In 1992, a young musician by the name of Clarence Greenwood released an album called Cope Citizen under the name of Citizen Cope. It was a relatively spotty record, but served as a sign of things to come for the musician.
Throughout the ‘90s, he began to work on his craft even more, honing his skills, and eventually getting signed by a record label in 1997. Arguably his biggest year though was 2002, which opened with him releasing a record called Citizen Cope, and then being featured on one of the biggest records of the year.
See, while in New York City, Greenwood bumped into musical legend Santana, asking him to check out his demos. Santana was impressed by his work, and collaborated with Greenwood on the track ‘Sideways’, releasing it on his record Shaman, at the end of 2002.
The record was huge, to say the least. A follow-up to the immensely popular Supernatural from 1999, Shaman featured the likes of Chad Kroeger, Rob Thomas, Dido, and Macy Gray. With Citizen Cope serving as the only unknown at the time of release.
The track would go on to feature in numerous forms of media over the years, which is how I came across it. The smooth, laidback nature of the track has always inspired me, while the slick guitar work by Santana has made want to fix up certain aspects of my guitar playing.
If anything though, this song proves that perseverance can pay off in ways you could never imagine, just as long as you stick with it.
Sounds Of The Radio 