Izzy Stradlin

Izzy's grandfather's half-brother, Joseph William "Little Joe" Isbell, was born 1916.

He was also a recording and touring artist, described as a "country yodeler".

Stradlin developed an interest in music early in life; by the age of eight, his musical favorites included Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, and Led Zeppelin.

His biggest musical influence was his paternal grandmother, who played drums in a swing jazz band with her friends.

Inspired, Stradlin talked his parents into buying him a drum kit.

In high school, Stradlin started a band with his friends, one of whom was singer William Bailey, later known as Axl Rose.

Stradlin recalled, "We were long-haired guys in high school. You were either a jock or a stoner. We weren't jocks, so we ended up hanging out together. We'd play covers in the garage. There were no clubs to play at, so we never made it out of the garage."

Jeffrey Dean Isbell (born April 8, 1962), best known as Izzy Stradlin, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.

Stradlin was born 1962 in Lafayette, Indiana.

His father, Richard Clyde Isbell, was an engraver.

His mother, Sonja LaVern Isbell, née Reagan, worked for a phone company.

Stradlin has stated that he "grew up in Florida and moved with my mom to Lafayette."

His parents divorced when Stradlin was eight.

His mother moved Stradlin and his two younger brothers, Kevin Thomas Isbell and Joseph "Joe" Isbell to Lafayette, Indiana.

Of his hometown, Stradlin said, "It was cool growing up there. There's a courthouse and a college, a river and railroad tracks. It's a small town, so there wasn't much to do. We rode bikes, smoked pot, got into trouble—it was pretty Beavis and Butt-Head actually."

Despite his aversion to school, Stradlin graduated in 1980 with a D average, the only original member of Guns N' Roses with a high school diploma.

Set on a career in music, he subsequently moved to Los Angeles.

Shortly after his arrival in Los Angeles, Stradlin joined punk band Naughty Women.

During his ill-fated first show with the band, audience members began attacking the musicians; Stradlin recalled, "I just grabbed a cymbal stand and stood on the side trying to fend them off, yelling, 'Get the fuck away from me, man!' That was my introduction to the rock scene in L.A."

His two-month tenure in Naughty Women was followed by a stint in punk band The Atoms, before his drum kit was stolen from his car and he switched to bass.

Stradlin then joined the heavy metal band Shire, during which he took up rhythm guitar to aid his songwriting.

In 1983, Stradlin formed Hollywood Rose with childhood friend Axl Rose, who had moved to Los Angeles the previous year.

In January 1984, the band recorded a five-song demo featuring the tracks "Killing Time", "Anything Goes", "Rocker", "Shadow of Your Love", and "Reckless Life", which were released in 2004 as part of the compilation album The Roots of Guns N' Roses.

The group disbanded in August, following which Stradlin briefly joined Sunset Strip staple London.

He also formed the short-lived band Stalin with singer Eric Leach and guitarist Taz Rudd of Symbol Six.

In December, he reunited with Hollywood Rose.

In March 1985, Stradlin founded Guns N' Roses with Axl Rose and members of L.A. Guns, Tracii Guns, Ole Beich and Rob Gardner, as a favor to L.A. Guns manager, Raz Cue, who had previously booked the act at the Troubadour.

By June, the lineup consisted of Rose, guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler.

They played nightclubs—such as the Whisky a Go Go, The Roxy, and The Troubadour—and opened for larger acts throughout 1985 and 1986.

During this period, the band wrote much of its classic material, and Stradlin established himself as a key songwriter.

In July 1987, Guns N' Roses released their debut album, Appetite for Destruction, which has sold over 28 million copies worldwide, including 18 million in the United States alone.

Stradlin wrote or cowrote most of its songs, including the hits "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Paradise City".

He also wrote the hit "Patience" on the follow-up G N' R Lies, released in November 1988 to US sales of five million copies, despite containing only eight tracks, four of which were included on the previously released EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide.

As their success grew, so did tensions within the band.

In 1989, opening for The Rolling Stones, Rose made an on-stage announcement in which he threatened to leave the band if Slash and Adler did not stop "dancing with Mr. Brownstone," a reference to their song of the same name about heroin.

After being sentenced to a year's probation for urinating in public aboard an airplane (after which the band nicknamed him "Whizzy"), Stradlin decided to attain sobriety; he returned to his house in Indiana, where he detoxed from drugs and alcohol.

He was a co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and backing vocalist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he recorded four studio albums and left at the height of their fame in 1991.

Following his departure from Guns N' Roses, Stradlin fronted his own rock band, Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, before continuing to record as a solo artist.

In September 1991, Guns N' Roses released the long-awaited Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, which debuted at No. 2 and No. 1 respectively in the US chart – an unprecedented feat.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Guns N' Roses in 2012.