18 and Life

"18 and Life" is a song by American heavy metal band Skid Row. It was released in June 1989 as the second single from their self titled debut album. The song is the band's biggest hit, reaching No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 11 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[1] 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]

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
ReleasedJune 16, 1989
Recorded1988
GenreGlam metal, Hard rock
Length3:51
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Rachel Bolan, Dave Sabo
Producer(s)Michael Wagener
Skid Row singles chronology
"Youth Gone Wild"
(1989)		 "18 and Life"
(1989)		 "I Remember You"
(1989)
Music video
"18 and Life" on YouTube

In April 2015, a newly re-recorded version with their new singer Tony Harnell was released as a free download on the band's website which is the only studio recording the band has released to feature Harnell on vocals.

Theme

The title of the song alludes to its subject, 18-year-old Ricky, receiving a sentence of life imprisonment for the murder of another teenager.[5] The song paints Ricky's youth as his undoing. Guitarist Dave Sabo got the idea from a newspaper article about an 18-year-old named Ricky who was sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting and killing his friend with a gun he thought was not loaded. The music video also alludes to this. MTV refused to air the video due to that scene.

Chart performances

See also

References
  1. "AllMusic Billboard singles". Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  2. "spreadit.org music". Archived from the original on January 4, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  3. "RIAA Gold & Platinum database". Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  4. "Skid Row The Official Charts Company". Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  5. Wilbur R. Miller, The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America: An Encyclopedia (2012), p. 1172.
  6. "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada: Top Singles". RPM. Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  7. "Charts.nz – Skid Row – 18 and Life". Top 40 Singles.
  8. "Swedishcharts.com – Skid Row – 18 and Life". Singles Top 100.
  9. "The Official Charts Company - Skid Row". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  10. "allmusic ((( Skid Row > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  11. "Top Singles - Volume 51, No. 8, December 23, 1989". RPM. December 23, 1999. Archived from the original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  12. "1989 The Year in Music: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. 101 (51): Y-22. December 23, 1989.
  13. "Billboard Top 100 - 1989". Retrieved October 3, 2016.
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