"Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
Single by Poison
from the album Open Up and Say... Ahh!
B-side
  • "Livin for the Minute" (US)
  • "Back to the Rocking Horse" (UK)
ReleasedOctober 12, 1988
RecordedEarly 1988
Genre
Length4:20
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Tom Werman
Poison singles chronology
"Fallen Angel"
(1988) 		"Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
(1988) 		"Your Mama Don't Dance"
(1989)

"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is a power ballad[4] 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!. The band's signature song, it is also their only number-one hit in the US, reaching Billboard's Hot 100 top spot on December 24, 1988, for three weeks.[5] It also charted at number 11 on the Mainstream Rock chart.[6] It was a number 13 hit in the UK.[7] "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" was named number 34 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s", number 100 on their "100 Greatest Love Songs" and number seven on MTV and VH1 "Top 25 Power Ballads". Billboard ranked the song number five on their list of "The 10 Best Poison Songs".[8]

Background and writing

In an interview with VH1's Behind the Music, Bret Michaels said the inspiration for the song came from a night when he was in a laundromat in Dallas 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.[9]

Critical reception

Jerry Smith, reviewer of British music newspaper Music Week, described this song as "over-wrought ballad, but it makes a change from their ponderous metal posturing".[10] Cash Box said that "Poison slows it down with a bevy of acoustic guitars, and deliver a well-measured ballad."[11]

Music video

The music video to "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" was directed by Marty Callner. It starts out with a forlorn Bret Michaels in bed with a young woman, they both look unhappy. He gets up, does the heavy sigh that is at the start of the song and walks away to play the acoustic guitar, the video then goes into video clips of the band's tour. The same young woman is seen driving a Thunderbird in the rain (two different times), listening to "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" on the car's radio. The video was shot at the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and in an empty warehouse nearby.[12] The video ends with Michaels playing the last of the song on his acoustic guitar and walking away.

Legacy

The song has been seen as a glam metal classic, being ranked on multiple "best of" lists.[13][14][15] In 2017, Billboard and OC Weekly ranked the song number five and number two, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Poison songs.[16][17]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[38] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

References

  1. ^ "Every Rose Has Its Thorn: A Tribute to the Syrupy-Sweet Sounds of '80s Hair-Metal Ballads". Spin. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  2. ^ Harrison, Thomas (2011). Music of the 1980s. ABC-CLIO. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-313-36600-0.
  3. ^ Bosso, Joe (August 23, 2019). "The 25 best acoustic rock songs". Guitar World. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  4. ^ "The 21 best power ballads". The Telegraph. July 23, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  5. ^ Breihan, Tom (June 16, 2021). "The Number Ones: Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"". Stereogum. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  6. ^ "Poison - Mainstream Rock Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  7. ^ "Poison The Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  8. ^ Titus, Christa (July 5, 2017). "Poison's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  9. ^ "Something to believe in". The Gazz. Archived from the original on May 28, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
  10. ^ Smith, Jerry (4 February 1989). "Review: Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (PDF). Music Week. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 23. ISSN 0265-1548. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021 – via World Radio History.
  11. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. October 29, 1988. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  12. ^ Meinert, Kendra (February 8, 2019). "Bret Michaels will close down the Brown County arena concert era with a show April 6". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  13. ^ "Readers' Poll: The 10 Greatest Hair Metal Songs". Rolling Stone. February 5, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  14. ^ Bowar, Chad. "Best 20 Hair Metal Ballads of the '80s and '90s". LiveAbout. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  15. ^ Bernstein, Scott (January 4, 2007). "THE B List: Favorite Hair-Metal Power Ballads". Glide Magazine. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  16. ^ Titus, Christa (July 5, 2017). "Poison's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  17. ^ Silver, Michael (June 13, 2017). "The 10 Best Poison Songs". OC Weekly. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  18. ^ "Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  19. ^ Top Singles - January 23, 1989, p.6 RPM Magazine
  20. ^ "European Hot 100 singles" (PDF). Music & Media. March 18, 1989. p. 10. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  21. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Every Rose Has Its Thorn". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  22. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Poison" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  23. ^ "Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  24. ^ "Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn". Top 40 Singles.
  25. ^ "Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn". Singles Top 100.
  26. ^ "Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn". Swiss Singles Chart.
  27. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  28. ^ "Poison Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  29. ^ "Poison Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  31. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – 1989". ARIA, via Imgur.com. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  32. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 51, No. 8, December 23, 1989". RPM. December 23, 1999. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  33. ^ "Top Selling Singles of 1989". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  34. ^ "1989 The Year in Music: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 101, no. 51. December 23, 1989. p. Y-22.
  35. ^ "Longbored Surfer - 1989". Longboredsurfer.com. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  36. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  37. ^ "British single certifications – Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  38. ^ "American single certifications – Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  39. ^ "VIDEO: Bret Michaels Rocks (Gently) on American Idol".
  40. ^ "Ailing Bret Michaels Performs on 'Idol' finale". Billboard.
  41. ^ "Miley Cyrus Covers Poison's 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn'". MTV.
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