History:
Pretty boy good looks and pop oriented rock songs made Poison one of the biggest names in the late 80's glam scene. They quickly became MTV darlings and opened the door for many similar bands to follow with their radio-friendly ballads and over-the-top stage shows.
  Bret Michaels (vocals/guitar), Matt Smith (guitar), Bobby Dall (bass) and Rikki Rockett (drums) formed Poison in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the early 80's. Smith was quickly replaced by ex-Roxx Regime (the band that would later become Stryper) guitarist C.C. DeVille and the band started to make waves. They started to attract a huge following in the L.A. metal clubs and were promptly signed to a major label deal. The band's first three albums all hit the Billboard top 5 on their way to going multi-platinum (including six top ten singles), before the band started to unravel. Michaels warned both DeVille and Dall to slow down on drugs or be fired, DeVille was unable to do so and was replaced by Richie Kotzen in 1992.
  The Native Tongue album was a more mature effort, but failed to reach the massive success of the other albums. In late 1993 Kotzen was promptly canned when the band found out he had been sleeping with Rockett's girlfriend. Blues Saraceno was made the new guitarist and would begin work on Crack A Smile, an album that sat dormant for several years before finally getting released. Poison decided to take a hiatus due to lack of label support and the changing musical tides. Michaels would do some acting, release a solo album and form a production company with actor Charlie Sheen, while Rockett became a comic book publisher.
  The band regrouped with DeVille in 1996, and took the music to the people. Despite having no new album to promote, Poison's '99 tour became one of the highest grossing of the year, proving that their type of flashy music was far from dead. A new album appeared in 2002 with very little promotion, yet still managed to reach the charts despite hair metal being constantly ridiculed by the press, followed by a covers CD in 2007. Poison seems to be one of the few bands that have been able to continue a successful career amidst the grunge and alternative years.

Links:
The Official Poison Page
The Official Bret Michaels Page
The Official Rikki Rockett Page
The Official Richie Kotzen Page
The Official Blues Saraceno Page
The Official Unofficial Poison Web Site
Carol's Poison Place

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