The S.O.S. Band

**The S.O.S. Band** (sometimes written **SOS Band**; abbreviation for **Sounds Of Success**) is an American R&B and electro-funk group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs "Take Your Time (Do It Right)," "Just Be Good to Me," "Tell Me If You Still Care," and "The Finest."

## History

The band was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977. The original group members included Willie "Sonny" Killebrew (saxophone), Billy Ellis (flute), Jason "T.C." Bryant (keyboards), Bruno Speight (guitar), John Simpson (bass), James Earl Jones III (drums), and Mary Davis (lead vocals, keyboards). It was originally known as Santa Monica, but later changed its name to The S.O.S. Band- an acronym for Sounds of Success. After listening to its demo and being impressed with their sound, Tabu Records founder Clarence Avant signed the group to its first recording contract.

In 1980, the group released its first hit single, "Take Your Time (Do It Right)", which was certified platinum and sold over 2 million copies. Its debut album, _S.O.S._, went gold and sold over 800,000 copies. Trumpeter, vocalist, and percussionist Abdul Ra'oof joined the band while it was on a world tour.

In 1983, the band joined forces with then-new production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who went on to craft a string of R&B hits for the group, which included "Just Be Good to Me," "High Hopes," "Tell Me If You Still Care," "Borrowed Love," "No One's Gonna Love You," "Just the Way You Like It," and "The Finest."

Lead vocalist Mary Davis left the group in 1987 to pursue a solo career, and was replaced by Chandra Currelley beginning with the band's 1989 _Diamonds in the Raw_ album. They recorded another album with Currelley - 1991's _One of Many Nights_, which featured a few songs with a guest appearance from a then-unknown Kurupt.

More recently, Currelley has been active as an actress and vocalist in Tyler Perry plays and movies. When Davis’s solo career was not as successful as she hoped, she reunited with the band in 1994. Since then, Davis spilt from the remaining members of The S.O.S. Band, with Davis and Speight both touring using the band's name with their versions of the current lineup.

In 2013, The S.O.S. Band's entire Tabu Records catalog was reissued, as Tabu licensed their brand and trademark to British-based record label Demon Music Group.

## Discography

_All albums and singles listed below were issued on Tabu Records._

### Studio albums

|rowspan="2"|Year|rowspan="2"|Title|colspan="8"|Peak chart positions|rowspan="2"|Certifications <small>(sales thresholds)</small>|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||1980|style="text-align:left;"|_S.O.S._|12|2|—|—|—|34|—|—|align=left|* US: Gold|
||1981|style="text-align:left;"|_Too_|117|30|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
||1982|style="text-align:left;"|_III_|172|27|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
||1983|style="text-align:left;"|_On the Rise_|47|7|—|30|36|—|—|—|align=left|* US: Gold|
||1984|style="text-align:left;"|_Just the Way You Like It_|60|6|44|33|—|—|—|29|||
||1986|style="text-align:left;"|_Sands of Time_|44|4|20|38|36|—|35|15|align=left|* US: Gold|
||1989|style="text-align:left;"|_Diamonds in the Raw_|194|43|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
||1991|style="text-align:left;"|_One of Many Nights_|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
|colspan="15" style="font-size:90%"|"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.|||||||||||||

### Compilation albums

|rowspan="2"|Year|rowspan="2"|Title|colspan="3"|Peak chart positions||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||1987|style="text-align:left;"|_1980-1987: The Hit Mixes_|—|—|—|
||1990|style="text-align:left;"|_The Very Best Of (1980 - 1990: A Decade of Dance Hits)_|—|—|26|
||1995|style="text-align:left;"|_The Best of the S.O.S. Band_|185|27|—|
||2004|style="text-align:left;"|_Greatest Hits_|—|62|—|
||2011|style="text-align:left;"|_Icon_|—|—|—|
|colspan="15" style="font-size:90%"|"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.||||||

### Singles

|rowspan="2"|Year|rowspan="2"|Title|colspan="13"|Peak chart positions||||||||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|rowspan="2"|1980|style="text-align:left;"|"Take Your Time (Do It Right) (Part 1)"|3|1|1|40|19|27|40|—|26|3|10|20|51|
|style="text-align:left;"|"S.O.S. (Dit Dit Dit Dash Dash Dash Dit Dit Dit)"|—|20|54|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
|rowspan="3"|1981|style="text-align:left;"|"What's Wrong with Our Love Affair?"|—|87|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
|style="text-align:left;"|"Do It Now (Part 1)"|—|15|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
|style="text-align:left;"|"You"|—|64|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
||1982|style="text-align:left;"|"High Hopes"|—|25|49|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
|rowspan="4"|1983|style="text-align:left;"|"Have It Your Way"|—|57|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
|style="text-align:left;"|"Groovin' (That's What We're Doin')"|—|—|47|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|72|||
|style="text-align:left;"|"Just Be Good to Me"|55|2|3|17|29|—|—|21|22|10|—|—|13|||
|style="text-align:left;"|"Tell Me If You Still Care"|65|5|—|—|—|—|—|—|39|—|—|—|81|||
|rowspan="3"|1984|style="text-align:left;"|"For Your Love"|—|34|26|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
|style="text-align:left;"|"Just the Way You Like It"|64|6|26|—|—|—|34|—|42|50|—|—|32|||
|style="text-align:left;"|"No One's Gonna Love You"|102|15|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
|rowspan="2"|1985|style="text-align:left;"|"Weekend Girl"|—|40|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|51|
|style="text-align:left;"|"Break Up"|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
|rowspan="3"|1986|style="text-align:left;"|"The Finest"|44|2|8|—|20|—|26|28|34|13|—|—|17|
|style="text-align:left;"|"Borrowed Love"|—|14|26|—|25|—|37|—|22|—|—|—|50|||
|style="text-align:left;"|"Even When You Sleep"|—|34|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
||1987|style="text-align:left;"|"No Lies"|—|43|2|83|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|64|
||1988|style="text-align:left;"|"The Official Bootleg Mega-Mix"|—|—|—|—|—|—|33|—|—|—|—|—|—|
||1989|style="text-align:left;"|"I'm Still Missing Your Love"|—|7|—|—|—|—|—|—|25|—|—|—|—|
|rowspan="2"|1990|style="text-align:left;"|"Secret Wish"|—|38|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
|style="text-align:left;"|"Do You Love Me?"|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
|rowspan="2"|1991|style="text-align:left;"|"Sometimes I Wonder"|—|12|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
|style="text-align:left;"|"Broken Promises"|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|||
||2014|style="text-align:left;"|"Just Get Ready"|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
|colspan="15" style="font-size:90%"|"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.||||||||||||||||

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **name**: The S.O.S. Band
- **background**: group_or_band
- **alias**: Santa Monica
- **origin**: Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, U.S.
- **years active**: 1977–present
- **label**: Tabu Records, Tabu
- **associated acts**: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Alexander O'Neal
Cherrelle
Kurupt
- **current members**: Mary Davis
Abdul Ra'oof
Jason Bryant
- **past members**: Billy Ellis
James Earl Jones III
Willie "Sonny" Killebrew
John Simpson
Bruno Speight
 Chandra Currelley-Young, Chandra Currelley