A 1990s rock singer says his band’s biggest hit was not supposed to be a single.
Tonic frontman Emerson Hart told CBS News in a recently resurfaced interview that the success of “If You Could Only See” was a surprise. It was reportedly the most played song on rock radio stations in 1997, despite being the third single from Tonic’s debut studio album, “Lemon Parade.”
“It was (surreal), man, because you remember ‘Lemon Parade’ came out in ‘96 and the first single off that record was ‘Open Up Your Eyes,’” Hart told CBS. “We were in a van and touring and stuff like that, and then that went to No. 1. And then we were in a bus… and I was like, ‘Wow, this is as good as its ever going to get. I’m going to just soak all of it up.’”
But Tonic became even more popular when Kevin Weatherly, a program director at KROQ in Los Angeles, added “If You Could Only See” to the radio station’s airplay rotation.
“We had not planned for that to be the second single,” Hart told CBS. “It was going to be ‘Casual Affair,’ which was a heavier rock song since we were already kind of plowing down the road of rock radio at that point. He added it and, man, that just – it was from bus to plane. I mean, it’s amazing how quickly that can happen.”
Hart made the comments in a 2014 interview with CBS News, which reposted a clip on Facebook over the weekend. Hart, who was releasing a solo album at the time, said he would never get sick of playing “If You Could Only See,” on which he is credited as the sole songwriter.
“I’m so grateful for that song. I was talking to somebody after a show a few nights ago who was like, ‘Man, don’t you get tired of playing that song?’ And I was like, ‘No, it’s given me so much joy and it’s given me so much in my life,’” Hart said. “It’s so amazing to have a song that has been such a part of different people’s lives and [hear things like] ‘I fell in love at one of your shows,’ ‘I met my wife that was our song,’ ‘when my daughter was born every time I hear it it makes me think about the first time I saw her.’ And man, that’s like the greatest gift I can ever get… as a writer, it is the hugest compliment for me.”
“If You Could Only See,” which was inspired by Hart’s then-relationship with a woman that his family did not approve of, remains popular today with more than 218 million streams on Spotify. Tonic re-recorded it as an acoustic version for “Lemon Parade Revisited” in 2016.
Hart continues to perform as a solo artist and in Tonic with bandmates Jeff Russo and Dan Lavery, including a 2023 concert together at the New York State Fair. The band has released five albums altogether, earning two Grammy nominations for 2002’s “Head on Straight,” and contributed to the “American Pie” movie soundtrack with “You Wanted More.”
Tonic has not announced any 2026 tour dates, but will perform on the ‘90s Cruise with TLC, Sugar Ray, Better Than Ezra, Smash Mouth, En Vogue, Edwin McCain, DJ Kool, EMF, Sponge, Maxi Priest and Kid ‘N Play. The cruise, also featuring MTV alumni Downtown Julie Brown, Matt Pinfield and Dave Brown, goes from Tampa to Nassau and Key West on Jan. 25-30.
(L-R) Musicians Jeff Russo, Emerson Hart, and Dan Lavery of Tonic perform on stage at Temecula Valley Balloon And Wine Festival on June 3, 2017 in Temecula, California. (Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
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