"SOS" is a song by Swedish pop group

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

. 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 record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

Agnetha Fältskog Agneta Åse "Agnetha" Fältskog (; born 5 April 1950) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and a former member of the pop group ABBA. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 Agnetha Fältskog (album), self-titled debut alb ...

, who sang lead, recorded the song in Swedish on her 1975 solo album '' Elva kvinnor i ett hus''. "SOS" was ABBA's first major worldwide hit since " Waterloo".

History

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

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

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duve ...

and

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

and was recorded at Glen Studio in Långängen, 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 session m ...

instrumentation of

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

and the melodies of

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band 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 their f ...

. 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'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' and ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' 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 "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was the third single to be released from their third studio album, ''ABBA'' (1975). The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and their manager Stig Anderson, a ...

", " Mamma Mia" and " Bang-A-Boomerang"), were completed in two days for a total cost of Kr 50,000 (£5,500). The video was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

on 8 October 2009, on the AbbaVEVO channel, and has 88 million views as of February 2024. The song is also featured in the concert film '' ABBA: The Movie'' (1977), '' Good Night Oppy'' (2022), 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 the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

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, 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 and the guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, having been with the band across three iterations. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic gu ...

, Peter Cetera, Chris deBurgh,

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, Portishead, Fozzy, and Canadian rock group

Headstones A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

. English synth-pop duo Erasure covered "SOS" and three other ABBA songs on their 1992 ''

Abba-esque ''Abba-esque'' is an extended play (EP) by English synth-pop duo Erasure (duo), Erasure. Released on 1 June 1992, the EP was Erasure's first and only number one on the UK Singles Chart and also became a number-one hit in Austria, Denmark, Fin ...

'' EP, reaching number one in the UK singles chart.

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...

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

said that he was taken with the song after seeing the group perform it on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television show '' Seaside Special''.

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

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

's "perfect" lyrical interpretation and emotional delivery is "a beautiful thing". British conductor and producer

Charles Hazlewood Charles Matthew Egerton Hazlewood (born 14 November 1966) is a British conductor. After winning the European Broadcasting Union conducting competition in 1995 whilst still in his twenties,

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

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 offic ...

has claimed to have been inspired to write the main riff of "

Pretty Vacant "Pretty Vacant" is a song by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released on 1 July 1977 as the band's third single and was later featured on their only album, '' Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'', released during ...

" 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, actor, editor and comedian. He was known for his dark and destructive style of comedy and humor, and was a major contributor to ''National Lampoon'' maga ...

staged the performance on a set of the deck of the

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

and continued the sketch while the band were performing, according to bandleader

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and comedian who served as David Letterman's musical director, bandleader, and sidekick on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1993) and ''Late Show with D ...

, "They kept on singing like the pros that they are." To date, the song is the only US

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

or UK Official Charts single (or #1 single in Australia) in which both the title and the artist are

palindrome A palindrome (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpæl.ɪn.droʊm/) is a word, palindromic number, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as ''madam'' or ''racecar'', the date "Twosday, 02/02/2020" and th ...

Track listing

Personnel

– double-tracked vocals *

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945), also known simply as Frida, is a Swedish singer who is best known as one of the founding members and lead singers of the pop band ABBA. Courtesy titles ''Principality of Reuss-Gera, Princess Re ...

– harmony vocals *

– guitar, backing vocals *

– keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals * Ola Brunkert – drums * Lasse Wellander, Janne Schaffer – guitar * Mike Watson – bass

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Swedish version by 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 on 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. In the years leading up to the January 20 ...

, 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 "Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the ...

''. 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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', Brittany Spanos felt that "working with producer Mark Taylor who helped seal Cher’s legacy with the game-changing " Believe" 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) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" is a song by Swedish recording group ABBA. A disco song, it was first recorded in August 1979 to promote the group's North American and European concert legs of ABBA: The Tour. It was released on 1 ...

," "SOS" and " Mamma Mia" are given just enough of a knob turn that they're transformed from upbeat

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...

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 Jessica Anne Newham (born 5 October 1991), known by her stage name Betty Who, is an Australian musician and singer. After independently releasing her debut single, "Somebody Loves You (Betty Who song), Somebody Loves You" (2012), and her debut ...

, '' Transparent'' star Trace Lysette, comedian Sabrina Jalees, '' Elena of Avalor'' voice actor

Aimee Carrero Aimee Carrero (born ) is a Dominican-American actress. She is known for her leading roles in the sitcom ''Young & Hungry'' (2014–2018), and the thriller series ''The Consultant (TV series), The Consultant'' (2023) with recurring roles on shows ...

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, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

''. 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, airing from September 24, 2001, to January 11, 2002. It also starred Cloris Leachman, Martin M ...

on 7 September 2018, to promote her

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

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

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

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

Fernando Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...

". 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 ''Cash ...

" and " Take Me Home" were cut from her Classic Cher

concert residency A concert residency (also known as musical residency or simply residency) is a series of concerts, similar to a concert tour, but performed at only one location. The ''Pollstar'' Awards defined a residency as a run of 10 or more shows at a sing ...

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 database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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 Atlantic Records singles Cher songs Epic Records singles Mushroom Records singles 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 Warner Records singles