Poison “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” hit #1

Every Rose Has Its Thorn Poison

Writer(s): Bret Michaels, C.C. DeVille, Bobby Dall, Rikki Rockett (see lyrics here) Released: October 12, 1988 First Charted: October 28, 1988 Peak: 13BB, 14 BA, 14 CB, 14 GR, 12 RR, 11 AR, 13 UK, 2 CN, 16 AU, 5 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.2 UK, 0.7 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 70.9 video, 306.55 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “This is the textbook rocker-dude move. You establish yourself as the king of the party, the debaucherous demon among debaucherous demons. Then, when you’ve got people on your side, you pull out the acoustic guitar and you get sensitive.” SG “Poison were one of the definitive party bands of their era, and yet their biggest hit is ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn.’” SG In 1986, Poison released their debut album, Look What the Cat Dragged In, “an album where the sleaze is so joyous that it’s almost wholesome.” SG Lead singer “Bret Michaels doesn’t have much of a voice, but he gets over on pure David Lee Roth-style strutting showmanship.” SG The 1988 follow-up Open Up and Say… Ahh! “isn’t quite as inspired…but it’s sleek and sharp, and almost every song sounds like a hit.” SG “The anthemically cheesed-out lead single ‘Nothin’ But A Good Time’ became the band’s biggest hit yet, peaking at #6…The follow-up ‘Fallen Angel’ just missed the top 10, peaking at #12…Poison offered no indication that they were into depth at all.” SG As such, Capitol Records was understandably reluctant to release “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” despite a slate of hair bands finding success with power ballads. As Michaels said, “We’re not trying to be AC/DC and we’re not trying to be Bob Dylan. But I have both those artists in my record collection. Why can’t I have influences from both?” FB Regarding the origins of the song, he explained that the band were playing a club in Dallas and staying in a sleazy hotel. He and drummer Ricki Rockett were talking in the laundry room and the idea for the song came to Bret. FB He “had called his girlfriend back in LA, and a man’s voice answered the phone.” SG Surprisingly, the song “isn’t a sneering, snarling woman-done-me-wrong song. Instead, Michaels simply tries to make sense of where things went wrong and of what he could’ve done differently.” SG Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Poison FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 717. SG Stereogum (6/16/2021). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan First posted 2/20/2024.