Bret Michaels Rewrites ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’ For Regis Philbin

Poison singer/guitarist Bret Michaels had the distinct pleasure of performing an edited version of the band's beloved ballad 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' on one of Regis Philbin's final shows for 'Live! With Regis and Kelly.'

Philbin, who has logged more than 16,000 hours in front of a TV camera, a stat that makes him a Guiness Book of World Records holder, left the breakfast TV show after three decades. So the fact that Michaels was invited to perform on the show is pretty momentous for the singer.

When performing the song on Nov. 16, Michaels amended and improvised the lyrics to suit the situation and to commemorate Reg's send off.

Now, a guitar and vocal demo version of the farewell-to-Regis song is available on iTunes,  and it is appropriately dubbed 'Farewell to Regis.' While some eyebrows might be raise due to Michaels' decision to swap out lyrics, we can appreciate the sentiment. We're sure all the housewives that watched Reg every morning will gobble up the song. When Michaels sings, "My friend we'll truly miss you / You stood there tried and true / Now Kelly's taking over," it might cause a lump to form in your throat.

Michaels had told The Charlotte Observer that appearing on one of Reg's last show was "bittersweet" and that he and the host have a bit of a bond, due to their mutual fandom of Notre Dame and the fact that Michaels' father was in the Navy, as was Philbin.

Michaels' new album 'Get Your Rock On' is due out in May of next year.