Bret Michaels Biography - The Poison Rocker's Life and Legacy

Brett Michaels is the lead singer in the glam metal band poison and has starred in several reality TV shows including the Celebrity Apprentice and Rock of Love Brett Michaels is the lead singer in the glam metal band Poison whose hits include talk dirty to me and every rose has its thorn in 2007 Michaels emerged as a reality TV star on VH1's Rock of Love following up in 2010 with Brett Michaels life as I know it Michaels also won the Celebrity Apprentice born Brett Michael Pak on March 15th 1963 in Butler Pennsylvania at the age of 6 Michaels was diagnosed with diabetes throughout his career he has taken insulin and measured his blood sugar levels to manage his illness. the early 1980s Michael started playing in a band with longtime friend and drummer Ricky rocket the two later joined forces with basist Bobby doll and guitarist Matt Smith to form the band Paris after playing mostly local gigs in the Pittsburgh area the band moved to Los Angeles not long after their arrival Smith was replaced by c c devil and the band changed its name to poison like some of the other La metal bands of the time Michaels and the rest of the group teased their hair went heavy on the makeup and worn outlandish outfits which led critics to label such groups as hair metal bands they were sometimes compared to mle crew another upand cominging La metal band after making the rounds on the LA club scene poison landed a contract with Enigma records their first album look what the Cat Dragged In was released in 1986 Not only was Michaels the group group's lead singer but he also worked with the other members to write all of the songs for the recording the recording nearly reached the top of the album charts the next year driven such hits as talk Dirty to me the group then went on tour with rat Cinderella and Quiet Riot while critics derided them for being formulaic and derivative poison developed a devoted following who loved their pop infused metal sound and glamrock looks their second album open up and say ah 1988 was an even bigger smash the Infectious Party Anthem nothing but a good time broke into the top 10 while the ballad Every Rose Has Its Thorn made it all the way to the top of the pop charts on the road poison soon moved up from supporting other groups to being the main act the follow-up album Flesh and Blood 1990 also did well on the album charts and featured the hit Unskinny Bop and the power ballad Something to Believe In but the group's success was not free of strife and difficulty Michaels got into a few legal scrapes over a few brawls he was involved with there was also turmoil within the group in 1991 Michaels got into an altercation with Dil backstage at the MTV Music Video Awards and devil was later fired from the band as popular music tastes changed in the 1990s poison began to lose some of its audience their next recording 1993's native tongue did not Faire as well as their earlier albums with new member Richie cotson aboard the group wrote all of the songs for the album but only one struck Accord with music fans the uptempo power ballad stand cotson was later fired and replaced by Blue arino Michaels also suffered a personal setback around this time in 1994 he was in a serious car accident which left him with a broken nose jaw and several fingers as well as a few ribs Michaels and the rest of the group went back into the recording studios for the next project after completing work on their album they were disappointed to learn that the record company did not want to release it the company put out a greatest hits album instead the new material was finally released in 2000 as crack a smile in more. in 1998 poison was dropped by their record label with his band floundering Michaels explored other projects He formed a production company with actor Charlie Sheen which led to his first lead film role in letter from Death Row 1998 Michaels played a convicted killer facing the death penalty in addition to acting he also wrote the screenplay and the soundtrack for the film Michaels also served as a co-director Michaels made headlines around this time for a very different type of performance a sex tape involving him and former girlfriend Pamela Anderson ended up in the hands of the internet Entertainment Group to stop its release Michaels sued the company it was unclear how the company got possession of the tape at the time Michaels's lawyer Edwin F mcferson told the Los Angeles Times that Pam had a copy Brett had a copy Brett still has his copy that's all I know after that Scandal lost steam Michaels went back on tour with poison with devil as a band member again they had to cancel some dates in 2001 after do underwent emergency surgery on his spine after he recovered do rejoined the group and poison pressed on they released an album of new material Holly weird in 2002 while it failed to make much of a splash on the charts the group remained a popular live act Michaels also did two solo albums songs of Life 2003 and freedom of sound 2005 not everyone was a fan however Michaels was struck by some broken glass after someone fired shots into his tour bus in chapi Massachusetts in 2005 unshaken he released a statement at the time which read in part it's going to take more than a cowardice act like this to make me stop performing or stop my tour taking his career in a New Direction Michaels shared his quest for love with television audiences in the reality show Rock of Love in 2007 a group of women vied for his affection while undertaking a number of different challenges reviled by critics the show received a number of harsh reviews including this comment from The New York Times the well-meaning has been Brett is surrounded with women who are Too Young Too frantic or too high to know that being easy isn't funny in itself still audience members became hooked on the show for all its Oddball characters and Michaels candid commentary Michaels also Incorporated his diabetes into the program teaching the contestants what to do in case of emergency in the end he picked Jess the pink-haired cosmetologist from Illinois alas Michael's relationship with the winner never really got off the ground he continued his search for a woman who was attractive and could handle his Rock and Roll Lifestyle in Rock of Love 2 in 2008 this latest bunch of scantily clad bachelorettes have done private peep shows for Michaels worked on motorcycles played mud football and completed other challenges while trying to win Michaels's heart some did not try too hard one contestant got so drunk that she slept through her own elimination in 2020 Michaels competed on the Mast singer as the banana and was eliminated in episode 13. in addition to his work with poison and on TV Michaels has enjoyed some success as a solo performer he has maintained a hectic Turing schedule in recent years which has been interrupted by several health challenges in 2009 Michaels was injured while performing on the Tony Awards he was struck in the head by a piece of the show set the following year Michaels Had a Brain Hemorrhage that he believed was caused by his Tony Awards injury he also underwent an emergency appendectomy in 2010.in May 2014 Michaels left the stage in the middle of a performance because of low blood sugar he then underwent kidney surgery that fall and ended up returning to the hospital several times after the procedure during this crisis Michael's guitarist Pete evic hosted updates on the situation on Michael's Facebook page he wrote that Michaels was in and out of six hospitals throughout the Midwest during a 2-e period while some concert dates had to be postponed Michaels remained committed to perform his other November shows Michaels is a father of two he has two daughters rain and Georgia with former girlfriend Christy Gibson [Music]