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S.O.S. (Too Bad)

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"S.O.S. (Too Bad)"
Single by Aerosmith
from the album Get Your Wings
B-side"Lord of the Thighs"
ReleasedFebruary 20, 1975 (1975-02-20)
StudioRecord Plant (New York City)
GenreProto-punk[1]
Length2:51
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Steven Tyler
Producer(s)Jack Douglas
Aerosmith singles chronology
"Train Kept A-Rollin'"
(1974)
"S.O.S. (Too Bad)"
(1975)
"Sweet Emotion"
(1975)

"S.O.S. (Too Bad)" is a song by American rock band Aerosmith. It was released in 1975 as the third single from their second album, Get Your Wings (1974).

Background

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Written by Steven Tyler, it is a hard rocking song focusing on sex and sleaze, with a chorus of "I'm a bad, lonely school boy, and I'm a rat, and it's too bad, can't get me none of that." The song starts off with a fast drum beat and basic guitar riff, then slows down, and builds up once again, with Steven Tyler's rapid-fire, fierce lyrics accompanying. The song's lyrical content and musical styles are in the vein of "blooze", a grittier hard rock version of blues music, often with lyrics focused on sex, drugs, and urban life.

"S.O.S. (Too Bad") has been described as a proto-punk song, with numerous elements presaging the punk rock explosion, including dark lyrical themes.[1]

Record World said "Here comes [Aerosmith's] hard rock supreme to the rescue."[2]

The song has remained a fan favorite and has been a staple in the setlists on Aerosmith's most recent tours, the Rockin' the Joint Tour and the Route of All Evil Tour.

References

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  1. ^ a b Aerosmith. p. 86. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. March 8, 1975. p. 26. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
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