Robbed hit of the week 11/24/14 - The S.O.S. Band's "The Finest"...

The S.O.S. Band - "The Finest"
from the album Sands Of Time (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #44

This week's "robbed hit" comes from the R&B/postdisco group the S.O.S. Band, who also knocked on top-40's door in America in 1983 with "Just Be Good To Me". In 1986 they recorded their third album with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (the Flyte Tyme guys behind Janet Jackson), Sands Of Time. The first single from the project, "The Finest", was written by the guys, and was white-hot on R&B radio...

Although "The Finest" climbed all the way to #2 on the R&B chart in Billboard, on the pop side the single stalled out at #44. The remix peaked at #8 on the dance club play chart as well. Internationally, the record did much better, becoming their second top-20 hit in England (after "Just Be Good To Me"), and landed in the top-40 in Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and New Zealand.

After lead singer Mary Davis left the Band in 1987, Chandra Currelley came on board, and they scored one more R&B top-ten hit in 1989 with "I'm Still Missing Your Love".  But the new-jack swing fad didn't suit their sound, and after another album with the #12 R&B hit "Sometimes I Wonder", Currelley left (she's starred in all of Tyler Perry's movies) and Davis returned, where they are on the oldies tour circuit...

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British producer Richard X mashed up "The Finest" with the Human League's "Things That Dreams Are Made Of" with Kelis ("Milkshake" Kelis) on vocals for "Finest Dreams", which hit #8 on the British singles chart in 2003..

Finally, here's the S.O.S. Band appearing on Soul Train...