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“SOS“ is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. 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. Agnetha Fältskog, 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“. “SOS“ (working title; “Turn Me On“) was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson 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, ABBA 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 instrumentation of Phil Spector and the melodies of the Beach Boys. 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“, 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 and Saturday Night Live on 15 November 1975. The promotional video was directed by Lasse Hallström and released in the same year, along with the single. The video and three others (for “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do“, “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 on 8 October 2009, on the AbbaVEVO channel, and has 88 million views as of February 2024. “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 and Switzerland. The song also became ABBA's second Top 20 hit in the United States, peaking at #15. 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 bassist Glen Matlock 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 American Bandstand 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 Saturday Night Live (SNL) on 15 November 1975. SNL head writer Michael O'Donoghue staged the performance on a set of the deck of the Titanic and continued the sketch while the band were performing, according to bandleader Paul Shaffer, “They kept on singing like the pros that they are.“ Re-recorded and enhanced for a new look SOS by Eddy's Vinyl Break EVB, the video is presented in SHQ by Square Disc. Enjoy.
