18 and Life

For the Canadian television series with a similar name, see 18 to Life
"18 and Life"
Single by Skid Row
from the album Skid Row
Released 1989
Recorded 1988
Genre Heavy metal
Length 3:51
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Rachel Bolan, Dave Sabo
Producer Michael Wagener
Certification Gold
Skid Row singles chronology
"Youth Gone Wild"
(1989)		 "18 and Life"
(1989)		 "I Remember You"
(1989)

"18 and Life" is the second single from Skid Row's 1989 eponymous debut album.

The song was to be the band's biggest hit, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, but only reaching No. 11 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart,[1] which was previously their biggest market. It was named the 60th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.[2] It was certified Gold on September 13, 1989, when it sold 500,000 copies.[3] The song also charted at No. 12 on the UK Singles chart[4]. This song also appears on Skid Row's greatest hits compilation, 40 Seasons: The Best of Skid Row. Then lead singer of Skid Row, Sebastian Bach, released a live version of this on his solo album Bring 'Em Bach Alive!. It is also a playable song on the video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.

Contents

Background and content

The song was written by guitarist Dave Sabo after he read a newspaper article about an 18 year old named Ricky who was sentenced to life imprisonment for accidentally shooting his friend.

Chart performances

Chart Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 4
US Mainstream Rock Tracks 11

See also

References

  1. ^ "AllMusic Billboard singles". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r18136/charts-awards/billboard-single. Retrieved February 7, 2009. 
  2. ^ "spreadit.org music". http://music.spreadit.org/vh1-top-100-hard-rock-songs/. Retrieved February 7, 2009. 
  3. ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=18%20and%20life&artist=skid%20row&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved February 7, 2009. 
  4. ^ "Skid Row chart stats". http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=5641. 
Skid Row
Dave "The Snake" Sabo · Rachel Bolan · Scotti Hill · Johnny Solinger · Rob Hammersmith
Jim Yuhas · John Ratkowski Jr. · Matt Fallon · Sebastian Bach · Rob Affuso · Charlie Mills · Phil Varone · Timothy DiDuro · Dave Gara
Studio albums
EP's and Live albums
Compilations
Videos
Singles
"Youth Gone Wild" · "18 and Life" · "I Remember You" · "Monkey Business" · "Slave to the Grind" · "Wasted Time" · "In a Darkened Room" · "Youth Gone Wild / Delivering the Goods" · "My Enemy" · "Breakin' Down" · "Into Another" · "I Remember You Two" · "Ghost" · "Shut Up Baby, I Love You" · "Strength"
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