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On January 4, Zach Montana uploaded his father’s song Surrender to Me on TikTok. Shortly after posting the video, the song became a fan favorite with several netizens requesting for it to be released. He went on to reveal that his father William “Curly” Smith had written and recorded the song 43 years ago.
The Arizona State University student exclaimed in the video,
“There’s a horn section! Just wait … It’s so good!”
Zach Montana went on to mimic keyboard riffs as he played the song in his car. He added,
“And he [Montana's father] never released it! I’m so mad at him.”
In the weeks since he released the TikTok song, the original video on the app has racked up over three million views with close to 10,000 pre-saves. People made remixes and covers of the song as well.
More about the viral TikTok Surrender to Me song
Just like his son, William “Curly” Smith is a musician. He has recorded and toured with singers including Steve Ray Vaughan, Belinda Carlisle, Boston, Jo Jo Gunne, and Willie Nelson. Montana revealed that he discovered his father’s song sitting on the shelf for years and decided to listen to it for the first time in his car.
In the weeks following the TikTok song's release, Montana and Smith were on their way to a studio famously used by the band Chicago to get remastered recordings of the song for streaming.
Fans of the song also believed it would be perfect for the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. Many created edits along with the film’s opening credits. They tagged Disney and Marvel as well, leading to a meeting between the cinema giants and the music creators.
Marvel’s music supervisor Dave Jordan said he would play the song for Guardian’s director James Gunn. There has been no confirmation whether the song will be used by the Marvel universe, however Montana and Smith have expressed gratitude for the same. Montana revealed,
“We’ve seen all the MCU movies. It’s something we’ve bonded over as father and son, so it’s really exciting to think the song could end up in one of the films.”
The song has been praised by musical stars including Meghan Trainor and Herman Li. Anthony Fantano, who has been called as “the only music critic that matters” by the New York Times has called the song “a banger.”
Surrender to Me has been released under the name FireCityFunk.
