W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose, Jr. on February 6, 1962 in Lafayette, Indiana) is an American musician, and the lead vocalist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses.As the lead singer for Guns N' Roses, Rose enjoyed tremendous success, recognition, record and concert ticket sales in the late 1980s and early 1990s before dropping out of the public eye for several years. In 2001, he resurfaced with a new line-up of Guns N' Roses, and has since played periodic concert tours, finally releasing the long delayed album Chinese Democracy in 2008. This album was actually recorded over many years before finally being released.
The only original member still part of the band's line-up, Rose still places high in numerous polls as one of hard rock's all-time greatest frontmen, but is also infamous for his on stage antics and high-profile disputes with former band mates and others in the entertainment business.
He was ranked 11 in the Hit Parader's Top Metal Vocalist of All Time and 64 in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
BIOGRAPHY
Early years (1962-1982)
Born as William Bruce Rose, Jr. in Lafayette, Indiana, as the only child to Sharon E. Lintner, then 16 years old, and William Bruce Rose, then 20 years old. Rose is predominantly of Scottish and German ancestry. In addition, one of his grandmothers was Polish. When Rose was two years old, his father abandoned his family. In 1965, Rose's mother met Stephen L. Bailey at a singles night at her church, and married him shortly after. She changed her son's name to William Bruce Bailey, using the surname of her new husband. He has two younger half-siblings – sister Amy and brother Stuart. Rose has stated that he and his siblings were often physically abused by Bailey. As a child, Rose believed that Bailey was his biological father. Rose stated in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in April 1992, that during his childhood, he was made to believe that women and sexuality were evil and that due to the violent treatment of his mother by his stepfather he witnessed as an impressionable child, he had been led to think that domestic violence was normal in families.
The Bailey household was deeply religious, and Rose and his family having attended a Pentecostal church, where he was required to attend services three to eight times per week. He sang in church from the age of five, and also performed at services with his brother and sister in the "Bailey Trio". Rose was so involved with the church that he even taught Sunday School. In addition to singing in church, he also participated in his high school chorus and studied piano.
Rose speaks in the baritone register. He originally sang in the low baritone range in his choir, however his normal singing voice is tenor range. He can sing parts ranging from bass, to baritone, and to a high falsetto/soprano, and has several different recognized "voices" used in his songs. He has stated that he originally started to develop his range to confuse his chorus teacher in school.
He attended Jefferson High School in Lafayette. He dropped out of high school. At age 17, while going through papers in his parents' home, Rose learned of his biological father's existence and his own origins, and readopted his birth name, William Rose (although he was still legally William Bailey). He referred to himself as W. Rose only, however, as he did not wish to share a name with his biological father.
After discovering the truth of his background, Rose began "acting out" in earnest. He was in trouble numerous times with the police, and was arrested over twenty times on charges such as public drunkenness and assault. At age 16, he was kicked out of his house for not cutting his hair. At this age, Rose also met future Guns guitarist Izzy Stradlin in a driver's education class.[The two bonded over their love of rock music and eventually started playing in bands together. Stradlin eventually left Rose, and Indiana, to go to Los Angeles and focus on music.
Lafayette authorities threatened to charge Rose as a habitual criminal in his late teenage years. When he was 17, on the advice of his lawyer, he left Indiana and began hitchhiking and taking buses across the country. Although he returned to Indiana to visit family from time to time, he left for good in December 1982 and moved to Los Angeles, accompanied by a girlfriend.
Rose eventually adopted the name W. Axl Rose ("Axl" after a band in which he once played"), and set out to re-unite with Stradlin. Rose legally changed his name to "W. Axl Rose" in 1986, and had the moniker tattooed on his arm.[17], on the eve of Guns N' Roses signing with Geffen Records. According to author Stephen Davis, Rose tried to sign the contract "W. Axl Rose", but was legally unable to do so, since his legal name was still William Bailey. Rose then changed his name legally.
Pre-Guns N' Roses years (1983–1984)
Once in Los Angeles, Rose began performing with various local bands, including Rapidfire, Rose, L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. While struggling to make an impact on the Hollywood music scene, Rose held down a variety of survival jobs, including the position of night manager at the Tower Records location on Sunset Boulevard. In an attempt to earn money, Rose and Stradlin even smoked cigarettes for a scientific study at UCLA for the reported wages of $8/hour.
[edit] Success with Guns N' Roses (1985–1994)
Main article: Guns N' Roses
Rose and his L.A. Guns bandmate Tracii Guns formed Guns N' Roses in March 1985. The band was a merger of L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose, and featured musicians who had played for one or both groups, including Ole Beich and Duff McKagan. The band debuted at the Troubadour in Hollywood and proceeded to play the L.A. circuit, eventually building a fan following and attracting the attention of several record companies. Following a dispute with Tracii Guns, and his departure from the band, Axl then called Slash (having met him from the time Slash spent in Hollywood Rose.) So with Rose on vocals, Slash on lead guitar, Izzy Stradlin on rhythm guitar. Guns N' Roses was signed to Geffen Records in 1986 and released a four-song EP, Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide, on their own label, UZI Suicide, in December of that year.
The band's major label debut album, entitled Appetite for Destruction, was released in the United States on July 21, 1987. The record had a slow start, selling only 500,000 copies in the first year of its release.[24] However, fueled by relentless touring, constant MTV video rotation of "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Welcome to the Jungle," and the mainstream success of "Sweet Child o' Mine", Appetite for Destruction rose to the #1 position on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States in the fall of 1988. To date, Appetite for Destruction ranks as the best-selling debut album in the United States, has been certified 18x platinum by the RIAA, and has sold over 28 million copies worldwide.
With the success of Appetite for Destruction and its follow-up EP, GN'R Lies, Rose found himself lauded as one of rock's most prominent frontmen. In a 1990 interview with MTV, journalist Kurt Loder referred to Rose as "maybe the finest hard rock singer currently on the scene, and certainly the most charismatic." He was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in August 1989 and again in April 1992.
In 1990, Guns N' Roses returned to the studio to begin recording the full-length follow-up to Appetite for Destruction. Recording sessions were temporarily scuttled when Steven Adler, battling drug and alcohol addiction, was fired in July 1990 and replaced by former Cult drummer Matt Sorum. The band fired their manager, Alan Niven, in May 1991, replacing him with Doug Goldstein. According to a 1991 cover story by Rolling Stone magazine, Rose forced the dismissal of Niven, against the wishes of some of his bandmates, by refusing to complete the albums until he was replaced. It is said that the reason for it was an attempt by Niven to pick-up on his then-girlfirend, future wife, and eventual divorcee, Erin Everly, daughter of Don Everly, of the Everly Brothers.
With enough music for two albums, the band released Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II on September 17, 1991. The tactic paid off when the albums debuted at #2 and #1 respectively on the Billboard chart, setting a record as Guns N' Roses became the only group to date to achieve this feat. The albums spent 108 weeks on the chart.
In the late spring of 1991, before the Illusion albums were released, Guns N' Roses embarked on the 28-month-long Use Your Illusion World Tour. It became famous for both its financial success and the many controversial incidents that occurred at the shows.
During the tour it was alleged, and long accepted, that Rose demanded and received sole ownership of the Guns N' Roses name from bandmates Slash and McKagan. However, this story was recently disputed by Rose, who claimed it would have been legally impossible for him to do such a thing His relationships with his bandmates became increasingly strained: Izzy Stradlin left the group voluntarily on November 7, 1991, and was replaced by former Kill For Thrills guitarist Gilby Clarke for the remainder of the two-year tour. Clarke himself left in 1994, and was replaced by Rose's childhood friend Paul Tobias. When Rose replaced Slash's guitar parts with those of Tobias on the band's cover version of the Rolling Stones' song "Sympathy for the Devil" for the soundtrack of the film Interview with the Vampire, tension increased further. Slash, McKagan and Sorum all left Guns N' Roses at various points between 1996 and 1997, leaving Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed as the only remaining Illusion-era members of the band.
While the Guns N' Roses name is owned solely by Rose, the band's back catalog is controlled jointly by Rose, Slash and McKagan. In 2004, the three presented a united front in a joint lawsuit against Universal and Geffen, in which they unsuccessfully attempted to block the release of the Greatest Hits compilation album.
Slash and McKagan have also filed several lawsuits against Rose for matters related to control and administration of the songs in the Guns N' Roses catalog. One of the cases, in which McKagan and Slash stated that they had been denied royalty checks for Guns N' Roses's sales in 2005, was determined to be the result of a clerical error by ASCAP and was resolved.
The only original member still part of the band's line-up, Rose still places high in numerous polls as one of hard rock's all-time greatest frontmen, but is also infamous for his on stage antics and high-profile disputes with former band mates and others in the entertainment business.
He was ranked 11 in the Hit Parader's Top Metal Vocalist of All Time and 64 in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
BIOGRAPHY
Early years (1962-1982)
Born as William Bruce Rose, Jr. in Lafayette, Indiana, as the only child to Sharon E. Lintner, then 16 years old, and William Bruce Rose, then 20 years old. Rose is predominantly of Scottish and German ancestry. In addition, one of his grandmothers was Polish. When Rose was two years old, his father abandoned his family. In 1965, Rose's mother met Stephen L. Bailey at a singles night at her church, and married him shortly after. She changed her son's name to William Bruce Bailey, using the surname of her new husband. He has two younger half-siblings – sister Amy and brother Stuart. Rose has stated that he and his siblings were often physically abused by Bailey. As a child, Rose believed that Bailey was his biological father. Rose stated in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in April 1992, that during his childhood, he was made to believe that women and sexuality were evil and that due to the violent treatment of his mother by his stepfather he witnessed as an impressionable child, he had been led to think that domestic violence was normal in families.
The Bailey household was deeply religious, and Rose and his family having attended a Pentecostal church, where he was required to attend services three to eight times per week. He sang in church from the age of five, and also performed at services with his brother and sister in the "Bailey Trio". Rose was so involved with the church that he even taught Sunday School. In addition to singing in church, he also participated in his high school chorus and studied piano.
Rose speaks in the baritone register. He originally sang in the low baritone range in his choir, however his normal singing voice is tenor range. He can sing parts ranging from bass, to baritone, and to a high falsetto/soprano, and has several different recognized "voices" used in his songs. He has stated that he originally started to develop his range to confuse his chorus teacher in school.
He attended Jefferson High School in Lafayette. He dropped out of high school. At age 17, while going through papers in his parents' home, Rose learned of his biological father's existence and his own origins, and readopted his birth name, William Rose (although he was still legally William Bailey). He referred to himself as W. Rose only, however, as he did not wish to share a name with his biological father.After discovering the truth of his background, Rose began "acting out" in earnest. He was in trouble numerous times with the police, and was arrested over twenty times on charges such as public drunkenness and assault. At age 16, he was kicked out of his house for not cutting his hair. At this age, Rose also met future Guns guitarist Izzy Stradlin in a driver's education class.[The two bonded over their love of rock music and eventually started playing in bands together. Stradlin eventually left Rose, and Indiana, to go to Los Angeles and focus on music.
Lafayette authorities threatened to charge Rose as a habitual criminal in his late teenage years. When he was 17, on the advice of his lawyer, he left Indiana and began hitchhiking and taking buses across the country. Although he returned to Indiana to visit family from time to time, he left for good in December 1982 and moved to Los Angeles, accompanied by a girlfriend.
Rose eventually adopted the name W. Axl Rose ("Axl" after a band in which he once played"), and set out to re-unite with Stradlin. Rose legally changed his name to "W. Axl Rose" in 1986, and had the moniker tattooed on his arm.[17], on the eve of Guns N' Roses signing with Geffen Records. According to author Stephen Davis, Rose tried to sign the contract "W. Axl Rose", but was legally unable to do so, since his legal name was still William Bailey. Rose then changed his name legally.
Pre-Guns N' Roses years (1983–1984)
Once in Los Angeles, Rose began performing with various local bands, including Rapidfire, Rose, L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. While struggling to make an impact on the Hollywood music scene, Rose held down a variety of survival jobs, including the position of night manager at the Tower Records location on Sunset Boulevard. In an attempt to earn money, Rose and Stradlin even smoked cigarettes for a scientific study at UCLA for the reported wages of $8/hour.
[edit] Success with Guns N' Roses (1985–1994)
Main article: Guns N' Roses
Rose and his L.A. Guns bandmate Tracii Guns formed Guns N' Roses in March 1985. The band was a merger of L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose, and featured musicians who had played for one or both groups, including Ole Beich and Duff McKagan. The band debuted at the Troubadour in Hollywood and proceeded to play the L.A. circuit, eventually building a fan following and attracting the attention of several record companies. Following a dispute with Tracii Guns, and his departure from the band, Axl then called Slash (having met him from the time Slash spent in Hollywood Rose.) So with Rose on vocals, Slash on lead guitar, Izzy Stradlin on rhythm guitar. Guns N' Roses was signed to Geffen Records in 1986 and released a four-song EP, Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide, on their own label, UZI Suicide, in December of that year.
The band's major label debut album, entitled Appetite for Destruction, was released in the United States on July 21, 1987. The record had a slow start, selling only 500,000 copies in the first year of its release.[24] However, fueled by relentless touring, constant MTV video rotation of "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Welcome to the Jungle," and the mainstream success of "Sweet Child o' Mine", Appetite for Destruction rose to the #1 position on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States in the fall of 1988. To date, Appetite for Destruction ranks as the best-selling debut album in the United States, has been certified 18x platinum by the RIAA, and has sold over 28 million copies worldwide.
With the success of Appetite for Destruction and its follow-up EP, GN'R Lies, Rose found himself lauded as one of rock's most prominent frontmen. In a 1990 interview with MTV, journalist Kurt Loder referred to Rose as "maybe the finest hard rock singer currently on the scene, and certainly the most charismatic." He was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in August 1989 and again in April 1992.
In 1990, Guns N' Roses returned to the studio to begin recording the full-length follow-up to Appetite for Destruction. Recording sessions were temporarily scuttled when Steven Adler, battling drug and alcohol addiction, was fired in July 1990 and replaced by former Cult drummer Matt Sorum. The band fired their manager, Alan Niven, in May 1991, replacing him with Doug Goldstein. According to a 1991 cover story by Rolling Stone magazine, Rose forced the dismissal of Niven, against the wishes of some of his bandmates, by refusing to complete the albums until he was replaced. It is said that the reason for it was an attempt by Niven to pick-up on his then-girlfirend, future wife, and eventual divorcee, Erin Everly, daughter of Don Everly, of the Everly Brothers.
With enough music for two albums, the band released Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II on September 17, 1991. The tactic paid off when the albums debuted at #2 and #1 respectively on the Billboard chart, setting a record as Guns N' Roses became the only group to date to achieve this feat. The albums spent 108 weeks on the chart.
In the late spring of 1991, before the Illusion albums were released, Guns N' Roses embarked on the 28-month-long Use Your Illusion World Tour. It became famous for both its financial success and the many controversial incidents that occurred at the shows.
During the tour it was alleged, and long accepted, that Rose demanded and received sole ownership of the Guns N' Roses name from bandmates Slash and McKagan. However, this story was recently disputed by Rose, who claimed it would have been legally impossible for him to do such a thing His relationships with his bandmates became increasingly strained: Izzy Stradlin left the group voluntarily on November 7, 1991, and was replaced by former Kill For Thrills guitarist Gilby Clarke for the remainder of the two-year tour. Clarke himself left in 1994, and was replaced by Rose's childhood friend Paul Tobias. When Rose replaced Slash's guitar parts with those of Tobias on the band's cover version of the Rolling Stones' song "Sympathy for the Devil" for the soundtrack of the film Interview with the Vampire, tension increased further. Slash, McKagan and Sorum all left Guns N' Roses at various points between 1996 and 1997, leaving Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed as the only remaining Illusion-era members of the band.
While the Guns N' Roses name is owned solely by Rose, the band's back catalog is controlled jointly by Rose, Slash and McKagan. In 2004, the three presented a united front in a joint lawsuit against Universal and Geffen, in which they unsuccessfully attempted to block the release of the Greatest Hits compilation album.
Slash and McKagan have also filed several lawsuits against Rose for matters related to control and administration of the songs in the Guns N' Roses catalog. One of the cases, in which McKagan and Slash stated that they had been denied royalty checks for Guns N' Roses's sales in 2005, was determined to be the result of a clerical error by ASCAP and was resolved.
