Several million views later, Montana’s father’s song had not only gone viral but had also made its way onto Spotify. Its increasing popularity caught the attention of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who extended an invitation to the father and son to perform on his show, featuring Curly Smith, Montana’s father, and Montana himself, showcasing their rendition of “Surrender to Me” alongside Smith’s band, Fire City Funk.
Following the lively performance, Kimmel engaged in a conversation with the duo about their sudden rise to fame and the resurgence of the band. Smith recounted the challenges he faced in securing a record deal back then, given the stiff competition from prominent groups like The Bee Gees. He revealed that he had recorded “Surrender to Me” in 1978 and then “set it aside for 43 years.”
“Every so often, I would give it a listen and think, ‘Hey, that wasn’t too bad. Maybe it’ll see the light of day someday.'” However, Smith had no concrete plans to release the song until his son stumbled upon it.
Montana then shared the somewhat serendipitous moment when he first encountered the song. “I was out for a late-night drive, and I went to plug my phone in to play some music. Before I could even plug it in, the song just started playing.” Initially, the teenager didn’t recognize the artist behind the music. “Then the vocals kicked in, and I thought, ‘Wait a minute. That voice sounds really familiar.'”
Montana went on to upload the song to TikTok. “I felt like the world needed to hear it, so I put it out there,” he explained. And, as it turned out, he was absolutely right
