w. axl rose was the original performer of "sweet child o' mine".
w. axl rose was the original performer of "sweet child o' mine".
which band is the original performer of "sweet child o' mine"?
w. axl rose
in 2015, the web page of the australian music tv channel max published an article by music writer nathan jolly that noted similarities between "sweet child o' mine" and the song "unpublished critics" by the australian band australian crawl, from 1981. the article included both songs, inviting readers to compare the two. it also cited a reader's comment on an earlier article that had originally drawn attention to the similarities between the songs. as of may 2015, this comment no longer appeared on the earlier article. the story went viral quickly, encouraging several comments on both the max article and the suggestion that "unpublished critics" had influenced "sweet child o' mine", including one from duff mckagan, bass player with guns n' roses when "sweet child o' mine" was written and recorded. mckagan found the similarities between the songs "stunning," but said he had not previously heard "unpublished critics."
sweet child o' mine
to make "sweet child o' mine" more marketable to mtv and radio stations, the song was cut from 5:56 to 4:13, for the video edit/remix, with much of slash's solo removed. this drew the ire of the band, including rose, who commented on it in a 1989 interview with "rolling stone": "i hate the video edit of 'sweet child o' mine.' radio stations said, "well, your vocals aren't cut." "my favorite part of the song is slash's slow solo; it's the heaviest part for me. there's no reason for it to be missing except to create more space for commercials, so the radio-station owners can get more advertising dollars. when you get the chopped version of 'paradise city' or half of 'sweet child' and 'patience' cut, you're getting screwed." the video uses the same edits as the radio version.
sweet child o' mine