Guns N Roses

Guns N Roses is an American rock band of the late 80s and 90s. They are widely regarded as the best modern rock band for the way they revived rock and roll in a decade previously dominated by pop and hip-hop. The band came from the merging of two other Los Angeles bands: LA Guns and Hollywood Rose. The original lineup of 1985 was: Axl Rose on vocals, Izzy Stradlin on rhythm guitar, Traci Guns on lead guitar, Ole Beich on bass, and Rob Gardner on drums. Gardner and Guns couldn't make it to one of the band's first shows, so Rose recruited guitarist Slash, and drummer Steven Adler. Duff McKagan also joined up, and the classic GNR lineup was formed. In 1987, they released their debut album, Appetite For Destruction, which soon became the best selling debut album of all time. It was an instant hit with classic songs such as: "Welcome To The Jungle," "Sweet Child Of Mine," and "Paradise City." Within a year GNR was music's hottest band and the world anxiously anticipated the release of their second album, GNR Lies. The band did not dissapoint, and although the new album was nowhere near what Appetite For Destruction was, it still went platinum multiple times. In 1990, Steven Adler had been having increasingly bad drug problems and was asked to leave the band. GNR recruited Matt Sorum, who seemed to be the perfect fit. The next year, GNR released two more legendary albums: Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. Together, the albums went platinum 22 times and it looked as though GNR was to rule the 90s rock scene. Unfortunately, problems arose in the band. Izzy Stradlin had been unhappy with new drummer Matt Sorum. He didn't think that Sorum had the right sound for the band and in late 1991, Stradlin quit Guns N Roses. Rose and Slash began to argue over leadership, and McKagan and Sorum were caught in the middle. The band released one more album in 1993, The Spaghetti Incident?, which was an album consisting entirely of covers. The album did well, selling over 3 million copies, but GNR was doing worse than ever. Slash left the band in 1994, and Sorum followed. Soon after, McKagan decided he'd had enough and Axl Rose was the lone member left. GNR broke up in 1996 to the great dismay of the music world. They're success although short-lived, had changed rock music forever and it was clear that people would always listen to Guns N Roses, together or not.

In 2000, Axl Rose created a whole new Guns N Roses with 8 little-known but talented musicians. The new GNR is still touring to this day, while Slash, McKagan, and Sorum are currently part of the supergroup Velvet Revolver. Rumors of a reunion have been surfacing throughout the past year.