Ex-Boston Drummer’s Career Revived After Son Shares Unreleased Song on TikTok
You may know William "Curly" Smith as the drummer for Boston during the second half of the 1990s, or you may know him for the song "Surrender to Me," which has gone viral after his son shared it on TikTok.
Smith's son — whose name is Zach Montana — is a 19-year-old musician. He was driving his father's truck a few months ago and heard the song come on in the CD player of the vehicle.
"I’m listening and I’m thinking, ‘Whoa, this is really good,’” Montana recalled to TODAY. "Then the vocals come on and I hear a very familiar voice — and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, that’s my dad.”
Smith, who recorded and toured with Boston from 1994 until 2001, recorded "Surrender to Me" in the late 1978, but never released it because he wasn't signed to a record label at the time.
Thus, Montana shared the song on his TikTok account in early January.
"I'm in my car, and my dad put music in here. I was enjoying it, and I found out that he wrote it in the '70s, and it's really fucking good!" Montana enthused in the clip, then shared a bit of the song and reacted to it. The TikTok now has over 3.7 million views, and he's shared a bunch of updates about the song and his dad's career on his profile since then.
"Surrender to Me" itself has now amassed over 1 million views on Spotify, and has also been uploaded to YouTube. The story has gained so much traction that Montana and Smith were invited to perform the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with their band Fire City Funk in February. Check out the performance, as well as a brief interview they did with Kimmel below.
“Of course, my dad is more excited about what it means for me,” Montana added. “He’s like, ‘This is gonna get your music so much attention.’ That’s what kind of person he is... He’s always been an amazing father — the best I could possibly ask for. This experience has only brought us closer together.”