Brantly Gilbert, the biggest singer/songwriter in Nashville and all of country music right now, has a hit called "My Baby's Guns N Roses." The Youtube link is below. Current Nashville is madly in love with Gnr, they "get" the GNR vibe. GNR's relevance in pop culture refuses to die. Their legacy seems to grow with time, a lot of the current country and pop artists are very devoted to Axl and the Guns legacy regardless of the lack of a steady flow of new and relevant music. Their legacy alone keeps them relevant and buzz worthy. With Carrie Underwood's recent Internet buzz for performing a stunning PC cover at the CMA musical festival, to Jason Aldean's (biggest name in country music right now) open interview about what AFD meant to him and his music, it is apparent that Gnr are larger than life musical icons that show no sign of fading away into the cesspool of washed up cultural irrelevancy. They are an engrained part of American pop culture. Perhaps Slash's top hat and Axl's screech wail, long red hair, and red bandana are as American as Coke, Mickey Mouse, and McDonalds.
I think they are "The Beatles" for those of use who come of age in the 80s and early 90s. Their legacy seems to get larger with time.
I've posted on here before about Nashville's obsession with Guns, e.g. Carrie Underwood's amazing covers, Jason Aldean's covers, Keith Urban's tribute to Welcome to the Jungle, etc. It is no secret that current country artists really dig eighties rock, GNR especially. They love the "outlaw" image, blues based rock riffs, and the soulful, raspy howl of Axl. I've said this many times that there is a lot in common with GNR and the "spirit of country music." I think Axl has more in common with honky tonk, blues, and jazz singers than he does with metal singers. In other words, Axl has more in common with Hank Williams, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin, Bessie Smith, Al Green, etc. than he does with Ronnie James Dio, Bruce Dickenson, Rob Halford, Bach, etc. Axl is too soulful to be compared to metal singers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hP6QfIK2aE
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