Ain't It Fun (Dead Boys song) explained

Ain't It Fun
Artist:Dead Boys
Album:We Have Come for Your Children
Released:June 1978
Genre:Punk rock
Length:4:33
Label:Sire
Producer:Felix Pappalardi

"Ain't It Fun" is a song written by Peter Laughner and Gene O'Connor (known as Cheetah Chrome) and performed by their protopunk band Rocket from the Tombs. The song was first released by O'Connor's later group Dead Boys on their 1978 second studio album, We Have Come for Your Children.[1] Laughner died a year before.

Lyrics

"Ain't It Fun" is notable for being one of the first commercially released recordings of song lyrics containing the profanity cunt, which is said once in the song's third verse. The word's presence was not picked up on by the media at the time, with the same being the case in the release of Guns N' Roses' 1993 cover, which reached the top 10 in several countries' singles charts despite being uncensored.

Guns N' Roses version

Ain't It Fun
Cover:Ain't It Fun by Guns N' Roses.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Guns N' Roses
Album:"The Spaghetti Incident?"
B-Side:Down on the Farm
Released:[2]
Length:5:06
Label:Geffen
Producer:
Prev Title:Civil War
Prev Year:1993
Next Title:Estranged
Next Year:1994

The song was covered by American rock band Guns N' Roses for their 1993 cover album "The Spaghetti Incident?". It was also released as a single and included on the Guns N' Roses Greatest Hits compilation in 2004. Michael Monroe from Hanoi Rocks featured on vocals. GNR guitarist Slash observed that Monroe "was just excited about having it come out, because it was a cool song, and it was sort of a memorial for Stiv Bators".[3]

Charts

Chart (1993)Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[4] 17
Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)[5] 15
Portugal (AFP)[6] 2
UK Airplay (Music Week)[7] 36

Other covers

When Rocket from the Tombs reunited in 2003, they recorded the song and released it on their debut album, Rocket Redux. Rollins Band also covered the song for their album A Nicer Shade of Red. The Lords of Altamont covered the song on their 2011 album Midnight to 666.

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Tricia Weight "Who says Dead Boys tell no tales? Cheetah Chrome talks punk history " (interview of Cheetah Chrome)
  2. Single Releases. Music Week. 23. November 6, 1993.
  3. . March 1994 . 70.
  4. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 10. 49. 11. December 4, 1993.
  5. Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin: levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Otava Publishing Company Ltd, 2003.
  6. Top 10 Sales in Europe. Music & Media. 10. 51/52. 30. December 18, 1993.
  7. The Airplay Chart. Music Week. November 27, 1993. 32. May 2, 2024.