"Poison" is a song by American musician

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

. Written by Cooper, producer Desmond Child and guitarist John McCurry, the song was released as a single in July 1989 from Cooper's 18th album, '' Trash''. It became one of Cooper's biggest hit singles in the United States, peaking at number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song performed better in the United Kingdom, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart. "Poison" was ranked by ''Billboard'' as the 91st-most-successful song of 1989, while Ultimate Classic Rock ranked it as the "7th best Alice Cooper song", commenting "Poison sounds like a typical '80s pop-metal number at times, but Cooper’s intensity brings it to a whole other level." The song's main riff was written by guitarist John McCurry, who two years earlier had used it for the

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English rock singer and musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single "Missing You (John Waite song), Missing You", which reached No. 1 on th ...

track " Encircled".

Music video

There are two versions of the video to the song, one of which shows Alice Cooper being chained to a bizarre mechanism and singing while a ghostly woman looms over him. The original video had to be censored for showings during the day, due to shots of a topless model. Rana Kennedy plays the roles of both women in the video but the topless scene were shot with a body double. This is notably visible in the video. The studios in which the video was filmed in spring of 1989 have since been torn down and are now a parking lot in Los Angeles. The video is still often played on MTV Classic's '' Metal Mayhem''.

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals * John McCurry – lead and rhythm guitar * Hugh McDonald – bass guitar, backing vocals * Bobby Chouinard – drums * Alan St. James – keyboards

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

* The Vandals, 1993 * Groove Coverage, 2003 * Husky Rescue, 2007 * Tarja, 2007 * Baracuda, 2008 (sampled in "Where Is The Love", alongside

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) *

Alex Day Alex Richard George Day (born 8 April 1989) is an English musician, vlogger and writer. Day has released seven studio albums, two EPs, and had three UK Top 40 hits. Day amassed more than 1,000,000 subscribers and over 130 million views on his Y ...

, 2013 * Powerwolf, 2023 * Exit Eden, 2024 (Femmes Fatales) *

Film and media usage

* Tango & Cash, 1989 * The Jackal, 1997 * End of Days, 1999 * Mean Creek, 2004 * Pineapple Express, 2008 * A modified version of the song was featured in a February 2011 television ad campaign for the

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. * Spartacus Vengeance, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poison (Alice Cooper song) 1989 songs 1989 singles Alice Cooper songs Songs written by Desmond Child Songs written by Alice Cooper Song recordings produced by Desmond Child Epic Records singles Songs about BDSM Glam metal ballads 1980s ballads