"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". History "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 65 million views as of September 2021. The song is also featured in the concert film ABBA: The Movie (1977), "Good Night Oppy (2022)", and Live at Wembley Arena, released in 2014. Reception "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