Heavy Storm Winds Can't Stop Bret Michaels and Rocklahoma 2008

Storms almost paralyzed this weekend's Rocklahoma, but luckily the hair metal festival persevered with performances by Bret Michaels, Ace Frehley, Queensryche and Ratt. Heavy winds and rain forced the collapse of two stages, forcing the Lynch Mob to play a shortened set while eyes watched the dark clouds engulfing the site. Eleven people sustained weather-induced injuries, including one woman who suffered a broken arm. To quote the festival's on-site weather man, "In just three minutes, we went from rain showers to a storm that I have not seen in my 30 years."

Click here for photos of all the stars of Rocklahoma 2008, including Bret Michaels, Sebastian Bach and Lita Ford.

The storms didn't stop Bret Michaels from taking the stage Thursday night for the festival's most acclaimed set. Wearing a white tank-top and his trademark cowboy hat/bandana combo, Michaels and his non-Poison band powered through a set full of Poison hits like "Talk Dirty to Me" and "Nothing But a Good Time." Michaels also led the crowd in a cover of "Sweet Home Alabama," even though the festival takes place in Oklahoma. Fellow reality star Sebastian Bach also took the stage Thursday, with bands like Extreme, Living Colour, Triumph and Tesla spread over the remaining three days of the fest. During Extreme's set, Gary Cherone teased the crowd as though they were going to skip their most famous hit, "More Than Words," but relented after the crowd cheered its desire to her the acoustic tune; the band ended its set with a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Communication Breakdown."

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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