Past longtime members have included guitarist Dennis Danell, bassist John Maurer and drummers Christopher Reece and Charlie Quintana.

Social Distortion rose to fame with their 1990 self-titled third album, which produced their well-known hit singles "Ball and Chain", "Story of My Life", and the cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire", and was certified gold by the RIAA.

Dubbed by Steven Blush as "the Rolling Stones of hardcore,"[6] Social Distortion is considered one of the best-selling and most influential punk rock bands,[7] with more than three million albums sold worldwide.

[9][10][11][12] Social Distortion was formed in 1978 by Mike Ness, inspired by the Sex Pistols and many other British punk bands as well as rock acts such as the Rolling Stones.

Aside from Ness on guitar and Casey Royer on drums, early members included Mark Garrett on bass and former Cal State Fullerton basketball player Tom Corvin on vocals.

[14] Social Distortion's first real show was in early 1979 at the Cuckoo's Nest nightclub on Placentia Avenue in Costa Mesa, California.

In 1982, the band—now consisting of Ness, Danell (who now played rhythm guitar), Brent Liles on bass, and Derek O'Brien on drums—embarked on their first bi-national tour of the US and Canada with fellow punk band Youth Brigade.

In 1983, Liles and O'Brien left the band in the middle of a show on New Year's Eve, and were replaced soon thereafter by Ness' high school friend John Maurer and a man named Bob Stubbs.

Although Prison Bound never charted on Billboard, the title track had received extensive airplay on the Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM.

Country legend Johnny Cash and the Rolling Stones' honky tonk style became more prominent influences on Social Distortion's music at this time.

The self-titled album, which was the band's first to chart on the Billboard 200,[19] fared better than both Mommy's Little Monster and Prison Bound, and is often credited as Social Distortion's best known work, with sales continuing 34 years after its release.

[1] During the break, Social Distortion released a compilation album, Mainliner: Wreckage From the Past (1995), featuring pre-Mommy's Little Monster cuts.

Social Distortion went on hiatus again as Ness went solo, releasing two albums, Cheating at Solitaire and Under the Influences, featuring song covers, in 1999.

Dennis Danell died on February 29, 2000, in his Newport Beach home after apparently suffering a brain aneurysm, leaving Ness as the only remaining original member of the band.

We apologise for any inconvenience to our Australian fans and hope to make it there as soon as possible.During this time, the band played with various other bands, including Versus the World, Tsar, Shooter Jennings, I Hate Kate, the Black Halos, Flogging Molly, Nine Black Alps, Supersuckers, Blackpool Lights, the Lost City Angels, the Street Dogs, the Backyard Babies, the Hangmen, the Eyeliners, Cooper, the Stun Gunz, Mest, Bullets and Octane, and the Dead 60s.

Original member Brent Liles, who played bass on Mommy's Little Monster, died on January 18, 2007, after being hit by a semi truck while riding a dirt bike in Placentia, California.

He says the self-produced, still-untitled album, which he hopes to release before the end of the year, will feature the classic Social Distortion sound – a combination of punk, rockabilly and country, presumably.

He explained, "It's funny – the record reminds me very much of Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, but also I'm bringing elements of early New York '70s punk, influences that maybe haven't come out as prominently in my writing in the past.

[37] While recording the album, Social Distortion announced in March 2010 that Adam Willard "...will no longer be able to continue on drums...", "...due to many foreseeable scheduling conflicts with his band Angels And Airwaves...".

[39] On April 1, 2010, it was reported on the official Social Distortion website that the band was taking a break from the studio to rehearse for their South American tour.

[42] On May 20, 2010, Social Distortion updated their Twitter with this post saying, "the album is tracked... finishing up writing and getting ready to head back into the studio to record vocals."

[44][45] At a show in Poughkeepsie, New York, on July 27, 2010, frontman Mike Ness revealed that the new Social Distortion album would be called Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes.

[49] Asked in a January 2011 interview with Performer Magazine if Social Distortion intended to record more albums for Epitaph, Ness replied, "I would suspect so, yes.

"[51] In his interview with Frank Turner, Ness stated that his goal was to make a new Social Distortion album in two years and wanted it to be different from Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes.

[10] In a March 2017 interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal, Ness revealed that the band has about 20 new songs in various stages of completion, and said that they range from garage punk to the gospel-inspired.

[55] In an interview with Phoenix New Times, which also took place in March 2017, Ness stated that his goal was to be in the studio by fall, and added, "I have to write the record of my career right now.

"[57] In an interview with The Orange County Register in November 2022, Ness mentioned that, with over 40-50 songs written, Social Distortion has been working on two new albums, with the first to be released in 2023 and the second to be recorded a year later, and added, "That would make people faint.

[60] On December 12, 2023, Social Distortion announced that they would be doing a co-headlining tour with Bad Religion in April and May 2024 which saw the band perform Mommy's Little Monster in its entirety to celebrate the album's belated 40th anniversary.

[61] When asked in the May 2024 issue of Guitar World about the status of his health and Social Distortion's upcoming plans, Ness said, "I was halfway through recording the next album when I got cancer, so that's had to go on hold while I've been working on getting better.

Social Distortion's music is influenced by bands and artists such as Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, Eddie Cochran, the Rolling Stones, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, New York Dolls, Dead Boys, and the Ramones.