"Every Rose Has Its Thorn," Poison

I do not understand the enduring appeal of Bret Michaels – and I still don’t understand this:

Poison's “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” contains just about every rock cliché in the book and, unfortunately, remains the best-known ballad of the hair metal era. Clearly, Bret Michaels was so sad about his thorny, thong-wearing rose (who we see at the beginning of the video) that he had to perform the song with sunglasses indoors. Because, you know, real rock stars don’t show their tears.  

The video suggests that it’s Michaels’ dedication to the band – and to the fans – that has led his rose astray.  So we see all the pain they go through with the extreme slow motion shots, including airborne splits, on-stage collapses, and, of course, ultra-sweaty jamming.  Nevermind the millions of dollars or groupies Poison had…it’s just a boring, never-ending ride from one city to the next.

Lots of people bought it, though.  It became Poison’s most popular song, hitting number 1 on the U.S. charts, and remains its signature tune.  And if that weren’t enough, Miley Cyrus recorded a cover of it.  Click here to hear it at your own risk.


Want more 80s hair metal?  Check out our throwbacks on Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" and Warrant's "Cherry Pie."