Twenty years ago today, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” sat atop the Billboard Hot 100. It was Guns N’ Roses’ first single off their debut, Appetite For Destruction, and to date, the band’s sole #1 single. Three more songs from Destruction would follow “Sweet Child O’ Mine” into the Top 10: “Welcome To The Jungle” (#7), “Paradise City” (#5), and Patience (#4).

“Sweet Child O’ Mine” was written as an ode to Axl Rose’s then-girlfriend and future ex-wife, Erin Everly (yes, the daughter of Don Everly of the Everly Brothers):

Taking note of the song’s origins, it’s curious that “Sweet Child O’ Mine” has been covered by so many females — Texas, Neneh Cherry, Carrie Underwood, and Sheryl Crow among them. Crow took home a Grammy for her 1999 version, produced by Rick Rubin. And if you missed my post a few months back, there’s a quite-sweet bossa nova makeover worth checking out.

In June, seven tracks from Guns N’ Roses’ long-delayed Chinese Democracy leaked on the Web (the blogger responsible was charged). That blip aside, the album may finally see the light of day soon. There’s been some chatter that Chinese Democracy may sold exclusively at Best Buy or Wal-Mart.

Purchase “Sweet Child O’ Mine” via iTunes, Amazon.