The artist Axl Rose called “the best lyricist of all time”
Axl Rose has never been known to mince words about what he thinks about other musicians. From the biggest stars in the world to former bandmates, Rose usually spoke his mind and, more often than not, landed himself in trouble when saying the wrong thing to a reporter. Although Rose may have been affiliated with ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Band’, his tastes were far more eclectic than people think.
Before he had packed up his bag to move to California, Rose was originally living in the suburbs of Indiana before deciding to head off to the big city with Izzy Stradlin in tow. Although he was in dire straits for most of his career working in the band Hollywood Rose, something started to click when a guitarist named Slash was added to the lineup.
Bonding over their love of sleazy rock bands like The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses was formed to stomp out the lesser bands coming off Sunset Strip at the time. Though Rose was far more authentic than most of the glamorous pretty boys on the scene, he did have a sweet tooth for one of the classic pop-rock songwriters.
When talking about influences, Rose counted Elton John among one of his greatest inspirations, telling MTV, “I love Elton John—especially the first seven albums. Bernie Taupin to me is the best lyric writer that ever existed on the face of the earth. Elton was just amazing in the studio and the recording of everything. That’s my classical music because some of his stuff is classical, you know”.
As the band started to get bigger, Rose let the influence of the piano player seep into his work even more. Throughout the making of the Use Your Illusion albums, Rose turned in the most grandiose ballads of GNR’s career, including the nine-minute piano-led odyssey ‘November Rain’.
It was clear that John was flattered by the adulation, later recommending Rose to induct him into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Taking the stage, Rose recalled the moment that John made him want to become a singer, remembering, “When I first heard ‘Bennie and the Jets’ I knew at that time that I had to be a performer. When we talk of great rock duos like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, John and Paul, Mick and Keith, I think of Elton John and Bernie Taupin”.
Rose would eventually get the chance of a lifetime when performing at The Freddie Mercury Concert for Life in 1992. During the performance to honour the late Queen frontman, Rose sang the anthem ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ alongside John, with both of them embracing as the song drew to a close.
Granted, Rose’s flair for theatrics didn’t sit well with the rest of the group, who started to clash musically with their frontman. Unwilling to let go of the reins during the tour, Rose would eventually retain the rights to the name Guns N’ Roses in the early ‘90s, only for the rest of his bandmates to leave the band when working on the album Chinese Democracy. Despite the influence of one of the greatest showmen in the world, Rose may have let his control freak nature get the better of him behind the scenes.
