Axl Rose, the iconic frontman of Guns N’ Roses, didn’t rise from comfort or privilege. His unmistakable voice and volatile stage presence were shaped by a childhood marked by confusion, control, and emotional pain.

Born on February 6, 1962, as William Bruce Rose Jr., Axl grew up in Lafayette, Indiana, under difficult circumstances from the very beginning. His mother was a teenager when he was born, and his biological father — a troubled young man — was absent from his life and later murdered in 1984. For years, Axl believed his mother’s second husband, Stephen L. Bailey, was his real father, a truth that wouldn’t come to light until later.

The home he was raised in was deeply religious and extremely strict. Music, television, and many everyday pleasures were condemned as sinful. The family attended Pentecostal church services multiple times a week, and young Axl even taught Sunday school. Looking back, he would later describe the household as oppressive and ruled by fear. “Everything was evil,” he once said. He has spoken openly about the trauma he endured, the harsh treatment from his stepfather, and his mother’s inability — or unwillingness — to protect him after choosing her marriage over her children.

School offered no escape. High school proved just as hostile, filled with bullying and low expectations from those around him. Yet even then, Axl held onto an unshakable belief in himself. He told friends with certainty, “I’m going to make it.”

As a teenager, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, providing some explanation for years of emotional extremes. His rebellion grew stronger, leading to frequent run-ins with the law. Axl later claimed he had been arrested around 20 times. Facing the possibility of serious legal consequences, he realized he had to leave Indiana behind.

Throughout it all, music remained his refuge. He sang in church choirs as early as age five, performed with his siblings in the “Bailey Trio,” studied piano, and joined school choruses. Teachers remembered him as intelligent, magnetic, and naturally gifted — signs of the star he would one day become.

From chaos and hardship emerged a voice that would go on to define a generation, proving that even the most painful beginnings can fuel legendary greatness.