"Talk Dirty to Me" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Poison | ||||
from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In | ||||
B-side | "Want Some, Need Some" | |||
Released | February 18, 1987 | |||
Recorded | 1986 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:44 | |||
Label | Enigma/Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Ric Browde | |||
Poison singles chronology | ||||
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"Talk Dirty to Me" is a single from American glam metal band Poison. Released on February 18, 1987, it was the second single from their debut album Look What the Cat Dragged In . The song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's first top 40 hit in the United States and establishing Poison as one of the top-selling rock acts of the decade.
The exact origins of the song are unclear. The song, an ode to teenage love inspired by an Eddie Cochran riff, [2] was brought to Poison by guitarist C.C. DeVille when auditioning for the band in 1985. DeVille had refused to learn the band's material for the audition and instead insisted that they play a song he claimed to have written while with his previous band The Screaming Mimis, which turned out to be a primitive early version of "Talk Dirty To Me". Though the band was turned off by DeVille's brash personality, they saw tremendous potential in the song and hired the guitarist largely to get it into their repertoire. [5]
The song's origins became murky when a defunct glam metal band called Kid Rocker sued Poison in 2011, claiming the song had in fact been written by them in the early 1980s. Kid Rocker were a Chicago band who, like Poison, moved to Los Angeles in search of fame. They signed with Atlantic Records in 1984 and had been a fixture on the Sunset Strip club scene at that time before breaking up. [6] According to the lawsuit, DeVille had auditioned for Kid Rocker in 1984 and "Talk Dirty To Me" was one of their songs that DeVille had been asked to learn for the audition. Former Kid Rocker members Billy McCarthy (later of D'Molls) and James Stonich also alleged in the suit that the Poison songs "I Won't Forget You", "Fallen Angel" and "Ride The Wind" were also written by them and later stolen by DeVille. Lawyers for Poison dismissed the suit as "baseless", noting that if the allegation was true, the plaintiffs would be extremely unlikely to wait 25 years to seek remedy to the situation. [7] The judge ultimately ruled in Poison's favor on April 8, 2013, ruling that the statute of limitations on copyright infringement had long since run out. [8]
The song was a smash hit upon its release in the winter of 1987, making it to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and establishing Poison as one of America's most popular acts of the eighties. In 2017, Billboard and OC Weekly ranked the song number one and number three, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Poison songs. [9] [10]
Classic Rock magazine ranked the music video for the song at No. 7 on their list of "The Top 10 Best Hair Metal Videos". The magazine declared that "If you really want to know why hair metal was so big, then this (song) is all you need." [2]
Chart (1987) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [11] | 55 |
Canada Top Singles (RPM) [12] | 9 |
UK Singles (OCC) [13] | 67 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [14] | 9 |
Chart (1987) | Position |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [15] | 74 |
Poison is an American glam metal band formed in 1983 in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The most successful incarnation of the band consists of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Bret Michaels, drummer Rikki Rockett, lead guitarist and backing vocalist C.C. DeVille, and bassist Bobby Dall. The band achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s and has sold 18 million records in the United States and over 55 million albums worldwide.
Look What the Cat Dragged In is the debut studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released on May 23, 1986 through Enigma Records. Though not a success at first, it steadily built momentum and peaked at #3 on the US Billboard 200 on May 23, 1987. The album spawned three successful singles: "Talk Dirty to Me", "I Want Action", and "I Won't Forget You".
C.C. DeVille is an American guitarist best known as a member of rock band Poison. The band has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, including 15 million in the United States. In addition to DeVille's work with Poison, in 1998 he formed a band called Samantha 7.
Open Up and Say... Ahh! is the second studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released on April 27, 1988, through Enigma Records. It proved to be the band's most successful release, and spawned four hit singles: "Nothin' But a Good Time", "Fallen Angel", "Your Mama Don't Dance" and their only #1 single to date, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". The album peaked at #2 on the US Billboard 200.
Flesh & Blood is the third studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released on July 2, 1990, through the Enigma label of Capitol Records. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard charts and more than 7.2 million copies were sold worldwide. It peaked at number 1 on the Cash Box charts.
Native Tongue is the fourth studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released in 1993 through Capitol Records. It peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200, #20 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA on April 21, 1993. It has also been certified by CAN platinum. This is the only album to feature lead guitarist Richie Kotzen. Kotzen was hired as the band's guitarist following the firing of C.C. DeVille in late 1991. The album features the singles "Stand", "Until You Suffer Some " and "Body Talk".
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is a power ballad by American glam metal band Poison. It was released in October 1988 as the third single from Poison's second album Open Up and Say... Ahh!. The band's signature song, it is also their only number-one hit in the US, reaching Billboard's Hot 100 top spot on December 24, 1988, for three weeks. It also charted at number 11 on the Mainstream Rock chart. It was a number 13 hit in the UK. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" was named number 34 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s", number 100 on their "100 Greatest Love Songs" and number seven on MTV and VH1 "Top 25 Power Ballads". Billboard ranked the song number five on their list of "The 10 Best Poison Songs".
Cherry Pie is the second studio album by American glam metal band Warrant, released September 11, 1990. The album is the band's best-known and highest-selling release and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200. The album featured the top 40 hits "Cherry Pie" and "I Saw Red".
The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock is a compilation album from the American rock band Poison, released to celebrate the band's 20 year anniversary. It has sold more than 1 million copies to date in the U.S as of September 2009. The album was released on April 3, 2006, on EMI
"Unskinny Bop" is a song by American glam metal band Poison, released as the first single from their third studio album, Flesh & Blood (1990), on June 18, 1990. The song peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, number five on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, and number three on the Canadian and New Zealand charts. It also entered the top 20 in Australia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
"Something to Believe In" is a song by American glam metal band Poison, released as the second single from their third studio album, Flesh & Blood (1990). "Something to Believe In" was also released on the Best of Ballads & Blues album in 2003, with alternate lyrics. The ballad peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, number five on the Album Rock Tracks chart, number 35 in the United Kingdom, and number 44 in Australia. It was Poison's last top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Shelter Me" is a song by American glam metal band Cinderella. It serves as the lead single from the band's third studio album, Heartbreak Station. It peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Nobody's Fool" is a power ballad by American glam metal band Cinderella, released in 1986 as the second single from the band's debut album, Night Songs. It charted at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also at number 25 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1987.
Heaven is a power ballad by American glam metal band Warrant. It was released in July 1989, as the second single from Warrant's debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. The song is Warrant's most commercially successful single, spending two weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and number three on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The track's commercial success has led it to becoming one of the best known songs by the band.
"Cherry Pie" is a song by the American glam metal band Warrant. It was released in September 1990, as the lead single from the album of the same name. It preceded the album's release by three days. The song became a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 10 and also reached number 19 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. The song has been cited by many as a "hair metal" anthem.
"I Won't Forget You" is a power ballad by the American glam metal band Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In.
"Fallen Angel" is the second single from Open Up and Say...Ahh!, American glam metal band Poison's second studio album. The B-side of the seven inch was "Bad to Be Good".
"Your Mama Don't Dance" is a hit 1972 song by the rock duo Loggins and Messina. Released on their self-titled album Loggins and Messina, it reached number four on the Billboard pop chart and number 19 on the Billboard Easy Listening Chart as a single in early 1973.
"Nothin' But a Good Time" is the first single from the hard rock/glam metal group Poison's second studio album Open Up and Say... Ahh!, with the band releasing that album in May 1988. B-sides "Livin' For the Minute" and "Look But You Can't Touch" were included in the single's release.
"Once Bitten, Twice Shy" is a 1975 song written and recorded by Ian Hunter, from his debut solo album Ian Hunter, which reached No. 14 in the UK Singles Chart.