Social Distortion are suburban punk rockers who survived both their genre’s burnout and their leader’s drug addiction to find belated major-label success. The band was founded by Mike Ness and Dennis Danell(deceased), two Orange County schoolmates who had been inspired by the punk scene in nearby Los Angeles. They released their first single, "1945," in 1982. The following album, Mommy’s Little Monster, introduced Social Distortion’s rootsy punk, influenced equally by the Clash and the Rolling Stones. Song titles like "I Just Want to Give You the Creeps" demonstrated their rebels-without-a-cause attitude.

Ness in particular styled himself an outlaw. He was kicked out of his home at 15, subsequently living in shooting galleries, flophouses, and jail. His heroin addiction, fighting, and other self-destructive acts -- he fancied himself a sort of Sid Vicious -- split the band. Ness and Danell found a new rhythm section, however, and in 1985 Ness quit taking drugs and alcohol. A tour documentary recorded that year, Another State of Mind, captured Social Distortion still in its wild, sordid period.
On the country-influenced Prison Bound, Ness reflected on his past. Social Distortion returned to a more punk sound on their eponymous Epic debut, including a hard-rocking version of the Johnny Cash hit "Ring of Fire." The album sold more than 250,000 copies and landed the long-laboring underground band on MTV and a tour with Neil Young. Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell was another solid album with a country feel, but despite the alternative hit "Bad Luck," it failed to sell much better than its predecessor.

Formed 1979, Fullerton, California

Mike Ness (b. Apr. 3, 1962, Stoneham, Mass.), vocals, guitar
Dennis Danell (b. June 24, 1961, Tacoma, Wash., deceased- ?/00), guitar
Brent Liles, bass
Derrick O’Brien, drums, vocals
discography (kinda)

1983 -- Mommy’s Little Monster (13th Floor)
1988 -- ( - Liles; - O’Brien; + Chris Reece [b. July 25, San Francisco, Calif.], drums; + John Maurer [b. July 14, Lynnwood, Calif.], bass) Prison Bound (Restless)
1990 -- Social Distortion (Epic); Story of My Life... and Other Stories EP
1992 -- Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell
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