It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on September 13, 1989, when it sold 500,000 copies.

In April 2015, Skid Row released a new version of the song with then-lead vocalist Tony Harnell.

[3][4][5] The title of the song alludes to its subject, 18-year-old Ricky, receiving a sentence of life imprisonment for the murder of another teen.

It was believed for a long time that guitarist Dave Sabo got the idea from a newspaper article about an 18-year-old named Ricky who was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his friend with a gun that, due to alcohol, he most likely guessed was not loaded.

However, in an interview with the Professor of Rock,[7] Sabo states that the original inspiration was his brother Rick's life after coming home from Vietnam.