Every Rose Has Its Thorn
| "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Poison | ||||
| from the album Open Up and Say... Ahh! | ||||
| B-side | Livin For The Minute | |||
| Released | October 12, 1988 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 4:20 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Writer(s) | Bret Michaels, C.C. DeVille, Bobby Dall, Rikki Rockett | |||
| Producer | Tom Werman | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Poison singles chronology | ||||
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"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is the title of a power ballad song by American glam metal band Poison. It was released in October 1988 as the third single from Poison's second album Open Up And Say... Ahh!. It is the band's 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 number 13 hit in the UK.[1] "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" was named number 34 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s", #100 on their "100 Greatest Love Songs" and #7 on MTV and VH1 "Top 25 Power Ballads."
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[edit] Song
Musically, the song starts quietly and features two intricate guitar solos, one mellow and one fast. Among guitarists, the song is notable for epitomizing the standard G - Cadd9 progression in pop/rock. During the same period, Poison had been playing at a cowboy bar called "The Ritz" in Dallas, Texas, accounting for the song's recognizable references to cowboys in the chorus, along with the twang in Bret Michaels' vocals, which give the song a country feel not often heard in power ballads composed by glam metal bands.
[edit] Background and writing
In an interview with VH1's Behind The Music, Michaels said the inspiration for the song came from a night when he was in a laundromat waiting for his clothes to dry, and called his girlfriend on a pay phone. Michaels said he heard a male voice in the background and was devastated; he said he went into the laundromat and wrote "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" as a result. The name of the girl in the song is Tracy Lewis.[2]
[edit] Music video
The music video to "Every Rose" was similar to those filmed for other 1980s power ballads. It features Michaels sitting down, playing the guitar, and singing along to the song, interspersed with black-and-white clips from concerts, and color frames of a storyline that follows the song.
[edit] Chart performance
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" became the group's first (and only to date) number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100; it climbed to the top during the two last weeks of 1988 and the first week of 1989.
| Chart (1988–1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Charts | 16 |
| Dutch Mega Top 50 | 18 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 8 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 20 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 12 |
| 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 26, 2007
- ^ theGAZZ.com - the Weekly Arts & Entertainment Guide of the Charleston Gazette in Charleston, West Virginia. Retrieved on October 26, 2007[dead link]
| 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 |
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