Bret Michaels Hospitalized After Brain Hemorrhage

Bret Michaels is reportedly in an intensive care unit after suffering a subarachnoid hemorrhage in his brain stem. According to People, after Michaels complained of an excruciating headache last night, the Poison frontman and Celebrity Apprentice contestant was rushed to an unspecified hospital where doctors diagnosed him with bleeding in his brain stem. The singer is currently in critical condition. "After several CAT scans, MRIs and an angiogram, [doctors] decided to keep Michaels in the ICU and are running several tests to determine the cause. [It] will be touch and go for the next few days while he is under intense observation," a source tells People.

The hemorrhage is Michaels' second health scare in as many weeks. On April 12th, the 47-year-old rocker underwent an emergency appendectomy while on tour in San Antonio, Texas. Initially, Michaels attempted to battle through the pain and perform the show as scheduled. "They told me that if I had gone onstage like I wanted to, [my appendix] likely would have ruptured and I could have died," Michaels later told fans while recovering from the surgery. The procedure forced Michaels to postpone tour dates as well as miss making a cameo in Rihanna's "Rockstar 101" video, Michaels' official site reports. Michaels is also a diabetic and is competing on The Celebrity Apprentice to raise money for the American Diabetes Association.

Michaels infamously injured himself during the Tony Awards in June 2009 after performing "Nothin' But a Good Time" with the cast of Rock of Ages. A large prop lowered into the singer's path as he walked off the stage, and Michaels suffered a fractured nose. He issued a public statement criticizing the show and its host Neil Patrick Harris for making light of the accident during the live broadcast.

In addition to touring with his solo band and Poison, Michaels starred in three seasons of VH1's dating show Rock of Love.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Tonight's the Night”

The Shirelles | 1960

The lead cut and title track from this girl group's debut album, "Tonight's the Night" was written by 19-year-old bandmember Shirley Owens, who sings lead, and producer Luther Dixon. The band from Passaic, New Jersey met in high school, first calling themselves the Pequellos. The song's frank thoughts about sexual and emotional surrender was racy for the time, but that didn't stop the Chiffons from cutting a similar version immediately after the original came out. "We were the first female group to write some of our own material," band member Beverly Lee recalls. "We did have some say-so in our writing."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter