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Cover of Open Up and Say… Ahh! by Poison
Cover: Open Up and Say… Ahh!

Song · Poison

“Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison

From the album Open Up and Say… Ahh! (1988)

“Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison appears on 65 radio countdowns from 22 stations between 1990 and 2026. It was first released in 1988 on the album Open Up and Say… Ahh!. Its best result is #44 on the 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022).

65countdowns
22stations
#44best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1990–2026years charted

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Every Rose Has Its Thorn

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"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is the moment Poison eased off the party: a power ballad from their second album, Open Up and Say... Ahh!, sent out as its third single in October 1988. Bret Michaels wrote the words and sings them with a weary, heartsore drawl, and when C.C. DeVille steps in, his solo aches more than it shreds. Bobby Dall and Rikki Rockett keep it simple and steady, and Tom Werman's production keeps it clean enough for any radio format.

It became the glam-metal band's signature song and their only No. 1 in the US, and MTV and VH1 later ranked it seventh among the top 25 power ballads.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 76 Z-Rock Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) 1000
2013 336 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 407 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2014 604 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 299 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2016 480 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 348 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2017 360 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 168 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2018 361 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 310 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 182 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2019 214 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 252 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 164 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 288 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2020 455 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 249 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 258 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2020 406 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 251 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2021 282 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 63 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2021 249 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 63 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2021 48 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) 500
2021 417 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 182 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2022 341 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2022 119 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2022 379 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 243 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 203 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2022) 500
2022 117 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 44 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 524 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 314 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 100 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2023 849 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 414 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 317 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 100 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 261 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 185 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2023) 500
2023 447 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 170 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 565 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 136 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2024 256 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 162 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 416 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2024 474 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2024 133 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2024) 500
2024 238 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 143 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 74 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2025 610 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 79 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2025 231 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 92 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 168 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2026 487 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498
2026 391 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500
2026 143 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500
2026 196 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Every Rose Has It's Thorn; Every Rose Has It's Thorns; Every Rose Has it's Thorn.

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