"S.O.S." is a song Yū Aku

Yu Aku

, , was a Japanese lyricist, poet, novelist.He was famous for thousands of his lyrics he contributed to many recording artists since 1967. Mainly during the 1970s, more than 20 of them reached the number-one on the Japanese Oricon chart, and 7 singles sold more than a million copies...

 and Shunichi Tokura wrote for Japanese idol

Japanese idol

In Japanese culture, are media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g...

 duo Pink Lady

Pink Lady (band)

is a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda...

. It was released as the group's second single in November 1976, and became their first number-one hit on the Japanese Oricon singles chart in the following year.

"S.O.S." features Morse code

Morse code

Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...

 which stands for the song title at the opening of the song. Because its sound effect

Sound effect

For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...

 might be mistaken for genuine Morse code, intro of the track has been omitted occasionally when the song has played on the radio. The song has been one of favorites for both the duo and the fans, and it is also one of the essential songs performed in their concerts.

Reception

Led by commercial success of its predecessor "Pepper Keibu

Pepper Keibu

- Morning Musume version :A cover of "Pepper Keibu" was released by the idol pop group Morning Musume as a single on September 24, 2008 under the Zetima label to promote their upcoming ninth album, Cover You, a tribute to producer Yū Aku. The Single V DVD of the single was released on October 22,...

" which reached the number-4 on the Japanese Oricon chart, "S.O.S" climbed the top of the country's hit parade three months after its release. A single remained on the chart for 38 weeks, selling approximately 650,000 copies. According to the record label Victor, "S.O.S." has sold in excess of 1.2 million units to date.

Accoring to Oricon

Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 it was the 8th best selling single from 1977.

The song is used as background music in one episode of the TV anime series His and Her Circumstances

Kare Kano

, is a manga series by Masami Tsuda. It was serialized in LaLa from 1996 to 2005 and collected in 21 tankōbon volumes by Hakusensha. It depicts the romance between "perfect" student Yukino Miyazawa and her academic rival Soichiro Arima, and the relationships of several of their friends.The series...

, as a song the female lead, Yukino Miyazawa, can't get out of her head.

Track listing (7" vinyl)

All tracks composed by Shunichi Tokura, lyrics written by Yū Aku.

1. "S.O.S." 2:45
2. "" 3:02

Chart positions

Charts (1976-77)	Peak position
Japanese Oricon Singles Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...	1