Today is W. Axl Rose's birthday!
The iconic lead singer of Guns N' Roses, formed the band in 1985, after failed stints with the bands Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns. Guns N' Roses would breakthrough in the late 80s with their first album, Appetite for Destruction in 1987. The album would become the best-selling debut album of all time with 18 million units sold, as the band went number one with “Sweet Child o' Mine”.
G N'R would hit again with G N' R Lies in 1988, and the acoustic ballad "Patience", and follow that with the massive twin albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, which debuted at No. 2 and No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and sold a combined 35 million copies worldwide. Axl's legend would be filled with controversy following his role in riots during the tour, rants against the media and bandmates, and feuds with Metallica and Nirvana.
The band would release an album of covers with "The Spaghetti Incident?" in 1993, which failed to be as successful of previous albums. Rose would disappear from the public eye, and Guns N’ Roses would start to fall apart. By the time Axl would start work on a new album, he would be the only remaining original member. Guns N' Roses fans would get strung along for almost a decade awaiting the new album Chinese Democracy, as he would take a new lineup on the road to promote the most expensive rock album to ever be produced. In 2008, the album would be released to and debut at #3 on the charts, as it's viewed favorably as the last hurrah for the great band.
In 2012, the band would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he would end his public feud with Slash and Duff McKagan to reunite Guns N’ Roses in 2016 for their record-breaking Not in This Lifetime... Tour.
Happy Birthday Axl, you are the definition of a Rockstar.