Writers: Guns N' Roses
Producer: Mike Clink
Recorded: Early 1987 in Canoga Park, Burbank, and Tarzana, California
Released: Summer 1987
| Players: | Axl Rose – vocals Slash — guitar Izzy Stradlin — guitar Duff McKagan — bass Steven Adler — drums |
| Album: | Appetite For Destruction (Geffen, 1987) |
Guns N' Roses was formed in 1985 by Indiana school friends Axl Rose (born William Bailey) and Izzy Stradlin (Jeffrey Isbell), who met a guitarist named Slash (Saul Hudson), whose father designed album covers and whose mother was a seamstress for David Bowie. They teamed with bassistMichael “Duff” McKagan and drummer Steven Adler.
The group released an independent EP, Live ?!*@ LIke a Suicide, on the Uzi/Suicide label, which attracted the attention of major labels. Geffen ultimately signed the band.
“Welcome To The Jungle” — the first single from the group's debut album, Appetite For Destruction — was inspired by the seedier aspects of life around Hollywood and Los Angeles that the group members witnessed while playing the area's club scene.
The song hit Number 67 on the U.K. chart. It never charted in the U.S. but was a popular radio track.
“Welcome To The Jungle” was also used in Clint Eastwood's 1988 Dirty Harry movie The Dead Pool, in which GNR made a cameo appearance.
The song was also the Cincinnati Bengals' fight song that season.
Appetite For Destruction reached Number One on the Billboard 200 and has sold more than 15 million copies, making it one of the most successful debuts in rock history.