. Music is ME
John McGrath
Possibly Sanborn's best line up.. Love Marcus Miller's and Buddy Williams' understated playing and Hiram was a genius.
Humberto Bertolini
What a performance. Super!!!!
Makabongwe Mfengu
Blessed to still have Mr. Sanborn around ... that jam they had on stage was quite a blast!