| |
Guns N'
Roses |
 |
| FAQs |
 REAL
NAME / MEMBERS: Axl Rose
(William Bailey) ~ Slash (Saul
Hudson) ~ Duff McKagen (Michael
McKagen) ~ Izzy Stradlin (Jeff
Isabelle)
BIRTHDAYS: Axl Rose
(February 6, 1962) ~ Slash (July 23,
1965) ~ Duff McKagen (February 5,
1965) ~ Matt Sorum (November 19,
1960) ~ Steve Adler (January 22,
1965) ~ Izzy Stradlin (April 8, 1962)
BIGGEST
SINGLE: "November Rain" (1992)
BIGGEST
LP: Appetite For
Destruction (1987)
GRAMMY
AWARDS: 0
ROLLING
STONE: '100 Greatest Artists of All
Time': # 92
"For
some strange reason, Guns N' Roses is
like the catalyst for controversy,
even before we had any kind of record
deal." - Slash, Guns
N' Roses, 1998
ROCK & ROLL
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: 2012
|
 Guns N' Roses consisted of Axl
Rose (on vocals), Slash (on guitar), Duff
McKagen (on bass), Steve Adler (on drums) and
Izzy Stradlin (on guitar) when they formed in
June, 1985. In a just a few years, Guns N'
Roses became a multi-million heavy metal
music force with a rough and gritty sound
that broke through all the way to the pop
charts. They got their name by combing 2
other band names, the "L.A. Guns"
and the "Hollywood Roses," which
Rose and Stradlin had played with separately.
Guns N' Roses signed with Geffen
Records on the strength of their EP, Live?!*@
Like A Suicide.
 Guns N' Roses released their
debut LP, Appetite
For Destruction. The LP started off slow but
gradually the band's following grew.
The band went out on tour
extensively throughout the year including
opening for The Cult and Mötley
Crüe.
 # 22
Singles Artist of the Year
 The track "Welcome To The
Jungle" got the band noticed on rock
stations and video channels, but it was
"Sweet Child O' Mine" that took the
band to #1 even on the pop charts.
"Welcome To The Jungle" was then
released as a single and went Top 10.
Appetite
For Destruction went on to sell over 15 million
copies in the U.S. and hit #1 in July.
Guns N' Roses continued touring,
including a troubled stint with Iron
Maiden and later Aerosmith.
 The band took part in the
Monsters of Rock concert in England where 2
fans were crushed to death during their set.
GNR hit #1 for 2 weeks with
"Sweet Child O' Mine."
GNR won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best New Artist ("Welcome To The
Jungle").
 Guns N' Roses released their
first LP recording, Live?!*@ Like A
Suicide along with 4 new songs in the
collection, G
N' R Lies. One track on the LP, "One
In A Million" caused controversy with
the lyrics degrading homosexuals, immigrants,
and African-Americans. Rose also ran into
some trouble in Georgia and plead guilt to
assaulting a security guard during a
performance.
Guns N' Roses topped the Billboard 1988
Year-End Chart Toppers as the Top Pop New
Artist (singles & albums).
 # 16
Singles Artist of the Year
 Guns N' Roses hit the Top 40
with "Paradise City."
Guns N' Roses won an American Music
Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single ("Sweet Child O' Mine") and were
nominated for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Artist
and Favorite Heavy
Metal/Hard Rock Album (Appetite
For Destruction).
Guns N' Roses hit the Top 10 with "Paradise City."
 Guns N' Roses hit the Top 40
with "Patience."
Guns N' Roses hit the Top 10 with "Patience."
Stradlin was
arrested for making a disturbance on a flight
(urinating on the floor of the plane, smoking
in a non-smoking section of the plane, and
verbally abusing a stewardess).
The video for "Sweet Child O' Mine" won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Heavy Metal Video and was nominated for Best Group Video.
 G
N' R Lies went on to sell over 5 million
copies in the U.S. As the band continued to
sell millions of LPs, and sell-out concert
stadiums, rumors of turmoil in the band and
substance abuse began to swirl. Stradlin
stirred up controversy when he urinated in an
airplane galley and verbally abused a
stewardess.
McKagen and Slash were drunk and
swearing when accepting an American Music
Award (subsequent AMA shows now have
a 5 second delay for television). The band
won for Favorite Heavy
Metal/Hard Rock Artist and Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Album
(Appetite
For Destruction).
Guns N' Roses were nominated for
a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance (G
N' R Lies).
While working on their next LP,
Guns N' Roses fired Steve Adler (reportedly
for his heroin use) and replaced him with
drummer, Matt Sorum (formerly of The
Cult). Dizzy Reed was also brought
into the group on keyboards and Gilby Clarke
joined as rhythm guitarist.
 GNR took part in Farm Aid IV.
The band could also be heard on
the Days
Of Thunder soundtrack with a cover of
"Knockin' On Heaven's Door."
Rose was arrested for assaulting
a neighbor with a wine bottle.
 # 37
Singles Artist of the Year
 Rose was charged with inciting a
riot in St. Louis, MO, after he jumped into
the audience after someone taking pictures,
and the band eventually walked off stage.
GNR hit the Top 40 with
"You Could Be Mine."
 Guns N' Roses released 2 LPs
simultaneously, Use
Your Illusion I and Use
Your Illusion II.
Izzy Stradlin left the band
after much speculation that he might be
venturing on his own. He was replaced with
Gilby Clarke.
Deposed band member, Steven
Adler, sued the band claiming they should be
held responsible for his drug addiction. The video for "You Could Be Mine" was nominated
for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Video and Best Video from a Film.
 GNR hit the Top 40 with "Don't Cry."
GNR hit the Top 10 with "Don't Cry."
 # 25
Singles Artist of the Year
 Hits continued for Guns N' Roses
including their cover of "Live
And Let Die" which hit the Top 40 and
the huge rock ballad "November Rain."
GNR won an American Music
Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Artist
and was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group and Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Album
(Use
Your Illusion I).
 GNR were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance (Use
Your Illusion I).
The band performed at the
Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert For AIDS
Awareness and toured with Metallica during the summer, and
once again a riot ensued when Rose abruptly
ending a performance.
 GNR hit the Top 40 with
"November Rain."
Rose was arrested in New York
for charges stemming from the '91 riot in
Missouri.
GNR hit the Top 10 with
"November Rain."
 GNR were honored at the MTV Video Music
Awards with the Video Vanguard Award
and the video for "November Rain" won Best Cinematography (Mike
Southon & Daniel Pearl), and was
nominated for Best Art Direction.
 Stradlin released his own LP, Izzy
Stradlin And The Ju Ju Hounds.
GNR were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance ("Live
And Let Die").
 GNR were named the World's
Best-selling Hard Rock Artist of the Year at
the World Music Awards.
Rose testified in the court case
against the band brought on by Adler. The
case was settled in September for $2.5
million.
 McKagen released a solo LP, Believe
In Me.
GNR won a World Music Award for
World's Best-Selling Hard Rock Artist of the
Year.
Guns N' Roses released the
punk-influenced LP, The
Spaghetti Incident? and the decreased
interest in the band was evident as the LP
failed to sell 2 million copies in the U.S.
 # 128
Singles Artist of the Year
 GNR hit the Top 40 with the
cover "Since I Don't Have You."
Guns N' Roses had a hit with
their remake of "Sympathy For The
Devil" from the film, Interview
With A Vampire.
 Rock
'N Roll Hall Of Fame's 500
Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll includes "Welcome
To The Jungle."
 Rose legally
bought the rights to the band's name
"Guns N' Roses." Slash responded to
the move by saying "...I was blindsided
by it, more or less a legal faux pas. I don't
know what he's gonna do, as far as that goes,
but I'd be lying to say I wasn't a little bit
peeved at that. It'd be one thing if I quit
altogether, but I haven't..."
February 10: Rose was arrested for
disorderly conduct at a Phoenix airport after
a scuffle with security. Rose reportedly
yelled, threatened, and cursed at a security
guard who wanted to check his bags. Rose
allegedly yelled, "I'll punch your
lights out right here and right now" at
the security guard. A publicist for Rose's
label, Geffen Records, stated that the
incident was a misunderstanding and that Rose
was trying to protect fragile gifts in his
bag that could have been broken with the
searching procedure. Rose was released after
a few hours of detainment and will appear
before a judge toward the end of the month.
Adler, was ordered jailed for
domestic assault and violating his probation
(from a previous domestic violence event).
Adler plead no contest and was sentenced to
150 days in prison, 3 years probation, and
ordered to undergo domestic violence
counseling for 1 year.
A new Guns N' Roses video, Welcome
To The Videos, was released with 13 of their
videos. Also in the fall, Rose began to
rebuild the band for recording new material
with Robin Finck and Paul Huge on guitar,
Tommy Stinson on bass, Josh Freese on drums,
and Reed on keyboards.
As Rose's court
appearance to face charges of disorderly
conduct was postponed until February, MTV
reported Rose was back in the studio to
finish a new GNR LP. In January, there was a
GNR "mini-reunion" in Utah when
Slash, McKagen and Sorum gave a 1-hour show.
Rose plead no contest to
disorderly conduct charges and was fined
$500.
Slash was arrested in California
for alleged assault of his ex-girlfriend.
Robin Finck left the band in the
fall to return to Nine
Inch Nails.
 A 2-CD live LP, Live
Era '87-'93, was released.
GNR appeared on the End
Of Days soundtrack with "Oh My
God."
MTV: 100
Greatest Videos Ever Made includes
"Sweet Child O' Mine" at # 6, "Welcome To The
Jungle" at # 26 and "November Rain" at # 45.
The management
company of Guns 'N Roses filed a lawsuit
against former members Slash and Duff McKagen
claiming they owe over $400,000.
The next GNR LP
was reportedly to be titled Chinese
Democracy and released sometime in the
summer (but wasn't). Rose reflected about the
changing line-up of the band in Rolling
Stone: "The poverty is what kept
us together... that was how we became Guns N'
Roses... Guns N' Roses was like the old
Stones or whatever... not necessarily the
friendliest bunch of guys."
It was announced that drummer
Josh Freese left GNR after 2 years with the
band.
A woman was sentenced to a year
in prison after being arrested outside Rose's
home - where she had been spotted about 6
times in the past few years.
VH1: 100
Greatest Artists of Hard Rock includes GNR at # 9.
Rolling Stone
& MTV: 100 Greatest Pop Songs includes "Sweet Child O' Mine" at # 13.
Axl Rose showed
off a new lineup of GNR at a late night
concert in Las Vegas.
VH1: 100
Greatest Albums includes
Appetite
For Destruction at # 42.
VH1: 100
Greatest Videos includes: # 5:
"November Rain"
and # 58:
"Welcome To The Jungle."
GNR had planned on
touring in Europe during the summer, but the
tour was cancelled. The line-up for the band
included Rose, Buckethead, Tommy Stinson
(former bassist of The Replacements),
Robin Finck (former member of Nine
Inch Nails), Brian Mantia (former member
of Primus), Dizzy Reed, and
Paul Huge.
Guns N' Roses again cancelled
plan for a European tour to allow them to
finish their next LP.
 Appetite
For Destruction was #1 on Spin
magazine's listing of the 'Greatest Metal
Albums."
The latest incarnation of Guns
N' Roses made a surprise appearance and
performance at the MTV Video Music
Awards. Rose told MTV after the
performance that a new GNR LP will be
released "...but I don't know if 'soon'
is the word. It will come out and we'll do
some more recording and start the American
leg of the tour."
GNR ranked #
40 on VH1: 100
Sexiest Artists.
Guns N' Roses were to hit the
stage in Vancouver, but their opening concert
was cancelled when Rose was stuck in the air
due to mechanical problems with the plane.
The result was a fan riot.
When the tour
does resume it will include the current
line-up of GNR along with Axl Rose: Robin
Fink on guitars, Richard Fortus on guitars,
Dizzy Reed on keyboards, Brian Mantia on
drums, Tommy Stinson on bass, and Chris
Pitman on keyboards.
Former members of Guns 'N Roses
(Slash, McKagen, Stradlin, and Sorum) are
said to be starting a band together.
Fans once again became angry and
aggressive when a GNR show was cancelled in
Pennsylvania.
A few days later it was reported
that the GNR tour had been cancelled with no
explanation given.
VH1: 100 Best
Songs of the Past 25 Years includes "Sweet Child O' Mine" at # 3.
Two Guns 'N Roses DVDs were
released - Welcome
To The Videos and Use
Your Illusion: World Tour 1992 In Tokyo.
Rolling Stone:
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: # 61:
Appetite
For Destruction.
 A greatest hits
collection, Greatest
Hits, was released. Rose
had tried to block the release of the LP but
a federal judge ruled in favor of Geffen
Records for its release.
Rolling Stone:
The Immortals - The 100 Greatest Artists of
All Time included GNR at # 92.
Greatest
Hits topped the UK LP
charts.
Slash and McKagen reportedly
filed a lawsuit against Axl for turning down
offers to use GNR music in several films.
Greatest
Hits was certified platinum.
# 131 on the Top Pop Artists
of the Past 25 Years chart.
Greatest
Hits was certified 2x platinum.
Greatest
Hits was certified 3x platinum.
VH1: 100
Greatest Songs of the 80's included "Sweet Child O' Mine" at # 7
and "Welcome To The
Jungle" at # 26.
The long awaited GNR LP Chinese
Democracy will supposedly be released in
November, 2006.... Update, no make that
March, 2007. Update as of February, 2007...
make that "there is no official release
date.. but after some delays and scheduling
difficulties, things appear to be moving
along" according to their website.
Greatest
Hits was certified 4x platinum.
Entertainment Weekly:
100 Best Albums of the Last 25 Years included Appetite
For Destruction at # 30.
 Appetite
For Destruction was certified 18x platinum.
The extremely long-awaited and
possibly no longer anticipated release of Chinese
Democracy happened with an exclusive
release at Best Buy.
GNR topped the Billboard Top
Internet Albums chart and Top Rock Albums
chart with Chinese
Democracy.
GNR topped the Canadian LP chart
with Chinese
Democracy.
Rolling Stone:
'The Greatest Singers' includes Axl Rose at #
64.
Chinese
Democracy was certified platinum.
Greatest
Hits was certified 5x platinum.
GNR were inducted into the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame. Axl refused to go to
the ceremony or accept the honor.
| Note: Song title and
position links lead you to the song's Top
40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top
40)
and LP links take you to Amazon.com for that LP (often
including track listings and sound
samples). |
|
|
