ALICE COOPER - POISON

Released: July 17, 1989

Charted:  UK: #2   US: #7 

"Poison" is a song by American musician Alice Cooper. The song was released as a single in July 1989 from Cooper's eighteenth album, “Trash”. Cooper wrote this song with guitarist John McCurry, and producer Desmond Child, which is one of the most effective ways to produce a hit. A decade earlier, Child wrote "I Was Made For Lovin' You" with members of Kiss, which opened the door for outside writers in Rock bands. His next gig was Bon Jovi, resulting in their breakout hits "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Livin' On A Prayer."

The song is about the consequences of unhealthy or ill-fated relationships. The lyrics describe a destructive desire to stay with someone despite feeling a sense of danger. The vocals compare the relationship to a toxic poison; one that can cause pain and anguish, while still feeling irresistible and exciting. Ultimately, the song expresses how difficult it can be to break free of a harmful relationship.

"Poison" was a huge comeback song for Cooper, who released five Platinum albums from 1970-1975 but fell out of favor over the next 12 years and battled a debilitating drug and alcohol addiction that nearly killed him, he got sober for good in 1983. The song becomes his first Top 10 hit in the US and UK for 12 and 16 years respectively, and remains one of his best known song. 

This was Cooper's first music video to get rotation on MTV. He broke new ground in 1975 when he turned the stage show for his Welcome To My Nightmare tour into a full movie, which laid the foundation for Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, both clips were narrated by Vincent Price. With "Poison," Cooper tapped into the MTV audience for the first time and became far more relevant to the younger generation, who got the joke when he showed up in the movie Wayne's World in 1992.