Songfacts®:

• Although he is remembered today principally as a comedian, the multi-disciplined Charlie Chaplin was also a composer. He wrote "Smile" as an instrumental for the 1936 production Modern Times, his final silent film (which inspired the Al Stewart song of the same name). The lyrics were added later by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons, and like the music, match the tone of the film. It was not a hit until 1959 when it was recorded by Tony Bennett, although Nat King Cole's version charted in the UK five years earlier. "Smile" has been covered by numerous artists including Lita Roza, Petula Clark (twice), Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England
• Michael Jackson recorded this on his 1995 album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. Shortly after Jackson's death, his brother Jermaine appeared on The Today Show, where Matt Lauer asked him what song he hears Michael singing when he closes his eyes at night. Jermaine replied: "I love 'Smile' and I'll tell you why. We were very close to the Chaplin family. Charlie Chaplin wrote that song, and Michael loved Charlie Chaplin. I sing it all the time in the shower."
  
  At Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, Brooke Shields said that this was his favorite song. Jermaine then performed the song.
• Michael Jackson co-produced his version of the song with David Foster; Jeremy Lubbock did the orchestration and Bruce Swedien conducted. According to Swedien, Jackson did his vocal live with the orchestra. He says that Jackson was very gracious and came to to thank the orchestra when they were finished, at which point the musicians applauded by tapping their bows.
• Lady Gaga performed this to open the One World: Together At Home concert, broadcast on April 18, 2020 to help out frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Michael Bublé recorded "Smile" for the funeral of Captain Tom Moore at the request of the war veteran's daughter. Captain Tom made international headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic when he raised over £26 million ($32 million) for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday by walking lengths of his garden.
  
  Bublé recorded the song in his home studio with a video of himself, his wife and children. "Like everyone, I'd been moved by him," he told The Sun. "I told my kids he was a real superhero."
  
  Recording "Smile" inspired Bublé to make his Higher album, and he made the Charlie Chaplin-penned song its closing track. "'Smile' is the heart of the record," the Canadian crooner said. "It's a love note to the world inspired by this beautiful guy."
• The rough-hewn rapper DMX sings "Smile" in the 2014 movie Top Five in a scene where he's in jail with Chris Rock. Rock's character, a comedian who has taken serious acting roles in movies nobody likes, tells DMX he has "so much more to offer." The rapper tells him he does to, and proceeds to sing this song quite poorly, getting booed by his fellow inmates. This convinces rock to return to stand-up, his true calling.