Axl Rose - Early Life

Early Life

Rose was born William Bruce Rose, Jr. in Lafayette, Indiana, the oldest child of Sharon E. (née Lintner), then 16 years old, and William Bruce Rose, then 20 years old. When Rose was two years old, his father abandoned the family. His mother remarried to Stephen L. Bailey, and his name was changed to William Bruce Bailey. He has two younger siblings—a sister, Amy, and a half-brother, Stuart. Until the age of 17, Rose believed that Bailey was his real father. He never met his biological father as an adult; William Rose, Sr. was found murdered in Illinois in 1984.

The Bailey household was very religious; Rose and his family attended a Pentecostal church, where he was required to attend services three to eight times per week and even taught Sunday school. Rose later described his upbringing as oppressive, stating, "We'd have televisions one week, then my stepdad would throw them out because they were satanic. I wasn't allowed to listen to music. Women were evil. Everything was evil." In 1992, after undergoing past life regression therapy, Rose claimed he had uncovered memories of being sexually abused by his biological father at the age of two. He also stated that his stepfather had physically abused him and his siblings, as well as sexually abused his sister. Rose found solace in music from an early age. He sang in the church choir from the age of five, and performed at services with his brother and sister under the name the Bailey Trio. At Jefferson High School, he participated in the school chorus and studied piano. A second baritone, Rose began developing "different voices" during chorus practice to confuse his teacher. He eventually formed a band with his friends, one of whom was Jeff Isbell, later known as Izzy Stradlin.

At the age of 17, while going through insurance papers in his parents' home, Rose learned of his biological father's existence, and he unofficially readopted his birth name. However, he referred to himself only as W. Rose, because he did not want to share a first name with his biological father. (Four years later, after moving to Los Angeles, he became so engrossed in his band AXL that his friends suggested he call himself Axl Rose; he legally changed his name to W. Axl Rose prior to signing his contract with Geffen Records in March 1986.) Following the discovery of his true family origins, Rose became the local juvenile delinquent in Lafayette; he was arrested over 20 times on charges such as public intoxication and battery, and served as long as three months in jail. After Lafayette authorities threatened to charge him as a habitual criminal, Rose moved to Los Angeles, California in December 1982.