Biography of Poison

Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Poison started in the summer of 1983 as simply a band with a heavy Aerosmith influence. Their glam style, which consisted of the entire band wearing makeup a la New York Dolls, often made people turn twice and maybe listen, which is what they actually wanted. With show after show they eventually got signed to Enigma/Capitol Records. Their albums consistently sold well, even while many fans and critics called them "poseurs" for their unmasculine presence. As their music got better the makeup slowly went away, and they continued to have a lot of hits on the singles charts. Recently the band went through a publicized drug clean up period, and with that came the departure of original guitarist C. C. Deville. He has since been replaced by the very young Richie Kotzen, who already is considered one of the best guitar players around, period. If this is any indication, Poison's already huge influence with metal and hard rock bands of today will only grow, a far cry from the days when they were the band to hate. ~ John Book