Summary
"Seventeen" is a single by American rock band Winger from their debut album Winger. Released in 1989, the song charted at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was named the 87th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.[4]
| "Seventeen" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Winger | ||||
| from the album Winger | ||||
| B-side | "Poison Angel" | |||
| Released | February 1988[1] | |||
| Studio | Atlantic Studios, New York City | |||
| Genre | Glam metal[2][3] | |||
| Length | 4:05 4:47 (Extended version in the Rock Band 4 DLC) | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Kip Winger, Reb Beach, Beau Hill | |||
| Producer(s) | Beau Hill, Roy Moore | |||
| Winger singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The B-side for this single was the album cut "Poison Angel".
Background edit
According to Kip Winger, he took inspiration from the Beatles song, "I Saw Her Standing There", which contains the lyric, "Well she was just seventeen / If you know what I mean / And the way she looked / Was way beyond compare" and that he wasn't aware that it was illegal for an adult to have sexual relations with a seventeen-year-old.[5]
Winger said guitarist Reb Beach wrote the main riff when he was about 15, but was unsure how to use it. However, Winger had an idea, and wove it into the song. He said they were trying to rip off a Led Zeppelin song with "weird syncopation" on the verse, though he cannot remember which song it was anymore — probably "The Crunge" or "Walter's Walk". He also stated, "The thing I like about 'Seventeen' is that time and time again I've seen cover bands try to play it and there's no one I've ever seen be able to play that riff correctly. That song is very deceiving because it's cocky on the melody end and it's musically a difficult song for average bands to play, because it's all this intricate picking and a lot of riffs and syncopations and singing and playing that song has always been a challenge."[6]
Track listing edit
- 7" and cassette single
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Seventeen" | 4:02 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Poison Angel" | 3:22 |
- Canadian 7" single
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Seventeen" (Radio Edit) | 3:35 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Poison Angel" | 3:22 |
- CD single
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Seventeen" (Radio Edit) | 3:35 |
| 2. | "Seventeen" (LP Version) | 4:04 |
Charts edit
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[7] | 26 |
| US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[8] | 19 |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 903. ISBN 9780862415419.
- ^ Best of 80's Metal, Vol. 2 - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved March 24, 2021
- ^ Double Shot: Metal - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved March 24, 2021
- ^ "spreadit.org music". Retrieved February 5, 2009.
- ^ "Metal Sludge Rewind with Kip Winger". Metal Sludge. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
- ^ Wiser, Carl (July 21, 2014). "Kip Winger : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
- ^ "Winger Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- ^ "Winger Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2023.