Believe it or not, on this day in 1962, the man behind Guns N Roses, W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose, Jr) was born, making the iconic front-man the ripe young age of 50. With the original lineup of his beloved band in the late 80s-early 90s, he garnered great success with the classic album Appetite for Destruction, which not only featured the megahits “Sweet Child O Mine,” “Paradise City,” and “Welcome to the Jungle,” but also sold 28 million copies worldwide and became the best-selling debut of all time. Axl is almost as well known for his off-stage antics as he is for his performances on-stage. Let’s take a closer look at the different facets of Rose’s monumental career.
Studio Albums- Of course, Appetite is talked about the most (as well it should be), but GNR did release other mega records, with all six studio albums going platinum. The Use Your Illusion albums were heavily anticipated and did end up living up to the excitement, featuring such songs as “You Could Be Mine,” “Estranged,” “November Rain,” “Don’t Cry,” and “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” The Spaghetti Incident, an album of covers, was the last album released for fifteen years until Axl’s new lineup finally came out with Chinese Democracy in 2008.
Videos- Most of the early videos are simplistic in nature, either featuring the band in a small place (“Sweet Child O Mine”) or concert footage (“Paradise City”). My personal favorite is “Garden of Eden” which has the band just singing to a single camera but you can’t help but smiling as you see all the fun that’s going on. Rose lost a lot of metal-heads (and band-mates) with his trilogy of videos (“Don’t Cry,” “November Rain,” and “Estranged”) that were actually short films that combined, would make one autobiographical narrative.
Personal Life- Rose’s domestic disputes with past girlfriends Gina Siler, Erin Everly, and Stephanie Seymour have almost become public knowledge over the years. He was sued by both Everly and Seymour in 1993-1994, due to allegations of physical assault. Even Siler testified that Rose could be “violent and irrational.” Don’t worry- Rose hasn’t had any tumultuous relationships since the mid-90s.
Legacy- Certainly, Rose’s periods of authoritarianism and fascism has annoyed many people over the years, causing musicians and managers to leave the band. Thankfully, he has made peace with almost all the original members of GNR, except of course for Slash. Despite a volatile past, Rose is consistently ranked as one of the best front-men of all time, and Guns N Roses will finally be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
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