Robert Kelly Thomas (born February 14, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is the lead vocalist for the Florida-based rock band Matchbox Twenty, which he formed in 1995 and with whom he has released five studio albums. As a solo act, he is best known for his guest performance on Santana's 1999 single "Smooth", which won three Grammy Awards, peaked the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks, and in 2018 was named the second-most successful song in the chart's history. His 2005 single, "Lonely No More," was his first to be released as a lead solo artist. It peaked at number six on the chart and led his debut solo album, ...Something to Be (2005), which peaked atop the Billboard 200.
As part of Matchbox Twenty, Thomas performed and wrote the band's string of commercially successful singles, including "Push", "3AM", "Real World", "Back 2 Good", "Bent", "If You're Gone", "Mad Season", "Disease", "Unwell", "Bright Lights", "How Far We've Come", and "She's So Mean". Thomas has also been a credited songwriter for other artists including Willie Nelson, Mick Jagger, Marc Anthony, Pat Green, Taylor Hicks, Travis Tritt, and Daughtry. In 2004, the Songwriters Hall of Fame gave Thomas its first Hal David Starlight Award, which recognizes young songwriters.
Early life Thomas was born at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany to Bill and Mamie Thomas. Bill Thomas was a United States Army sergeant. Thomas has an elder half-sister, Melissa, from his mother's previous marriage. The Thomas family returned to the United States when Thomas was six months old.
Thomas's parents divorced when he was two years old. Following the divorce, Thomas lived with his mother and sister. They were poor and moved frequently, often staying with Mamie's mother in Lake City, South Carolina. His grandmother was an alcoholic. She owned a small country store and gas station, where she also sold moonshine and marijuana under the counter. He grew up listening to country music and idolized the "big stars who lived ... hard lives", like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. Their stories inspired him to be a songwriter.
Thomas and his mother and sister moved to Sarasota, Florida, when he was 10. They settled in the Orlando area the following year. Around this time, Thomas received his first musical instrument: A Casio keyboard. A friend taught him to play, and Thomas practiced by trying to reproduce the songs he heard on the radio. He also acquired a guitar with no strings which he used as a prop while he pretended he was in a rock band.
Thomas's home life was not stable. Thomas describes his mother as an alcoholic who occasionally beat him. When Thomas was 12, his mother was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and given only six months to live. His sister ran away from home to get married, leaving Thomas to care for their mother on his own. She eventually entered remission. Mamie dated a series of men, some of whom beat her; she loved wild parties. Thomas sometimes woke up to find "10 strangers sleeping off last night's booze-a-thon in the living room".
Thomas attended Lake Brantley High School in the Orlando suburb of Altamonte Springs. He joined the choir in an unsuccessful attempt to attract the attention of a girl that he liked. His choir teacher saw potential in him and told him to keep working. To impress girls at parties, Thomas wrote and played music. A few months before graduation, Thomas dropped out of high school, saying his "regular life was in such disarray that going seemed ridiculous". He later earned a GED.
When he was 17, Thomas was convicted of stealing a Camaro and spent two months in county jail. For the next two or three years, Thomas was homeless. Occasionally, he would stay for a few days or weeks at the homes of various friends. At other times, he would hitchhike around Florida and South Carolina. Soon after getting out of jail, Thomas connected with several musicians. He played in a series of cover bands and began writing songs in earnest. Thomas said that "in songwriting I felt special for the first time. And all I wanted to do was get out of Florida." One of his bands, Fair Warning, earned a three-week job playing at a hotel in Vero Beach. They were fired three days into the job after they were caught stealing beer and candy from the hotel. At one point, Thomas was a member of another band, Tidal Wave, which played mostly surf tunes.
Career 1993–1995: Formation of Matchbox 20 In 1993, Thomas formed the band Tabitha's Secret. Brian Yale was the group's bass player. Paul Doucette earned a spot as drummer after answering an ad. Guitarists Jay Stanley and John Goff rounded out the band. The band was popular in the Orlando area, where they played in bars and nightclubs. Most of their songs were written by Thomas, including "3 A.M." This song, inspired by his time taking care of his mother, was the first that he had ever written and liked. In an effort to recreate that magic, his writing shifted to focus more on emotions inspired from his own life.
Producer Matt Serletic heard them play and was intrigued. The band met him for an introductory meeting, but broke up before any contracts were signed. Thomas worried that he'd never get another chance for a recording contract. Thomas, Yale, and Doucette were still interested in working together, and Serletic introduced them to rhythm guitarist Adam Gaynor and lead guitarist Kyle Cook; together, they formed a new band, Matchbox 20. Serletic sent Thomas to vocal coach Jan Smith to learn to sing better.
The band recorded several demo tapes, with Serletic as their producer. Three radio stations in Orlando and Tampa added the songs to their rotations. Executives at Atlantic Records noticed that the songs were being requested frequently. Although the band sounded very green, executives thought the songs were good. The band was soon signed to Atlantic subsidiary Lava Records.
1996–1998: Yourself or Someone Like You Thomas wrote every song on Matchbox 20's debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You. It was released in October 1996, on the same day that Lava Records folded. The album sold only 600 copies in its first week. The band toured extensively, trying to attract notice. Radio stations were slow to adopt their first single, "Long Day". Thomas and his bandmates were convinced they were soon to be dropped from their contract. Their manager was also worried, and yelled at them to get serious about their performances.
Their fears were well-founded. Officials at Atlantic were close to dropping the band when they noticed that sales had spiked in Birmingham, Alabama. There, radio stations had begun playing another track on the album, "Push". Atlantic released "Push" as a single, and it soon became a Top 5 hit. Its success led the album to be certified gold. Their next single, "3 A.M.", was hugely popular, and the album went multi-platinum. "Real World", and "Back 2 Good" followed.
Nearly seven months after its release, the album reached number 99 on the Billboard 200 chart. It continued to climb, finally reaching as high as number 5. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award and two American Music Awards. In 1997, readers of Rolling Stone named Matchbox 20 the best new band.
Thomas enjoyed his success. When travelling, he'd tell customs officials that his occupation was "rock star", and he often dressed the part, wearing sunglasses and long furry coats. He's described the first few years with Matchbox 20 as a blur, featuring large quantities of alcohol, cocaine, and sexual relationships with women. One of those interludes resulted in a son.
The constant partying took a toll on Thomas and the band. Thomas concedes that their lifestyle began to cause their concerts to suffer. During this period, he gained more than . The weight gain earned the band its first mention in Rolling Stone: An item making fun of Thomas. The band members decided together that they wanted to be more professional and began cleaning themselves up. Cocaine use was no longer tolerated. In 1998, Thomas was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People.
1999: "Smooth" In 1999, Latin guitarist Carlos Santana began putting together his comeback album, Supernatural, a series of duets. He was looking for one last song to complete the album. Songwriter Itaal Shur had given a demo tape to Santana's representatives. Although they liked the music, they thought the lyrics and melody could be strengthened. One of the executives sent the demo to Thomas, asking him if he'd like to work on it.
Thomas had never worked on a song that he didn't intend to perform, and he was interested in the opportunity to try something new. He wrote the song intending for it to be sung by George Michael.
Thomas wrote the verses to the song that became "Smooth", and he and Shur collaborated on the chorus. He was inspired both by his wife, who is half-Spanish and half-Puerto-Rican, and by Santana himself. When he finished the song, he was unsure whether it was any good. His wife listened to the demo and told him, "This is going to be huge." Santana heard the demo and said he couldn't determine at first whether it was a male or female singing. He had no idea who Thomas was, but he liked the voice and asked that Thomas sing on the record. When they first met, Santana asked Thomas if he was married to a Latin woman.
The song was recorded live, in three takes. Thomas was not aware that it was going to be released as a single until he heard it on the radio. It was a massive hit, spending 58 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Billboard later named it the number 2 Hot 100 song of all time. It won three Grammy Awards, for Best Record, Best Song, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Its success earned him instant credibility as a songwriter. BMI named Thomas its 1999 Pop Songwriter of the Year for "Smooth" and his Matchbox 20 songs. "Smooth" would ultimately become the second biggest-selling single of all time, after Chubby Checker's "The Twist."
"Smooth" increased his visibility, and that of Matchbox 20. The song's video, starring Thomas, was played extensively on VH1 and MTV. That exposure launched him out of anonymity. A new set of listeners, older than the band's initial fan base, was exposed to, and liked, Thomas's work. Yourself or Someone Like You continued to sell briskly. After winning at the Grammy Awards, Atlantic took out ads in many industry publications to make executives aware that Thomas had written not only "Smooth", but also all of the songs on the Matchbox 20 album. Ron Shapiro, an executive at Atlantic, said, "It was our intent to get Rob and this band a substantial amount of credibility."
Thomas says that "Smooth" "really opened up the door for me as a songwriter and a solo artist."
2000–2003: Mad Season and More Than You Think You Are As Matchbox 20 prepared to record their second album, band members had heated discussions over song selection. After flirting with the idea of allowing other band members to provide songs, they chose to record only songs that Thomas had written or co-written. They renamed themselves Matchbox Twenty and, in March 2000, released Mad Season. Its first single, "Bent", reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it remains the band's only number one hit, despite larger commercial success on previous material. Their tour took them to 87 cities, and they sold out Madison Square Garden in 15 minutes.
Thomas was inducted into the South Carolina Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2001.