[8] Bret's great-uncle Nick Sychak fought at Omaha Beach in the Invasion of Normandy and was killed in action in France in 1944.

[10] Michaels began playing the guitar as a teenager, forming a band with drummer Rikki Rockett, bass player Bobby Dall and guitarist David Besselman.

In early 1984 the band tired of playing the Pennsylvania bar circuit, changed their name to Poison[10] and moved west to Los Angeles to seek fame on the Sunset Boulevard scene.

The album was not a great success until 1987, when Michaels convinced the band to film a video for their song, "Talk Dirty to Me".

[10] Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Poison became one of the biggest glam metal bands in the world, recording their second album, the multi-platinum selling Open Up and Say...

However, their lives were characterized by the escalating tension between Michaels and DeVille that derived from their mutual drug use, which came to a head during their 1990/91 "Flesh and Blood" world tour.

In 2003, Michaels released a brand new studio album Songs of Life which featured the singles "Raine" (dedicated to his daughter) and "Bittersweet".

Michaels also released his first solo music video for the single "Raine" which was directed by award-winning director Shane Stanley.

[12] Michaels served as a judge on the 2005 season of the reality television singing competition Nashville Star and released a country rock album in the same year called Freedom of Sound.

[19] The DVD was included in the Hard & Heavy CD/DVD collection from (Time Life) advertised on TV by Bret Michaels.

Michaels also performed a duet of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" with Miley Cyrus on the June 18, 2010 episode Good Morning America.

[23] On August 4, 2010, Michaels appeared in the fifth season of America's Got Talent and performed "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", accompanying himself on acoustic folk guitar.

To make the night complete, this New Year's Eve bash will be featured and well documented in the music video for the new single "Get Your Rock On" from Bret's upcoming new album.

In conjunction with his new single Michaels also released an alternate version titled "Get Your Ride On (featuring Phil Collen)" on January 10, 2012.

[31] In January 2013, Michaels released a new single "You Know You Want It (Featuring Peter Keys)" from his upcoming new album titled "Jammin' With Friends".

[34][35] Also in 2014, Michaels starred in a TV commercial for Nissan vans in which he sang "Endless Love", backed by Kiki Wong on lead guitar.

In May 2017, Bret Michaels released a brand-new single which is a tribute to his youngest daughter, Jorja Bleu, in honor of her 12th birthday.

Along with Michaels, the tour included Jefferson Starship and Night Ranger with appearances by Steve Augeri and Mark McGrath.

After the show the two maintained a relationship, but parted ways after just a few months due to personal commitments, but they remain good friends.

Their company also produced the feature film Free Money, starring Marlon Brando and Mira Sorvino, and the surfer movie In God's Hands in which Michaels also had a small acting role.

Michaels appeared in the CBS sitcom Yes, Dear, Season 1, Episode 6, titled Greg's Big Day, first aired November 6, 2000.

[60] Michaels was portrayed as a guest singer in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, which features him singing "Go That Far" from his solo career, and Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me".

[61] Bret Michaels has done extensive work for Operation Homefront- a charity that provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors.

[30] In October 2023, he adopted a husky named Bret Michaels from the Nebraska Humane Society, after reading a story about the dog providing a blood transfusion to a sick kitten.

[67] On May 20, 2010, it was reported on his official website[68] that Michaels had been "readmitted to the hospital the week after suffering numbness on the left side of his body".

While conducting diagnostic tests it was found that Michaels has a "patent foramen ovale (PFO), a hole in the heart".

[68] It was further reported that his condition is "operable and treatable" and his doctors believe they "have diagnosed the problem that caused the transient ischemic attack (TIA) or warning stroke", but that they "feel it is highly unlikely this is connected to the brain hemorrhage he suffered just a few weeks earlier".

But when you have an amazing family, and you still have a lot of music left to make, and you have such incredible and supportive fans behind you, you’re going to fight until the very last breath before you throw in that towel.

As he was ending his performance with Poison and exiting to the stage rear, a large portion of the descending set struck him on the head and knocked him down.

[71] Michaels thanked the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix for saving his life and career.