The SOS Band (Photo courtesy The Birchmere)
“Now, baby we can do it/Take the time, do it right/We can do it, baby/Do it tonight!”
If you know “Take Your Time (Do It Right),” that infectious post-disco tune from 1980, then you know The SOS Band, who will perform it and other hits for you in a show at The Birchmere on Monday, Feb. 19.
The S.O.S. Band was “born” when
In 1979, Tabu Records’ label head Clarence Avant, assigned Sigidi Abdullah, a songwriter and producer, to write and produce for The SOS Band. Sigidi changed the band’s name from Santa Monica to The SOS Band — at the time, the SOS stood for “Sounds of Success.”
The band at the time consisted of saxophonist Billy Ellis, guitarist Bruno Speight, keyboardist/vocalist Jason Bryant, saxophonist Willie “Sonny” Killibrew, bassist John Alexander Simpson, drummer James Earl Jones III, and lead vocalist Mary Davis. “Take Your Time (Do It Right), released in 1980, hit #1 on the Billboard R&B chart.
Watch The SOS Band perform “Take Your Time (Do It Right)” live for Soul Train on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvAVDaiK2L0]
The band’s debut LP, SOS, went gold, selling over 800,000 copies and holding the number two R&B spot for three weeks. Their second album, Too, went to #30 on the R&B chart in 1981. (FYI their third album was called III!) They continued to release albums with Tabu through 1991 with their eighth and final album, One of Many Nights.
The SOS Band released additional hits “Just Be Good to Me,” “Tell Me If You Still Care,” and “The Finest,” among others before Mary Davis left the band in 1987 for a solo career. But Mary formed a new SOS Band with Jason Bryant and Abdul Ra’oof in 1994. Join Mary and her bandmates at The Birchmere for a night of infectious R&B on Feb. 19!
The SOS Band
The Birchmere
Sunday, Feb. 19
Show @ 7:30pm
$55
All ages