Song · Billy Idol
“Sweet Sixteen” by Billy Idol
From the album Whiplash Smile (1986)
“Sweet Sixteen” by Billy Idol appears on 1 radio countdown from 1 station in 2002. It was first released in 1986 on the album Whiplash Smile. Its best result is #1963 on the Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #7,608 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Billy Idol - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Sweet Sixteen" was the third single from Whiplash Smile, Billy Idol's 1986 album and his third in the studio, but the song went back further: the English rock singer wrote it while making Rebel Yell in 1983, after catching an episode of Leonard Nimoy's In Search of... about Coral Castle. That's the Florida landmark Edward Leedskalnin, a Latvian emigrant, built single-handed for the fiancée who broke off their engagement back home, the girl he called his Sweet Sixteen.
In his 2014 autobiography Idol called it a heartfelt lament: the castle was Leedskalnin's memorial to a lost love, and the song was Idol's to the girlfriend he had at the time. Keith Forsey produced and plays drums and keyboards, Steve Stevens and Idol play guitar, Marcus Miller bass. It climbed to 20 in America and 17 in Britain.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1963 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Sweet Sixteen" by Billy Idol.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.