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Social Distortion was formed in Fullerton, California USA, in the summer
of 1978 by singer+guitarist & songwriter Mike Ness who recruited guitarist
Rikk Agnew, bassist Frank Agnew and drummer Casey Royer.
They soon started performing live in Los Angeles-area Punk scene and
in 1981 the quartet released their first single titled "Mainliner"
on the independent label, Posh Boy.
Two years later, with a revamped line-up, Mike Ness on vocals, Dennis
Danell on guitar, Brent Liles on bass and Derek O'Brien on drums, Social
Distortion recorded its official debut full-length disc, "Mommy's
Little Monster", earning great critical acclaim in the national Punk
circles; but the Punk-Rock group nearly broke-up when Ness descended into
heroin addiction and parted ways with the rhythm section of Liles and
O'Brien.
The singer cleaned up his act and five years later regrouped Social Distortion
with John Maurer on bass and Chris Reece on drums, the revitalized band
released "Prison Bound".
In 1990, they released their first album on Epic Records, the self-titled
major label debut cracked The Billboard Top 200 chart, it contained "Let
It Be Me" and "Ball And Chain", both the tracks climbed
The Modern Rock chart reaching the #11 and #13 spots respectively; the
cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire" entered the top 30 in
the same chart.
The group's star continued to rise and the follow-up to their eponymous
LP peaked at #76 on The Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, "Somewhere
Between Heaven And Hell", which was issued in 1992, generated three
Modern Rock top 20 hits, including the #2 "Bad Luck", the #11
"Cold Feelings" and "When She Begins".
Social Distortion took an extended hiatus following the release of its
fourth album and returned to the studios in the fall of 1995 to record
"White Light White Heat White Trash", Chuck Biscuits joined
the band as the new drummer at that time; the record peaked at #27 on
Billboard's Top 200 list, reaching the highest position in the band's
history, it included "I Was Wrong" which rose to the #4 slot
on The Modern Rock Tracks chart plus "When The Angels Sing"
which made top 40 in the same chart. The quartet became part of the 1997's
Vans Warped summer tour sharing the stage with the likes of Pennywise,
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
and Helmet.
In the spring of 1998, Social Distortion recorded three nights at the
Roxy and release it as an album on Time Bomb Recordings; the set, the
first for the new label, reached #121 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Mike Ness during 1999 recorded two solo-albums, "Cheating At Solitaire"
and a collection of cover songs.
On February 29, 2000 Dennis Danell, died from a brain aneurysm at the
age of 38.
By the end of 2000 frontman Mike Ness announced the new Social Distortion's
line-up that consited of guitarist Johnny Wickersham, bassist John Maurer
and drummer Charlie Quintana who took the place of Biscuits.
The foursome released in September of 2004 the long-awaited follow-up
to "White Light White Heat White Trash", the band's sixth album,
"Sex, Love And Rock 'n' Roll" debuted at #31 in U.S. Top 200
chart and the lead single, "Reach For The Sky ", reached the
#27 position on The Modern Rock chart.
2005 saw the band contribute the cover of The Clash's "Death Or Glory",
to the soundtrack of the movie "Lords Of Dogtown"; the film
follows the surf and skateboarding trends that originated in Venice, California,
during the '70s.
The first ever career spanning collection from Social Distortion hits
stores on June 26; "Far Behind" is the hard charging new song
recorded just for this "Greatest Hits".
Social Distortion biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com
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