Top 10 Alert!
Platinum Record Alert!
Song#: 0192 Date: 05/31/1980
Debut: 88
Peak: 3
Weeks: 21
Genre: R&B
Pop Bits: This Atlanta band fronted by Mary Davis hit pay dirt the first time out with this #1 R&B single. Their debut album titled "S.O.S." was certified gold and hit #2 R&B (#12 pop). A major song like this is a great way to start a chart career, but can be awfully hard to follow-up, which the band encountered. They put a few more minor songs on the pop chart and had some better success on the R&B chart, but they would never reach the heights of this first single.
ReduxReview: Noooooo! Not another long R&B/dance song! Again, I'm sure there was a single edit which probably makes it better. This apparently was a huge hit, but I have zero recollection on this one. And I'm not really sure why it was a big hit. It's a solid, if repetitive, song but definitely not outstanding. Not sure what it was, but something about the song clicked in 1980.
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: The band was originally called Santa Monica due to a particularly memorable performance there. But their new songwriter/producer suggested a name change to the S.O.S. Band. S.O.S = Sounds of Success.
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"And I'm not really sure why it was a big hit."
ReplyDeleteI'll tell you why--it is very catchy, and you can dance to it. It's not that easy to write a catchy song like that. The song may not be a masterpiece, but I don't find it that hard to see why it was a hit.
Hmmm. I'll stick with my assessment. I don't find it all that catchy or memorable, especially for a #3 hit. It's an average post-disco 80s R&B jam track. Definitely not bad at all and I'm glad others enjoyed it. It just didn't hook me.
DeleteChart Run: 88 - 76 - 65 - 55 - 36 - 23 - 19 - 11 - 9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 3 - 5 - 8 - 22 - 29 - 34 - 71 - 77 - 88
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