"SOS" is a song by Swedish pop group

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

. It was released in June 1975 as the fifth single from their self-titled 1975 album. It was released with "Man in the Middle" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

. Agnetha Fältskog, who sang lead, recorded the song in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

on her 1975 solo album '' Elva kvinnor i ett hus''. "SOS" was ABBA's first major worldwide hit since "

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

History

"SOS" (working title; "Turn Me On") was written by

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamma Mia ...

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films ' ...

and

Stig Anderson Stig Erik Leopold Anderson (25 January 1931 – 12 September 1997), better known as Stikkan Anderson, was a Swedish music manager, lyricist and music publisher. He was the co-founder of Polar Music, and is best known for managing the S ...

and was recorded at Glen Studio in

Långängen Långängen is a residential area in Stocksund in Danderyd Municipality in Sweden. It used to have service by a tramway connected to Stocksund railway station at Roslagsbanan but is now serviced with busses instead. Långängen was an impor ...

, Sweden on 22–23 August 1974. The title itself was coined by Stig, though the lyrics he provided were re-written by Ulvaeus. "SOS" was among the first of three songs recorded for the group's 1975 album, ''

'' and the opening track of their classic Greatest Hits LP released at the end of the same year. The song opens with a piano intro, followed by the first verse sung by Fältskog. Biographer Carl Magnus Palm described it as 'Agnetha's first 'heartbreak classic, wherein the tear-filled vocal delivery, her trademark, would blend a pop melody, with a dash of melancholy. The song features a heavy influence from the

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of sessio ...

instrumentation of

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

and the melodies of

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

. Lyricist Ulvaeus has said that, after three years of trying to figure out what style would define them, ABBA found its identity as a pop group with the release of "SOS".BBC documentary "The Joy of ABBA", produced by Ben Whalley (2013). While Palm described it as 'pure ABBA'. During the band's first visit to the United States, ABBA performed "SOS" on the long-running television programs ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pr ...

'' and ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' on 15 November 1975. The promotional video was directed by Lasse Hallström and released in the same year, along with the single.Sheridan, Simon. ''The Complete ABBA'', London, England, Titan Books, 22 May 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2017. The video and three others (for " I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do", " Mamma Mia" and "

Bang-A-Boomerang "Bang-A-Boomerang" is a song by ABBA, first released by Svenne & Lotta (both Swedish and English-language versions). The track was first recorded as a demo with English lyrics (but without any recorded vocals) in September 1974 by the ABBA musi ...

"), were completed in two days for a total cost of Kr 50,000 (£5,500). The video was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

on 8 October 2009, on the AbbaVEVO channel, and has 65 million views as of September 2021. The song is also featured in the concert film '' ABBA: The Movie'' (1977) and '' Live at Wembley Arena,'' released in 2014.

Reception

"SOS" marked a significant turnaround in ABBA's fortunes and returned them to the Top 10 in many countries. Reaching #6 and #4 respectively, "SOS" started a run of 18 consecutive Top 10 hits for ABBA in the UK and Ireland. "SOS" reached #1 in Australia, Belgium, France, West Germany (where it spent 7 weeks at the top), New Zealand and South Africa, and was a Top 3 hit in Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Italy (where it became ABBA's most successful hit), Mexico,

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to th ...

and Switzerland. The song also became ABBA's second Top 20 hit in the United States, peaking at #15. As of September 2021, it is ABBA's 19th-biggest song in the UK, including both pure sales and digital streams. Chicago radio station

WLS WLS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * WLS (AM), a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, US * WLS-FM, a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, US * WLS-TV, a television station in Chicago, Illinois, US * DWLS, a radio station in Metro Manila ...

, which gave "SOS" much airplay, ranked the song as the 61st biggest hit of 1975. It peaked at number six on their survey of 22 November 1975. "SOS" has been recorded and performed in concert by several prominent artists, including

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...

Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His c ...

, Chris deBurgh,

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...

, Portishead, Fozzy, and Canadian rock group Headstones. Erasure covered SOS and three other Abba songs on their 1992 E.P. ''Abba-Esque'', reaching number one in the UK singles chart. Ray Davies of

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

said that he was taken with the song after seeing the group perform it on the BBC television show '' Seaside Special''.

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Towns ...

said the song had "a great sound". American singer-songwriter and former Czars frontman John Grant has called "SOS" "one of the greatest pieces of music ever made", adding that Agnetha Fältskog's "perfect" lyrical interpretation and emotional delivery is "a beautiful thing". British conductor and producer Charles Hazlewood called the song's "supersonic" transition from an acoustic D-minor key to an electric rock motif "absolutely genius".

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

bassist

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only albu ...

has claimed to have been inspired to write the main riff of Pretty Vacant after hearing "SOS" on a jukebox. ABBA's performance of "SOS" on ''

'' in 1975 has been included on lists of the most significant performances in the show's 31 seasons by several reviewers and critics. Bill Lamb put the song at number five, as did Alicia Diaz Dennis and Andres Jauregui. ABBA performed "SOS" on episode five of the inaugural season of the long-running comedy-variety show ''

'' (SNL) on 15 November 1975. SNL head writer

Michael O'Donoghue Michael O'Donoghue (January 5, 1940 – November 8, 1994) was an American writer and performer. He was known for his dark and destructive style of comedy and humor, was a major contributor to ''National Lampoon'' magazine, and was the ...

staged the performance on a set of the deck of the

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

and continued the sketch while the band were performing, according to bandleader Paul Shaffer, "They kept on singing like the pros that they are." To date, the song is the only Hot 100 of

UK Official Charts The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

single (or #1 single in Australia) in which both the title and the credited act (and also the album and the musical genre) are palindromes.

Track listing

Personnel

* Agnetha Fältskog - lead vocals *

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

– backing vocals * Björn Ulvaeus – guitar * Benny Andersson – keyboards, synthesizer

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Swedish version by Agnetha Fältskog

Agnetha Fältskog's version was the second single from her fifth Swedish solo-album '' Elva kvinnor i ett hus'' (Eleven Women in One House). It was the only song from this album not to have been composed by Fältskog herself. Despite the fact that Fältskog never promoted the single in Sweden, it peaked at No. 4 on the singles chart on 1 January 1976 during a 20-week chart run, and it also became Fältskog's third No. 1 on radio chart

Svensktoppen ''Svensktoppen'' () is a weekly record chart airing at Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982-1985. The last years before the January 2003 ch ...

, entering the chart on 22 November 1975 and spending a total of eleven weeks on the listing. The B-side of the single, "Visa I Åttonde Månaden" (Song in the Eighth Month) was a song written from a very personal perspective, as it was composed during Fältskog's pregnancy with daughter Linda Ulvaeus in 1973.

Cher version

American singer

's version was the second single from her 2018 album '' Dancing Queen''. It was released on 23 August 2018. The song peaked at number 56 in the Scottish singles chart in August of that year.

Critical reception

Writing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'', Brittany Spanos felt that "working with producer Mark Taylor who helped seal Cher’s legacy with the game-changing "

Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...

" in the late Nineties, she finds subtle changes that update ABBA classics without totally stripping them of the catchiness that made those songs beloved hits well beyond their heyday. " Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)," "SOS" and " Mamma Mia" are given just enough of a knob turn that they're transformed from upbeat FM radio pop into club bangers, pulsating with every beat."

Music video

An accompanying music video for "SOS" was directed by Jake Wilson, and was premiered through Cher's official YouTube channel on 18 September 2018. The video features Rumer Willis, singer Betty Who, '' Transparent'' star Trace Lysette, comedian Sabrina Jalees, '' Elena of Avalor'' voice actor Aimee Carrero and '' Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' cast member Vella Lovell. It was styled by fashion director William Graper in a similar fashion to the original ABBA video. It was also listed as the 18th best music video of 2018 by ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre e ...

''. Roytel Montero said that "in a studied homage to the original ABBA classic from 1975, heinterpretation of the video renders it a poignant call to female solidarity".

Live performances

Cher appeared on

The Ellen Show ''The Ellen Show'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ellen DeGeneres that was broadcast during the 2001–02 season on CBS, aired from September 24, 2001, to January 11, 2002. It was DeGeneres' second attempt at a sitcom ...

on 7 September 2018, to promote her

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

, ''Dancing Queen''. During her appearance on Ellen, Cher also performed her rendition of ABBA’s "

SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, that was originally established for maritime use. In formal notation is written with an overscore line, to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" ...

" and discussed her upcoming world tour. During her Here We Go Again Tour she performs "SOS" together with "

" and "

Fernando Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

". On 31 October 2018 "

The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss) "It's in His Kiss" is a song written and composed by Rudy Clark. It was first released as a single in 1963 by Merry Clayton that did not chart. The song was made a hit a year later when recorded by Betty Everett, who hit No. 1 on the ''Cashb ...

" and " Take Me Home" were cut from her Classic Cher concert residency and "Waterloo", "SOS" and "Fernando" were added.

Track listings and formats

Digital download

* "SOS" – 3:22

Credits and personnel

Credits for ''Dancing Queen'' adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Management

* Published by Universal Songs of PolyGramInt., Inc. (ASCAP) and EMI Grove Park Music Inc. (BMI) * Recorded by Mark Taylor and Paul Meehan at Metrophonic Studios, London * Mixed at by Matt Furmidge and Mark Taylor at Metrophonic Studios, London * Mastered by Sthephen Marcussen Mastering, Hollywood, CA

Personnel

– primary vocals *

– songwriter *

– songwriter * Ash Soan – drums * Adam Phillips – guitars * Hayley Sanderson – backing vocals * Andy Caine – backing vocals

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1975 singles 1970s ballads 2018 singles ABBA songs Agnetha Fältskog songs Cher songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in France Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Polar Music singles Pop ballads Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus Songs written by Stig Anderson Music videos directed by Lasse Hallström 1975 songs Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements