In July 1987, Guns N' Roses released their debut album "Appetite for Destruction". Although the record received critical acclaim, it experienced a modest commercial start, selling as many as 500,000 copies in its first year of release. However, fueled by the band's relentless touring and the mainstream success of the single "Sweet Child o' Mine"—Rose's tribute to his then-girlfriend Erin Everly—the album rose to the No.1 position on the "Billboard" 200 in August 1988, and again in February 1989. To date, "Appetite for Destruction" has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, 18 million of which sold in the United States, making it the best-selling debut album of all time in the U.S.