"Smoking Gun" is a 1986 song by

Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed at ...

. It reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard''

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

chart and No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In addition, Cray was nominated for the 1987 MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in a Video for this song.

Background

The song deals with

infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include non-consensual non-monogamy, cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, se ...

Critical reception

Ed Hogan of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

remarked that the song contained "an arresting, up-tempo groove" which "ushered in the contemporary blues era with its respectful nod to the blues tradition while imparting the genre with an underlying airiness".

References

{{Robert Cray 1986 songs 1986 debut singles Songs written by Bruce Bromberg Songs written by Robert Cray Mercury Records singles