Poison is an American hard rock band that achieved great success and popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They have become icons of the glam metal genre with their striking image, lyrical themes, and widespread commercial success. To date, the band has sold more than 25 million records worldwide, including 14.5 million in the United States alone.http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=2&table=tblTopArt&action= The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including six Top 10 singles and one #1.http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fifyxqr5ldhe~T51 After 25 years, the band is still recording music and performing.

Band history

Early Years (1983–1986)

Poison was formed in 1983 in Central Pennsylvania under the name "Paris". By 1984, the lineup consisted of lead vocalist Bret Michaels, guitarist Matt Smith, bassist Bobby Dall, and drummer Rikki Rockett. Moving to Los Angeles on March 6, 1984, the band started playing the club circuit. The name "Poison" was picked by the band after a group of concerned parents protested to say that rock music was "poisoning" the lives of their children.

Smith, who was about to father a child and was concerned about the band's future, returned to Pennsylvania. The band began auditioning replacement guitarists when Smith left the group. After narrowing down the candidates to three - Slash, who would later join Guns N' Roses, Steve Silva from The Joe Perry Project, and C.C. DeVille - the band eventually agreed that DeVille's "fire" made him the best choice.