Random Behind Scenes Of Guns N’ Roses Hit Single ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ (17 items)

• 

  (#14) Slash Hated 'Sweet Child' For A Long Time

  "Sweet Child O' Mine" might have been a massive hit that helped propel GNR to fame, but it took a while for Slash to really appreciate the song. "I hated it for years," he admitted to Q magazine in 2005. "But it would cause such a reaction - just playing the first stupid notes used to evoke this hysteria - so I've finally gotten to appreciate it."

  In a 2014 interview with WEBN radio host KiddChris, he said, "I didn't hate it, but I wasn't fond of 'Sweet Child O' Mine.' And that gives you a good idea of how credible my opinion is... the actual riff itself I love." He continued:

  You know, [GNR] was always a real [heavy], sort of, AC/DC kind of hard rock band with a lot of attitude. If we did any kind of ballads, it was bluesy. This was an uptempo ballad... But at the same time, it's a great song - I'm not knocking it - but... it just did not fit in with the rest of our, sort of, shtick. And, of course, it would be the biggest hit we ever had.
• 

  (#2) Rose Composed The Lyrics For 'Sweet Child' Based On A Poem He Wrote For His Then Girlfriend Erin Everly

  At the time the band was getting ready to record Appetite for Destruction, Rose was in a relationship with Erin Everly (daughter of Don Everly from the pop duo The Everly Brothers). When he heard the guitar riff Slash had come up with, he was reminded of a love poem that he tried to write to Everly. He based the lyrics for "Sweet Child O' Mine" off of this poem.

  Rose admitted, "It's the first positive love song I've ever written, but I never had anyone to write anything that positive about, I guess." Indeed, it is the polar opposite of his other musical work, which includes ballads like "Back Off B*tch."

  Although the song became a huge hit, Rose's relationship with Everly did not last. The couple married in April 1990, but the marriage was annulled less than a year later.
• 

  (#12) 'Sweet Child' Is The Only GNR Single To Hit No.1 On The 'Billboard' Hot 100

  "It's So Easy," the first single off Appetite for Destruction, wasn't incredibly successful. While the album's second single, "Welcome to the Jungle," fared better, the album didn't start out selling very well.

  "Sweet Child O' Mine" was the third single released and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 12 weeks.

  Over the course of their career, GNR has had six singles crack the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, but "Sweet Child O' Mine" is the only one to hit No. 1.
• 

  (#6) As Soon As He Heard The Recorded Track, Clink Believed GNR Had Something Special In 'Sweet Child' - And He Wasn't The Only One

  When he went into the studio with GNR to produce Appetite for Destruction, Clink wanted to make sure he captured the essence of the band, but without hammering it into the ground. As a result, most of the tracks, including "Sweet Child O' Mine," were recorded in just a few takes.

  After listening to the recorded track of "Sweet Child O' Mine," Clink was certain the band had hit on something great.

  "That song made the hairs on my arms stand up," he said in a 2005 interview with Q magazine. "It was magical."

  Clink wasn't the only one who thought the song was special. Michael Barbiero, who, along with Steve Thompson, mixed the album, told Q: 

  "Sweet Child O' Mine" sounded like a hit to all of us. So much so that I remember Axl asking me when we were finished if I thought the album would actually sell. I told him that, despite the fact that it was nothing like what was on the radio, I thought it would go gold. I was only off by 20 million records.
• 

  (#17) Sheryl Crow Won A Grammy For Best Female Rock Performance For Her Cover Of 'Sweet Child,' But It Was Negatively Received By Many

  Sheryl Crow recorded a cover version of "Sweet Child O' Mine" that was used in the Adam Sandler film Big Daddy. In February 1999, Crow won the Grammy Award for best female rock vocal performance for her version of the song.

  But not everyone was a fan of Crow's interpretation. In 2011, the readers of Rolling Stone voted it the fourth-worst cover song of all time, finishing behind Miley Cyrus's cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Limp Bizkit's version of The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes," and Madonna's cover of Don McLean's classic "American Pie."
• 

  (#1) Slash Said He Was Messing Around With A 'Stupid Little Riff' And Rose Encouraged Him To Keep Playing

  Slash's famous guitar riff, which opens "Sweet Child O' Mine," started off as nothing more than a funny joke. 

  While talking about how well the band worked together, Slash explained to Guitar Center in 2008, "Anytime anybody came up with something, it was just like the rest of the band just innately knew what to do. Songs almost wrote themselves." In the case of "Sweet Child O' Mine," he recalled: 

  One afternoon I was sitting around with Izzy [Stradlin] and Duff [McKagan] and had stumbled on this sort of melody, this sort of unorthodox pattern, and I was trying to perfect playing it because it was sort of a finger-twister. Duff and I think Izzy started playing some chords behind it, and it started taking on a life of its own.

  Unbeknownst to me, Axl [Rose] was upstairs and heard it, and had some ideas... A couple days later or the next day at rehearsal, Axl goes, "Hey, play that song you guys were jamming in the living room yesterday," and so we started playing it. It just became this tune.

  Slash remembered that the riff  "started off as a... joke" and that thanks to Rose, it "turned out to be a huge anthem." Years after "Sweet Child O' Mine" was released, that "joke" of a D-flat riff was voted the No. 2 guitar riff of all time in a 2014 BBC poll.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking