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Cover of Social Distortion by Social Distortion
Cover: Social Distortion

Song · Social Distortion

“Ball and Chain” by Social Distortion

From the album Social Distortion (1990)

“Ball and Chain” by Social Distortion appears on 71 radio countdowns from 24 stations between 1990 and 2026. It was first released in 1990 on the album Social Distortion. Its best result is #2 on the CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #26 alternative song of 1990, #106 alternative song of all time and #314 of the '90s.

71countdowns
24stations
#2best position
0#1 finishes
9top 10 finishes
1990–2026years charted

Watch

Social Distortion - Ball And Chain

Video from YouTube (SocialDistortionVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Mike Ness wrote "Ball and Chain" in 1987, and it finally landed on Social Distortion's self-titled album in 1990: Southern California punk rock slowed to a heavy-hearted trudge, with a folk song beating under the leather. Ness has called it a hard-luck story and a kind of folk prayer, and he sings it like one, part lament and part plea, his voice roughed up and aching.

Ness and Dennis Danell lock their guitars into a slow, grinding roll, John Maurer holds down the bass and adds backing vocals, and Christopher Reece keeps the drums steady and unhurried. Dave Jerden produced, recorded and mixed it, giving the band a big, clean punch without sanding off the grit. Tony van den Ende directed the video, and the song turned up again on Live at the Roxy in 1998.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 8 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990 107
1990 31 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1990 91
1990 26 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1990 105
2005 90 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2005 101

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 285 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 211 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1992 267 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 202 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 296 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 141 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 105 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 136 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 200 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 131 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 58 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 112 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 135 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 101 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 338 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 269 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 552 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 155 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 122 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 128 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 122 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 130 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 122 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 1905 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 473 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 90 K-Rock K-Rock Top 92 Party Songs of All-Time (2002) 92
2002 133 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 122 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 537 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 153 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 122 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 80 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 160 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 210 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 122 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 300 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 64 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 136 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 110 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 296 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 5 The Edge KEDJ Top 103 on Independent Radio 103
2006 71 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 46 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 125 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 136 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 69 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 2 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 626 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 54 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 2 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 129 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 3 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 3 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 3 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 4 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 4 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2016 428 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2020 224 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 460 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 846 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 266 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 252 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 98 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2022 292 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 367 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 301 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2026 298 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound 1055

Also listed as: Ball & Chain; Ball And Chain.

Charting alongside it in 1990

Best songs of 1990 →
  1. 1Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O'Connor
  2. 2The Only One I KnowThe Charlatans
  3. 3Blue Sky MineMidnight Oil
  4. 4Enjoy the SilenceDepeche Mode
  5. 5Here's Where The Story EndsThe Sundays
  6. 6The Emperor's New ClothesSinéad O'Connor

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