''S.O.S.'' is the debut album released by the R&B band

the S.O.S. Band The S.O.S. Band (sometimes written as S.O.S. Band; abbreviation for Sounds of Success) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B and Boogie (genre), electro-funk musical ensemble, group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs ...

on the

Tabu Tabu may refer to: Cultural and legal concepts *Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society *Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...

label in the summer of 1980. It was produced by Sigidi Abdullah. The album was a hit at

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s and "

Take Your Time (Do It Right) "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" is the debut single by the S.O.S. Band. It was released on March 18, 1980 as the lead single from the debut album '' S.O.S.'' through Tabu Records, three months before the album's release. Chart performance In the ...

" became a disco classic.

History

The album peaked at No. 2 on the R&B albums chart. It also reached No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album yielded the ''Billboard'' R&B number-one hit "

" which also peaked at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 1 on the

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart, and No. 51 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Two following singles, "S.O.S. (Dit Dit Dit Dash Dash Dash Dit Dit Dit)" and "What's Wrong with Our Love Affair?", also charted on the R&B chart, reaching numbers 20 and 87 respectively. The album was digitally remastered and reissued on CD with bonus tracks in 2013 by

Demon Music Group Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

Track listing

Personnel

The S.O.S. Band *Jason "T.C." Bryant – keyboards, vocals *Billy "B.E." Ellis – saxophone, keyboards, vocals *Mary Davis – vocals, background vocals, percussion *James Earl Jones III – drums, vocals *Willie "Sonny" Killebrew – saxophone, flute, vocals *Bruno Speight – lead guitar *John Alexander Simpson – bass, vocals Additional Personnel *

James Stroud James Stroud is an American musician and record producer who works in pop, rock, R&B, soul, disco, and country music. He played with the Malaco Rhythm Section for Malaco Records. In the 1990s, he was the president of Giant Records (a subsidiar ...

– drums (on "Love Won't Wait for Love") * Darryl "Munyungo" Jackson – percussion *

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of B ...

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

, Larry Hatcher, David Li, Richard Griffith, Ray Brown, Jr., Nolan Smith, Jeff Clayton – horns *Bill Henderson (concertmaster) – strings *Rosalind Sweeper, Freddi Rawls, Michele Morgan, Gertha Simms – background vocals *Dorothy Farrell, Linda Riley, Pam Jones, Isaac Welcome, Angela (Neicy) Hall, Grace Anderson, Charlene Few – handclaps

Production

*Sigidi – producer, arranger *

Clarence Avant Clarence Alexander Avant (born February 25, 1931) is an American music executive, entrepreneur, and film producer, who also went by the name of "The Black Godfather". Avant's 75th birthday was celebrated by ''Billboard'' in its February 2006 is ...

– executive producer *Fred Wesley, The S.O.S. Band – arrangers *Richard Wells, Ted Bush, Tom Race, George Pappas – engineers *Tommy Cooper, Greg Webster – assistant engineers *David Hassinger, Serge Reyes, Rhonghea Southern – mixers *Neil Petinov – assistant mixer *Mike Reese – mastering

Charts

;Singles

References

External links

*
S.O.S.
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control 1980 debut albums Tabu Records albums The S.O.S. Band albums