Song:Take Your Time (Do It Right)
Album:Best Of The S.O.S Band
The S.O.S. Band scored a top five pop hit with their 1980 debut single Take Your Time (Do it Right). They had a good run on the R & B charts in the 80s. The band was called Santa Monica when they formed in Atlanta in 1977. They were lead singer Mary Davis, Billy Ellis and Willie "Sonny" Killebrew on saxes, Jason Bryant on keyboards, Bruno Speight on guitar, John Alexander Simpson on bass and James Earl Jones III on drums. Their manager sent a demo to Tabu Records owner Clarence Avant and he signed them. He assigned them to producer Sigidi Abdullah. He was an arranger at Blue Note Records in the 70s working with Donald Byrd and others. He also produced Maxine Nightingale, Tata Vega and Freda Payne. He wanted to know why the band was called Santa Monica. Bryant told him they had a great gig there. So Abdullah named them The S.O.S. Band (Sounds Of Success). Take Your Time (Do It Right) was the first single. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the R & B chart. Abdullah wrote the song with frequent songwriting partner Harold Clayton. That was their biggest hit but they continued to have success on the R & B charts with hits like Just Be Good To Me and The Finest. As of the 1983 album On The Rise, they were produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. Mary Davis left for a solo career in 1987 and was replaced by Chandra Currelley. When her solo career didn't pan out, Mary returned in 1994. I'm not sure if they are still active. They don't seem to have a website. Here's The S.O.S. Band performing Take Your Time (Do It Right) on Soul Train 1980.
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