Slash reveals doubts about Guns N’ Roses hit “Sweet Child O’ Mine”

Despite creating one of rock’s most iconic riffs, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash has admitted he initially had doubts about the band’s 1988 hit “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”

In a recent interview with Guitar World magazine, the 60-year-old guitarist, whose real name is Saul Hudson, explained his early reluctance toward the song that would become one of the band’s defining singles.

“I have to admit I did have a thing with it,” Slash told Guitar World. “It was a riff I came up with, and I didn’t know what I was going to do with it. I wasn’t really thinking about it at the time, but it inspired the whole song.”

The guitarist’s hesitation stemmed from the song’s style, which differed from the band’s harder-edged sound. “I always say this, but to me, we were like a Motorhead-type hard rock band, so any kind of ballads were sort of uncharacteristic,” he told the outlet.

Despite his guitar hero reputation on tracks like “November Rain” and “Welcome to the Jungle,” Slash revealed that his famous solos weren’t meticulously planned.

“I don’t remember ever sitting down and figuring any of them out — especially Jungle,” he explained.

After leaving Guns N’ Roses in 1996 due to tensions with frontman Axl Rose, Slash rejoined the band in 2016. He now says relationships within the group have improved considerably, attributing past conflicts to management issues, according to Guitar World.

“I think a lot of the stuff that was an issue for Guns in the early days – especially in the 90s – had to do with management stuff that pitted me and Axl against each other.