Happy Christmas Eve to all! Thanks for your support of Charlie’s 80s Attic!
On this day in 1988: American ‘hair band’ Poison started a three-week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn.’ It was released in October of 1988 as the third single from their second album ‘Open Up and Say…Ahh!’ It is Poison’s signature song and was their only #1 hit in the U.S., reaching the top spot on December 24, 1988, and would stay there for three weeks (carrying over into 1989). It also charted at #11 on the Mainstream Rock chart. It was a #13 hit in the U.K. “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” was ranked #34 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Songs of the 80s”, #100 on their “100 Greatest Love Songs” and #7 on MTV & VH1’s “Top 25 Power Ballads”.
Poison’s lead singer 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.
The music video to “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” was directed by Marty Callner. It starts out with 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. The video ends with Bret Michaels playing the last of the song on his acoustic guitar and walking away.
Here’s a look at the complete Top 20 on the U.S. singles chart from this day back in 1988:
1 2 EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORN –•– Poison – 9 (1)
2 4 MY PREROGATIVE –•– Bobby Brown – 10 (2)
3 1 LOOK AWAY –•– Chicago – 14 (1)
4 3 GIVING YOU THE BEST THAT I GOT –•– Anita Baker – 14 (3)
5 5 WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL –•– Boy Meets Girl – 16 (5)
6 12 TWO HEARTS –•– Phil Collins – 6 (6)
7 9 WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE –•– Guns N’ Roses – 10 (7)
8 13 IN YOUR ROOM –•– The Bangles – 11 (8)
9 10 WALK ON WATER –•– Eddie Money – 13 (9)
10 15 DON’T RUSH ME –•– Taylor Dayne – 8 (10)
11 6 BABY, I LOVE YOUR WAY/FREEBIRD –•– Will To Power – 16 (1)
12 21 ARMAGEDDON IT –•– Def Leppard – 6 (12)
13 20 SMOOTH CRIMINAL –•– Michael Jackson – 7 (13)
14 17 I REMEMBER HOLDING YOU –•– The Boys Club – 10 (14)
15 7 I DON’T WANT YOUR LOVE –•– Duran Duran – 11 (4)
16 18 SILHOUETTE –•– Kenny G – 9 (16)
17 8 HOW CAN I FALL? –•– Breathe – 16 (3)
18 11 THE PROMISE –•– When In Rome – 17 (11)
19 23 PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART Annie Lennox & Al Green –8 (19)
20 14 FINISH WHAT YA STARTED –•– Van Halen – 13 (13)
