"Just Be Good to Me" by The S.O.S. Band

Song#:  1581
Date:  08/27/1983
Debut:  89
Peak:  55
Weeks:  14
Genre:  R&B



Pop Bits:  This Atlanta band managed to hit it big in 1980 with their very first single "Take Your Time (Do It Right)." The song would hit #1 at R&B and Dance while reaching #3 at Pop. That success made their debut album, S.O.S., a gold seller (#2 R&B/#12 Pop). Unfortunately, getting a follow-up hit proved to be difficult for them. Over the course of two more albums, the band was unable to replicate the success with their best single effort being 1981's "Do It Now" (#15 R&B). They needed a hit asap or risk falling into oblivion. Luckily for them, their label brought on a new songwriting/production team to help them. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis wrote and produced three tunes for S.O.S.'s fourth album On the Rise. The updated sound breathed life into the band's career and listeners found themselves hooked on this first single, which bounded to #2 on the R&B chart (#3 Dance). It also gave them their first Pop entry since their debut single. Although it wouldn't be a major hit at Pop, the song's success at R&B and Dance helped return the band to gold status.

ReduxReview:  I think it is safe to say that this band lucked out when they got Jam and Lewis on board. The timing was perfect and it set Jam and Lewis' career in motion. Hearing this now, you can definitely hear shades of things that Jam and Lewis would later use for artists like Janet Jackson. This is pretty much where it all started and it worked very well for S.O.S. I wasn't a fan of "Take Your Time," so this one sounds leaps and bounds better to me. Pop, as usual, was still behind the times when it came to R&B and that is too bad because many of us missed out on this tasty track at the time.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  The three songs that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis did for The S.O.S. Band were their first hired sessions as writers/producers. The pair were originally part of the Prince-developed R&B/funk band The Time. That band's first two albums were mainly written/produced/guided by Prince, but in 1982, Jam and Lewis learned enough along the way to form their own production team called Flyte Time. The S.O.S. Band would be their first clients. The duo found time on the calendar to work with the band when on a short break from The Time's tour with Prince. Unfortunately (or fortunately is probably more accurate), Jam and Lewis got snowed in during the sessions and could not make it back in time to rejoin the tour. The missed show led to Prince dismissing the pair from The Time. That could have been a disaster for them, but then this song took off and it led to more work. Before the decade would end, Jam and Lewis would become one of the most successful writing/production teams of the era. In 1987, they would win the Grammy for Producer of the Year.

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