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39-555: The S.O.S. Band (sometimes written as S.O.S. 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 ", and " The Finest ". The Atlanta, Georgia, band was started in 1977, when keyboardist / vocalist Jason Bryant, saxophonists Billy Ellis and Willie "Sonny" Killebrew, guitarist Bruno Speight, bassist John Alexander Simpson, drummer James Earl Jones III, and lead vocalist Mary Davis formed

78-464: A Boy "(2006). Rico Love co-wrote Usher's " Throwback " (2005), Keri Hilson's " Energy "(2008), Pleasure P 's " Boyfriend #2 "(2008). The-Dream wrote Rihanna 's " Umbrella "(2007), J. Holiday 's " Bed " and Usher's " Moving Mountains " and " Trading Places "(2008). Ne-Yo wrote Mario's " Let Me Love You ", Rihanna's " Take a Bow " and " Unfaithful ", Beyoncé's " Irreplaceable "(2006) and “ Me & U ”(2006) by Cassie. According to Billboard ,

117-583: A collaboration between both acts, which became the longest-running No. 1 hit in Hot 100 history. Carey also released a remix of her 1995 single " Fantasy ", with Ol' Dirty Bastard as a feature, a collaboration format that was unheard of at this point. Carey, Boyz II Men and TLC released albums in 1994 and 1995— Daydream . In the late 1990s, neo soul , which added 1970s soul influences to the hip hop soul blend, arose, led by artists such as Erykah Badu , Lauryn Hill and Maxwell . Hill and Missy Elliott further blurred

156-492: A distinctive record production style and a smooth, lush style of vocal arrangement. Electronic influences and the use of hip hop or dance -inspired beats are typical, although the roughness and grit inherent in hip hop may be reduced and smoothed out. Contemporary R&B vocalists often use melisma , and since the mid-1980s, R&B rhythms have been combined with elements of hip hop culture and music, pop culture and pop music. According to Geoffrey Himes speaking in 1989,

195-459: A group called Sounds of Santa Monica that played at Atlanta nightclub the Regal Room. Their manager (Bunnie Jackson-Ransom) sent a demo to Clarence Avant, head of Tabu Records. After signing the band to Tabu, Avant suggested that the band work with songwriter/producer Sigidi Abdullah. Abdullah was curious as to why an Atlanta-based band named itself Santa Monica. Keyboardist Jason Bryant replied that

234-503: A much-needed shot in the arm. They brought Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal (the original Time lead vocalist ) to the label and both did well; O'Neal released his self-titled studio album in 1985, and Cherrelle's Fragile hit the American R&;B charts in 1984. The SOS Band had more hits with "Just The Way You Like It" in 1984 and "Sands of Time" in 1986, the album of which was certified gold on April 6, 1987. So influential

273-507: Is far more diverse and incorporates more sonic elements than before, as it expands its appeal and commercial viability. Trap music 's influence maintained a strong presence on the music charts with R&B singer Beyoncé 's songs " Drunk in Love ", " Flawless " and " 7/11 ", Bryson Tiller 's debut studio album, Trapsoul and Mary J. Blige 's " Thick of It ". Latin R&;B is gaining ground since

312-649: The "Billboard" 200 . His debut single " Run It! " peaked atop on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and the US Radio Songs . During this time also came the emergence of R&B songwriters . Bryan-Michael Cox co-wrote Usher's " Burn " and " Confessions Part II "(2005), Mariah Carey's " Shake It Off " and " Don't Forget About Us " (2006), and Chris Brown's " Say Goodbye "(2006). Keri Hilson would co-write songs Mary J. Blige 's " Take Me as I Am " (2006), Omarion's " Ice Box " (2006), and Ciara's " Like

351-420: The Billboard Hot 100 were African-American recording artists and accounted for 80% of the number-one R&B hits that year. Along with Usher's streak of singles, Top 40 radio and both pop and R&B charts were topped by Outkast 's " Hey Ya! ", Snoop Dogg 's " Drop It Like It's Hot ", Terror Squad 's " Lean Back " and Ciara 's " Goodies ". Chris Molanphy of " The Village Voice " later remarked that "by

390-588: The progressive soul movement of the early 1970s "expanded the musical and lyrical boundaries of [R&B] in ways that haven't been equaled since". This movement was led by soul singer-songwriter/producers such as Curtis Mayfield , Marvin Gaye , and Stevie Wonder . Norman Whitfield 's productions at Motown , the record label of Gaye, were also pioneering for setting the soul vocals and simple hooks of earlier rhythm and blues records against strong backbeats , vocal harmonies, and orchestral sounds, all of which thickened

429-439: The texture of the music. Gaye's own music on albums such as What's Going On (1971) incorporated jazz influences that led the genre into a looser musical direction. The nearest precursor to contemporary R&B came at the end of the disco era in the late 1970s, when Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones added more electronic elements to the sound of the time, creating a smoother dancefloor-friendly style. The first result

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468-529: The Japanese group bought CBS Records. During this period, Tabu released Diamonds in the Raw (1989) by the S.O.S. Band, which performed disappointingly. In 1991, Alexander O'Neal's All True Man was the last album Tabu Records released under the new Sony regime. In 1991, the label resurfaced under PolyGram 's A&M Records , who distributed it from 1991 until 1993, releasing four albums and about 20 singles. Avant

507-544: The Rise became their second gold album, hitting number seven R&B in the summer of 1983. The formula continued to work: Just the Way You Like It (including the number six R&B single "Just the Way You Like It") went to number six R&B in the fall of 1984 and Sands of Time (including the number two R&B hit "The Finest") went gold and hit number four R&B in the spring of 1986. Many of these releases, as well as

546-483: The S.O.S. Band (" Take Your Time (Do It Right) ," 1980) Jazz singer Sharon Ridley (Full Moon), pianist Manfredo Fest. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were hired to produce the S.O.S. Band 's fourth studio album for Tabu, On the Rise (1983), which was certified gold on January 16, 1984. While recording in S.O.S.'s home stomping grounds in Atlanta, Georgia , on March 24, 1983, a freak snowstorm hit, grounding all flights from

585-465: The US and over 20   million copies worldwide. Confessions had four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number one singles—" Yeah! ", " Burn ", " Confessions Part II " and " My Boo ". It won three Grammy Awards in 2005, including Best Contemporary R&B Album , Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "My Boo" and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Yeah!" In 2004, all 12 songs that topped

624-554: The band had an enjoyable concert in Santa Monica , California . Abdullah then came up with a new band name, The S.O.S. Band, with S.O.S. standing for "Sounds of Success". Abdullah produced and co-wrote " Take Your Time (Do It Right) " – which went platinum – with Harold Clayton, the song parking at number one R&B for five weeks and peaking at number three pop on Billboard's charts in spring 1980. Their eponymous debut album, S.O.S. , went gold, selling over 800,000 copies and holding

663-613: The city. The duo was scheduled to perform as a part of the Time in San Antonio at the Hemisfair Arena that night but couldn't make it. Subsequently, Prince , who owned and managed the Time, fired them on April 18, 1983. The duo stayed in Los Angeles and became songwriter-producers for artists like New Edition, Boyz II Men and most notably, Janet Jackson. Working with Jam and Lewis gave Tabu

702-474: The early 2000s, urban music "was" pop music." Between 2005 and 2009 Raymond, Knowles and Keys released albums— B'Day , Here I Stand , I Am... Sasha Fierce and The Element of Freedom . Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and earned ten Grammy Award nominations. The second single " We Belong Together " topped the Hot 100 charts for 14 weeks, and

741-588: The early 2000s, which featured massive crossover success on the Billboard charts by R&B and hip hop artists. In 2001, Alicia Keys released " Fallin' " as her debut single, peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 , Mainstream Top 40 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. It won three Grammy Awards in 2002, including Song of the Year , Best R&B Song , and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance . It

780-509: The fall of 1982 while the album went to number 27 R&B in late 1982. Jam and Lewis took over the production duties on their fourth album, On the Rise , scoring with the number two hit " Just Be Good to Me " (A song that would later be featured as the theme to Richard Pryor 's stand-up film, " Here and Now ", and again in Grand Theft Auto IV 's in-game radio, The Vibe 98.8) and the number five ballad " Tell Me If You Still Care ". On

819-508: The founder members, died during the recording of Diamonds in the Raw . The album reached number 43 on the R&B chart. One of Many Nights , with lead vocalist Chandra Currelley and produced by Curtis Williams, followed in 1991. It failed to chart. Davis subsequently rejoined the band, performing on tours. In 2021 Mary Davis took a leave of absence from the group after suffering a stroke. However, she has since returned to perform on select dates. In October 2021, she joined original members of

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858-833: The genre. The use of effects such as Auto-Tune and new computerized synths have given R&B a more futuristic feel while still attempting to incorporate many of the genre's common themes such as love and relationships. According to Christgau in 2017, "almost all R&B goes for voice-plus-sound rather than voice-plus-song, with the sound ranging from precision track-and-hook to idiosyncratic atmospherics." Early 2010s artists Usher and Chris Brown began embracing new electronic influences while still keeping R&B's original feel. Usher's " OMG " and " DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love ", and Chris Brown's " Yeah 3x " are all EDM-oriented. Singers Miguel , John Legend and Jeremih are popular in mainstream hip hop for many collaborations with rappers such as Wale , Rick Ross and J. Cole . Today's R&B

897-434: The group, along with more recent members, for a performance at a Birthday celebration for original drummer James Earl Jones III. All albums and singles listed below were issued on Tabu Records . Contemporary R%26B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B ) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop , soul , funk , hip hop , and electronic music . The genre features

936-535: The line between R&B and hip hop by recording both styles. Beginning in 1995, the Grammy Awards enacted the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album , with II by Boyz II Men becoming the first recipient. The award was later received by TLC for CrazySexyCool in 1996, Tony Rich for Words in 1997, Erykah Badu for Baduizm in 1998 and Lauryn Hill for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1999. In 1994

975-444: The most commercially successful R&B acts of the decade were Usher , Alicia Keys , Beyoncé , Mariah Carey , Rihanna , Chris Brown , Ne-Yo and Akon . Continuing from the 1990s and 2000s, R&B, like many other genres, drew influences from the technical innovations of the time and began to incorporate more electronic and machine-made sounds and instruments, this evolving style called Electro-R&B slowly began dominating

1014-405: The number two R&B spot for three weeks. While the band was on its world tour, trumpeter/vocalist/percussionist Abdul Ra'oof joined them. Their second album, Too , went to number 30 R&B in the summer of 1981. On the band's third album, III , they worked with producer Leon Sylvers III and writers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis . Their breaking single, " High Hopes ", hit number 25 R&B in

1053-780: The singer Aaliyah drop her debut album and in 1996 she released her second album called "One In A Million" with different sounds and produced by Missy Elliot and Timbaland, unknown at that moment. At the end of 1999, Billboard magazine ranked Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson as the first and second most successful artists of the 1990s. Simultaneously, in the second half of the 1990s, The Neptunes and Timbaland set influential precedence on contemporary R&B and hip hop music. Writing in 2003, music critic Robert Christgau describes modern R&B as being "about texture, mood, feel—vocal and instrumental and rhythmic, articulated as they're smooshed together". Following periods of fluctuating success, urban music attained commercial dominance during

1092-702: The sound of early releases, helped to popularize the now-classic sound of the TR-808 Roland drum machine. In late 1986, vocalist Mary Davis left the S.O.S. Band to pursue a solo career. In 1987, the band contributed a song called "It's Time to Move" to the Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol soundtrack. The band released their seventh album in 1989. For Diamonds in the Raw the lead vocalists were Chandra Currelley and Fredi Grace, and three producers were used (Curtis Williams, Eban Kelly & Jimi Randolph, Jason Bryant, and Sigidi). Saxophonist Billy Ellis, also one of

1131-597: The wave of artists began mixing trap with that sound in the middle of this decade. Spanish-language singles by Alex Rose, Rauw Alejandro and Paloma Mami , which borrow shrewdly from R&B, are captivating a global audience. In Latin America, the genre became popular with Alex Rose's "Toda", and Sech 's " Otro Trago ". Tabu Records Avant founded the label after Sussex Records went out of business in June 1975. Tabu Record's flagship release, Stormin' by Brainstorm ,

1170-464: Was Off the Wall (1979), which—according to Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic —"was a visionary album, that found a way to break disco wide open into a new world where the beat was undeniable, but not the primary focus" and "was part of a colorful tapestry of lush ballads and strings, smooth soul and pop, soft rock, and alluring funk". Richard J. Ripani wrote that Janet Jackson 's Control (1986)

1209-431: Was "important to the development of R&B for several reasons", as she and her producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis , "crafted a new sound that fuses the rhythmic elements of funk and disco, along with heavy doses of synthesizers, percussion, sound effects, and a rap music sensibility." Ripani wrote that "the success of "Control" led to the incorporation of stylistic traits of rap over the next few years, and Janet Jackson

The S.O.S. Band - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-563: Was absorbed into A&M Records . In 2002, Avant brought Tabu Records to EMI 's reissue label the Right Stuff, which began to re-release Tabu Record's catalogue. In 2012, Demon Music Group announced it acquired the licensing rights of the Tabu Records catalogue. The company announced the news on Facebook on Valentine's Day 2013 and released a trailer of the label's return on YouTube . The licensing agreements come with reissues of

1287-622: Was also nominated for Record of the Year . Beyoncé 's solo studio debut album Dangerously in Love (2003) has sold over 5   million copies in the United States and earned five Grammy Awards . Usher 's Confessions (2004) sold 1.1   million copies in its first week and over 8   million copies in 2004, since then it has been certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and, As of 2016, has sold over 10   million copies in

1326-586: Was created by Mary J. Blige and producer Sean Combs . During the mid-1990s, Whitney Houston 's The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album eventually sold over 45 million copies worldwide becoming the best-selling soundtrack of all time. Janet Jackson 's self-titled fifth studio album Janet (1993), which came after her multimillion-dollar contract with Virgin Records , sold over 14 million copies worldwide. Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey recorded several Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, including " One Sweet Day ",

1365-560: Was hired to run Motown (another PolyGram label), and, in August 1993, he brought Tabu Records under its aegis. It released collections by the S.O.S. Band, Alexander O'Neal and Cherelle, while signing other artists such as Lucky Dube and Identity Crisis . However, this reappearance was short-lived as well. In 1999, Seagram bought PolyGram and merged it with the MCA family of labels, which became Universal Music Group . Shortly after, Tabu Records

1404-577: Was later hailed "song of the decade" and won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 2006. The mid-2000s came with the emergence of new R&B acts Ashanti , Keyshia Cole and Akon . Ashanti's eponymous debut album topped both US Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It earned her three Grammy nominations winning one for the Best Contemporary R&;B Album . R&B newcomer Chris Brown released his self-titled album in 2005 which debuted at number two on

1443-521: Was released in 1977. Tabu Records had a short-lived distribution pact with RCA , which lasted a year before moving to CBS Records . The label focused on R&B and funk but expanded into other genres such as jazz and disco. Its artists included the Argentine composer and pianist Lalo Schifrin , who composed and scored theme songs for numerous television series, including Mission: Impossible , and released two projects on Tabu ("No One Home", 1979) and

1482-596: Was the sound that Robert Palmer covered Cherrelle's " I Didn't Mean to Turn You On " in 1986, and Beats International covered the S.O.S. Band's "Just Be Good to Me" in 1990. In 1985, Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal dueted on " Saturday Love ," which was a hit in the UK but caught on later with American radio . Other acts like Kid Fire and Demetrius Perry recorded on this label. Tabu Records, in its deal with CBS, became associated with Sony Music Entertainment in November 1987 when

1521-431: Was to continue to be one of the leaders in that development." That same year, Teddy Riley began producing R&B recordings that included hip hop influences. This combination of R&B style and hip hop rhythms was termed " new jack swing " and was applied to artists such as Keith Sweat , Bobby Brown , Johnny Kemp , and Bell Biv DeVoe . Using hip hop -inspired backing tracks, a new genre labeled " hip hop soul "

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