The American rock band Guns N’ Roses has been making headlines recently. Adding to the buzz, lead guitarist Slash has revealed that he initially didn’t like the iconic song “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”
Early Doubts about a Defining Hit
The 1988 track has since evolved into one of the band’s hallmark singles, but Slash was skeptical about its “ballad” vibe, despite being the creator of the song’s memorable riff, as reported by ‘Female First UK’.
Slash shared with ‘Guitar World’ magazine, “I have to admit I did have a thing with it. It was a riff I came up with, and I didn’t know what I was going to do with it. I wasn’t really thinking about it at the time, but it inspired the whole song. I always say this, but to me, we were like a Motorhead-type hard rock band, so any kind of ballads were sort of uncongressed.”
Performance Memories
The 60-year-old guitarist recounted a particular performance: “We played it one time opening for Ted Nugent, and when it was time to play that song, I was like, ‘Oh, f***’. And, of course, I had to remember how to play the riff accurately by myself in front of everybody every time we played, which, at the time I was a little drunk, and you never knew what was going to happen.”
Improvisation on Stage
According to ‘Female First UK’, Slash is renowned for his guitar solos in songs like “November Rain” and “Welcome to the Jungle,” but he admits these were never meticulously planned. He explained, “I don’t remember ever sitting down and figuring any of them out. I remember going into that, and it sounds very structured to a point, but that’s just what the chord changes were. It’s interesting to think back on sometimes. When you’re onstage, your mind wanders, and I’ll go back and think about stuff like that.”
Reunion and Relationships
Slash parted ways with Guns N’ Roses in 1996 following tensions with frontman Axl Rose but made his return in 2016. He has emphasized that he maintains a good relationship with his bandmates, including fellow guitarists Duff McKagan and Richard Fortus.