Every Rose Has Its Thorn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Single by Poison | |||||
| from the album Open Up and Say... Ahh! | |||||
| B-side | Livine For The Minute | ||||
| Released | October 12, 1988 | ||||
| Genre | Glam metal, Country rock | ||||
| Length | 4:20 | ||||
| Label | Capitol Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Bret Michaels | ||||
| Producer | Tom Werman | ||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | ||||
| Poison singles chronology | |||||
|
|||||
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is a power ballad/rock song by American glam metal band Poison. It was released in 1988 as the third single from Poison's second album Open Up And Say...Ahh!. It is the band's first and only number-one hit in the U.S., reaching the top spot on Christmas Eve in 1988 for three weeks (carrying over into 1989). It was a #13 hit in the UK. [1] "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" was named number 34 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80's" and #100 on their "100 Greatest Love Songs."
Contents |
[edit] Song
The song starts quietly and features two intricate guitar solos, one mellow and one fast.
Vocalist Bret Michaels wrote the song in response to a failed love affair with a Los Angeles stripper. Poison had been playing at a cowboy bar called "The Ritz" in Dallas, Texas. After the show, Michaels called the woman at her apartment and heard a man's voice in the background. Heartbroken, Michaels wrote the song with an acoustic guitar in a laundromat. [2]
The song is also recognizable for its reference to cowboys in the chorus, and the twang in Bret Michaels' vocals, which give the song a country feel not often heard in power ballads composed by glam metal bands.
When asked in Twisted Sister: The Completed Uncensored Story about why the glam metal scene came to an end, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister said: "Hey man, it was them motherfuckin' "power ballads", you know! Brett is gonna kill me for saying this but "Every Rose" completely killed the metal in the pop metal scene man. All of a sudden, all the heavy metal rock bands got rid of their distortion pedals and went fuckin' acoustic."[3]
[edit] Music video
The music video for this song is in the same vein as other videos for similar songs of the era. It features Michaels sitting down, playing the guitar, and singing along to the song, interspersed with black and white clips from concerts, and colour frames of what passes for a 'storyline' that follows the song.
[edit] Albums
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is on the following albums.
- Open Up and Say...Ahh!
- Swallow This Live (live version)
- Poison's Greatest Hits: 1986-1996
- Crack a Smile...and More! (Unplugged)
- Power to the People (live version)
- Best of Ballads & Blues
- Freedom Of Sound - (Country version)
- The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock
- Open Up and Say Ah! - 20th Anniversary Edition
- Poison Seven Days Live 2008
[edit] TV/Movie features
- The track was featured in an episode of The Simpsons ("It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge"), with the character Otto identified as a fan of Poison.
- John Mayer performed the song in a sketch on Chappelle's Show.
- Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey features Bill and Ted performing the chorus to prove that they're worthy of entry into heaven.
- The song is performed in an episode of Yes, Dear ("Greg's Big Day") when the main characters meet Bret Michaels.
- The song has also been featured in the movie Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo.
- The song was featured in an episode of The O.C. ("The Rager").
- The song was featured in the Broken Lizard film Beerfest when the character 'Landfill' dies.
- The song was featured in the David Cross film Run Ronnie Run When Ronnie loses his wives.
- The song was featured at the end of an episode of October Road ("The Pros and Cons of Upsetting the Apple Cart").
- The song was used in an episode of Neighbours where Bouncer was run over by an unknown driver.
- The song was featured in several episodes of Rock of Love.
- The song was featured in South Park in the episode "Guitar Queer-o".
- The song appeared in a episode of Cold Case ("Maternal Instincts").
- The song appeared on an episode of Supernatural.
- The song appears on the music game Karaoke Revolution Presents:American Idol.
- The song was featured in the wedding of Peyton Sawyer & Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill. Hayley James Scott quotes the song.
[edit] Covers
- Street punk band The Unseen covered the song on their album Lower Class Crucifixion.
- Melissa Auf der Maur covered this song for the movie Run Ronnie Run; her version plays during the end credits. Auf Der Maur went to become the bassist for the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. The song's riff was played by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, on the "Pastichio Medley" a twenty minute instrumental jam.
- Joey Fatone performed a cover for the movie On the Line.
- Australian punk band No Idea covered the song for the Punk O Clock IV compilation.
- Joshua Fit For Battle covered the song as a bonus track on the album To Bring Our Own End.
- Bucky Covington covered the song at the 2007 Jamboree In The Hills in Morristown Ohio.
- Frankie and the Floyds performed a version of this song on their recent "Save Our Salvation" tour.
- Anarcho-punk band The Absoluts recorded a pop-punk version of this song for the Heal the World charity album.
- Jason Savory covered the song on his self-titled 2004 album.
[edit] Chart performance
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" became the groups first (and only to date) number-one single on Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1988.
| Chart (1988-1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Charts | 16 |
| Dutch Mega Top 50 | 18 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 20 |
| Swiss Music Charts | 12 |
| UK Singles Chart | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 11 |
[edit] References
- ^ [digitaldreamdoor.com] Billboard 'Hot 100' #1 Songs (1980 - 1989). Retrieved on October 26th, 2007
- ^ [theGAZZ.com] theGAZZ.com - the Weekly Arts & Entertainment Guide of the Charleston Gazette in Charleston, West Virginia. Retrieved on October 26th, 2007
- ^ Ribbert, Anthony John (2001). Twisted Sister:The Completed Uncensored Story. Omnibus Publishing. pg. 365. ISBN 1342523432
| Preceded by "Look Away" by Chicago |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single December 24, 1988- January 7, 1989 |
Succeeded by "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
