by Jessica Syrjala

Created on: July 28, 2009

Do you know where you are? You're in the jungle baby. Wake up, it's time to diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee..

In September 1987, a band that goes by the name of Guns-N-Roses was welcomed to the jungle, and took off like something never seen before in the world of rock and roll. Their first single off of the album, It's So Easy, did not fare well. However, the next month, Welcome to the Jungle would be released and would take the band to super stardom. The world's greatest rock band would be born.

While Welcome to the Jungle would become an anthem to 80's music, it would also be voted the greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1 in 2009. And that is just the beginning. The next year, Sweet Child O Mine would be release and would become the bands first number one hit.

With songs like Paradise City, Mr. Brownstone, Rocket Queen and My Michelle, the band would propel itself into rock and roll super stardom and would begin a world-wide following that still today is emblazoned in the hearts of rock and roll fans everywhere. It revolutionized rock and roll as it was in the 1980's. With the emergence of Guns-N-Roses, rock and roll took a new turn. They weren't one of the pretty bands in the glam-rock world, they weren't heavy metal enough such that they were able to penetrate the mainstream radio waves. They were dirty. They were brash. They symbolized a good time of drugs, sex, booze and women.

Led by one of the greatest frontmen of all time, Axl Rose, with his scratchy vocals, the band was a force to be reckoned with. Slash, on the guitar, could whip up a riff on the guitar that was saturated with a variety of musical influences: rock, blues and a little something in between. Izzy Stradlin, on rhythm guitar, contributed to much of the songwriting, and was a very large part of the band's success. With Axl Rose, they left the band Hollywood Rose to form what would become Guns-N-Roses. Duff McKagan was on the bass. Steven Adler, a friend of Slash's since the age of 12, played with Slash in the band LA Guns, and eventually all would come together to be known as Guns-N-Roses.

Appetite For Destruction has sold an estimated 100 million copies worldwide and remains a staple in the rock and roll fan's collection. There has never been another album like it, and it remains to be seen if there will ever be another like it again. The band was able to penetrate not only the rock and roll market, but the punk market and mainstream radio waves. It revolutionized music as it was and changed the face of it forever. There will never be another band with the staying-power or diverse fan base that Guns-N-Roses was able to capture.

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