"This Life" is a theme song

Theme music

Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...

 for the FX television series Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...

, written by singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 Curtis Stigers

Curtis Stigers

Curtis Stigers is an American jazz vocalist, saxophonist, guitarist, and songwriter.-Early life and career:Stigers was born in Boise, Idaho, and started his music career as a teenager, playing in jazz, rock and blues groups, as well as receiving formal training in clarinet and saxophone at high...

, Velvet Revolver

Velvet Revolver

Velvet Revolver is an American hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner formerly of punk band Wasted Youth. Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland was Velvet Revolver's lead singer from their formation until...

 guitarist Dave Kushner

Dave Kushner

David "Dave" Kushner is an American musician perhaps best known as the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver...

, producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 Bob Thiele Jr.

Bob Thiele Jr.

-References:...

 and show creator Kurt Sutter

Kurt Sutter

Kurt Sutter is an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. He worked as a producer, writer and director on The Shield, also appearing on the show as hitman Margos Dezerian. Sutter is also the creator of Sons of Anarchy on FX and writes, produces, directs and performs for the series,...

 while it was performed by Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers

Curtis Stigers

Curtis Stigers is an American jazz vocalist, saxophonist, guitarist, and songwriter.-Early life and career:Stigers was born in Boise, Idaho, and started his music career as a teenager, playing in jazz, rock and blues groups, as well as receiving formal training in clarinet and saxophone at high...

.

Background

Musician Dave Kushner

Dave Kushner

David "Dave" Kushner is an American musician perhaps best known as the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver...

, of Velvet Revolver

Velvet Revolver

Velvet Revolver is an American hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner formerly of punk band Wasted Youth. Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland was Velvet Revolver's lead singer from their formation until...

, began collaborating with friend and producer Bob Thiele Jr.

Bob Thiele Jr.

-References:...

 on the main theme song and end credit theme for FX television series Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...

. Kushner originally wrote the riff with Shooter Jennings

Shooter Jennings

Waylon Albright "Shooter" Jennings is an American singer-songwriter active in the country music and Southern rock genres as well as making his first foray into psychedelic rock in 2009...

 in mind before using it for the theme. Thiele then contacted Curtis Stigers

Curtis Stigers

Curtis Stigers is an American jazz vocalist, saxophonist, guitarist, and songwriter.-Early life and career:Stigers was born in Boise, Idaho, and started his music career as a teenager, playing in jazz, rock and blues groups, as well as receiving formal training in clarinet and saxophone at high...

 to write lyrics and sing the theme, who recorded the song at Cunningham Audio Production in Boise

Boise, Idaho

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...

, Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

. Show creator Kurt Sutter

Kurt Sutter

Kurt Sutter is an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. He worked as a producer, writer and director on The Shield, also appearing on the show as hitman Margos Dezerian. Sutter is also the creator of Sons of Anarchy on FX and writes, produces, directs and performs for the series,...

 also cowrote the lyrics to the song. When speaking about why he co-wrote the theme for the show, Kushner stated that:

Awards and nominations

"This Life" received an Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 nomination for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music

This is a list of the winning and nominated programs of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...

 in 2009, but lost out to the theme for PBS

Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

 television series Great Performances

Great Performances

Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...

. Commenting on the nomination, Kushner stated that he was "honored to be recognized by and to receive this nomination from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences." The following year, they received an ASCAP Award for the theme.

Release

The song was released in September 2009 on the Sons of Anarchy: North Country - EP, which featured music from the television show by Anvil

Anvil (band)

Anvil is a Canadian heavy metal band comprising Steve "Lips" Kudlow , Robb Reiner , and Glenn Five...

, Franky Perez

Franky Perez

Franky Perez is an American musician best known as the guitarist for Scars on Broadway as well as being a solo artist. He has released two solo albums, Poor Man's Son and My 4th of July, and performed with Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash in his live band before Slash has assembled the tour band...

 and Audra Mae

Audra Mae

Audra Mae is an American singer-songwriter from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Audra Mae is the great-great-niece of Judy Garland, who was her great-grandmother's sister....

, via iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

.

See also

• Sons of Anarchy Music
• List of Winners and Nominees for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music