10. Guns N Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzAGZT_XTAk "Sweet Child O' Mine" might have the most unforgettable guitar riff of all time. It's certainly the song along with the rest of 1987's "Appetite for Destruction" that is considered the high watermark for 80s hair metal. However, Guns' guitarist Slash has called the tune "a fluke," a silly result of a moment when the band was just horsing around, making funny faces, and jamming on their instruments. Frontman Axl Rose ended up loving the song, which meant that it went on the album and became a smash hit. Slash has come around to "Sweet Child O' Mine" over the years perhaps due to the way it's inspired a million rockstar wannabes in the "Guitar Hero" video game. For a long time though, the guitarist wasn't a fan. "I hated the song because it was so stupid at first," he once said, referring to the tune's jokey roots. "I hated the guitar part."
Craig Manning
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Craig is a Chicago-based freelance writer who like to talk incessantly about music on AbsolutePunk.net. He also does writing for marketing companies to "pay the bills," but his true passion lies with the pop culture sphere.
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