Guns n' Roses
Guns n' Roses, often abbreviated as GNR, is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s by Axl Rose and Tracii Guns. The band's name symbolizes a blend of contrasting themes—human-made versus natural, destruction versus beauty. They gained worldwide fame with their 1987 debut album, *Appetite for Destruction*, which became one of the best-selling albums of all time, featuring hits like "Welcome to the Jungle," "Paradise City," and "Sweet Child o' Mine." Known for their raw sound and emotionally charged lyrics, the band addressed themes such as sex, drugs, and personal struggles, distinguishing themselves from the pop music prevalent at the time.
Over the years, the band's lineup changed, with notable members including lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, and bassist Duff McKagan. Despite their musical success, the band often made headlines for their controversial behavior and Axl Rose's notorious reputation for difficult performances. Their subsequent albums in the early '90s showcased a more complex musical style but struggled to maintain the same popularity as their earlier work. Following a period of lineup changes and a long hiatus, Guns n' Roses returned with new music and tours, including the massively successful *Not in This Lifetime... Tour* from 2016 to 2019. The band's impact on rock music and culture remains significant, celebrated for both their artistic contributions and their tumultuous history.
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Guns n' Roses
Identification Los Angeles-based hard rock band
Date Formed in 1985
Guns n’ Roses entered a 1980s musical landscape that was typically characterized by the regular use of synthesizers, heavy studio production, and pop sensibilities, even in such nominally rough-edged genres as heavy metal. The band’s raw, live musicianship coupled with its hard-living, rock-and-roll attitude made it stand out, and it became a center of musical controversy, both critically and culturally. They became one of the best-selling musical acts of all time, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
Key Figures
Tracii Guns (1966- ),Axl Rose (1962- ), lead singerSlash (1965- ), lead guitaristIzzy Stradlin (1962- ), rhythm guitaristDuff McKagan (1964- ), bassistSteven Adler (1965- ), drummer
In the middle of the 1980s, Tracii Guns of the band L.A. Guns and singer Axl Rose of the group Hollywood Rose founded a new band in Los Angeles and named it Guns n’ Roses, after themselves. The name also stood in their minds for the symbolic meeting of the human-made and the natural, the destructive and the beautiful. Guns himself did not remain in the band for very long, but the name stuck, and in 1987 Guns n’ Roses (often abbreviated to GNR) released their debut album, Appetite for Destruction. Though the band’s lineup would change over the years, Guns n’ Roses "classic" roster comprised Rose on vocals, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler.
Appetite for Destruction became one of the most popular albums of the decade, and many observers attributed its popularity to the public’s hunger for “real” rock music, as opposed to Top 40 pop. Guns n’ Roses’ songs were rawer in sound and more serious, honest, and emotional lyrically than those being played on most radio stations in the mid-1980s. The album featured twelve songs, three of which became national hits: “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Paradise City,” and the love ballad “Sweet Child o’ Mine.” Rose’s nearly operatic vocal range and Slash’s soaring guitar solos decorated songs about the hard life the band’s members knew as struggling musicians in Los Angeles. Their songs were often laced with obscenities and referred unabashedly to sex, drugs, and alcohol. Their follow-up album, G N' R Lies (1989), was the only other one they released during the 1980s. It treated similar themes and included the popular and lighter “Patience.”
Though Guns n’ Roses’ music was the group’s main claim to fame, the band’s notorious debauchery, the sexual imagery of its album art, and Rose’s public antics often placed band members in the public eye as well. Known for being a difficult performer, Rose often showed up hours late, walked off stages in the middle of performances, and made comments considered rude, misogynistic, homophobic, and racist. Drug problems led to Adler’s dismissal, and he was replaced with Matt Sorum, while Dizzy Reed was added as keyboard player. Debates within the band also began to surface, leading to further instability.
Guns n' Roses next planned album split into two, both released in 1991 as Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. They showed off more complex and diverse musicality, and initially sold well. However, with the rise of grunge rock soon after, the band's image of rock star excess quickly went out of fashion. Rose was also exerting increasingly strict authority over the group, leading Stradlin to quit in late 1991. Gilby Clarke took his place on guitar. The album The Spaghetti Incident? was released in 1993, featuring covers of punk songs, but achieved only mixed success. Within the next few years many considered Guns n' Roses to have broken up, as Slash left to pursue a solo career and Rose turned reclusive, reportedly working endlessly in the studio but releasing no new material (aside from a single track for the 1999 film End of Days).
In 2000 and 2001 Rose reformed Guns n' Roses with a new lineup for some live performances. Former members also continued with their own projects, including the band Velvet Revolver featuring Stradlin, Slash, and Sorum. In 2008 Rose released the album Chinese Democracy under the Guns n' Roses name; the project had been rumored since the mid-1990s and was considered a lost legend. Though it received fairly strong reviews, it could not match the sales of earlier GNR releases.
Guns n' Roses first became eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, and was immediately inducted. The band was then mostly quiet until 2016, when Slash and McKagan rejoined for the so-called Not in This Lifetime... Tour (Adler also made some appearances). By the time the tour ended in 2019 it had become one of the highest-grossing concert series in history, taking in more than $584 million.
Impact
Considered vulgar and loud by detractors and the saviors of authentic, powerful rock and roll by fans, Guns n’ Roses was one of the most influential and important musical forces of the 1980s. Thriving on controversy, they made their most significant mark on music and on culture with Appetite for Destruction, one of the best-selling albums of all time. The band also had a lasting impact with its later efforts, including hugely popular live concerts.
Bibliography
Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Guns n' Roses: Biography." AllMusic, 2020, www.allmusic.com/artist/guns-n-roses-mn0000540883/biography. Accessed 11 Dec. 2020.
Stenning, Paul. Guns n’ Roses: The Band That Time Forgot. London: Chrome Dreams, 2005.
Wall, Mick. Guns n’ Roses: The Most Dangerous Band in the World. New York: Hyperion, 2004.