S.O.S is an instrumental jazz tune written by Wes Montgomery. It was first released in 1962 on the live album Full House, recorded on June 25, 1962 at Tsubo in Berkeley, California. The personnel on the date included Wes Montgomery on guitar, Johnny Griffin on tenor sax, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums. The track runs about 4:57 on the original album; later reissues feature alternate takes such as Take 3 and Take 2. Full House, released by Riverside, sits in the hard bop and soul jazz area and showcases Montgomery's distinctive guitar style, notably his octaves and thumb plucking technique. S.O.S. is a standout example of Montgomery's early 60s live work, which helped bridge to his later pop oriented instrumental recordings.
