Alice Cooper (bornVincent Damon Furnier; February 4, 1948)[1] is an American singer and songwriter. With a career spanning more than five decades, Cooper is known for his raspy singing voice and theatrical stage shows that feature numerousprops andillusions.[2][3] He is considered bymusic journalists and peers to be "The Godfather ofShock Rock".[4] He has drawn fromhorror films,vaudeville, andgarage rock to pioneer a macabre and theatrical brand ofrock designed to shock audiences.[5][5]
Originating inPhoenix, Arizona in 1964,Alice Cooper was originally a band consisting of Furnier, guitaristsGlen Buxton andMichael Bruce, bassistDennis Dunaway, and drummerNeal Smith. The band released seven studio albums and several singles from 1969 to 1973.[6] Following the group disbanding in 1975, Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper and began a solo career with the concept albumWelcome to My Nightmare (1975). He gained mainstream success with the singles "Poison" and "School's Out"; the latter of which became his biggest international hit and was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame in 2015. Over the course of his career, Cooper has released30 studio albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide.[7]
Cooper has experimented with various musical styles, mainlyhard rock,glam rock,heavy metal, andglam metal,[8][9] as well asnew wave,[10]art rock, andindustrial rock.[11] He helped shape the sound and look of heavy metal, and he has been described as the artist who "first introduced horror imagery to rock'n'roll, and whose stagecraft and showmanship have permanently transformed the genre".[12] Cooper is also known for his wit offstage, withThe Rolling Stone Album Guide calling him the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer".[13] He was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.[14]
Aside from his recording career, Cooper is also a film actor, a golfing celebrity, a restaurateur, and, since 2004, a radiodisc jockey with his classic rock showAlice's Attic. He is also known for his philanthropic work, particularly through his Solid Rock Foundation, which provides free music, art, and vocational programs for at-risk youth inPhoenix, Arizona.[15]
Vincent Damon Furnier was born on February 4, 1948, inDetroit,Michigan, the son of Ether Moroni Furnier (1924–1987) and his wife Ella Mae (née McCart; 1925–2022). He was named after his uncle, Vincent Collier Furnier, and the short-story writerDamon Runyon.[16] His father was an evangelist inThe Church of Jesus Christ,[17] and his paternal grandfather Thurman Sylvester Furnier was aleader[17] and later president (1963–1965) of that church organization.[18]
The Furnier family resided inEast Detroit on Lincoln Ave near Kelly Road,[19] a few blocks fromEastland Mall.[20] Cooper attended Kantner Elementary School, recalled watching horror movies at theEastown Theatre (where he would later perform),[21] and local neighborhood trick-or-treating on Halloween, the "biggest night of the year", which he took "very seriously".[22] Cooper was active in his church at ages 11 to 12.[23][24] Following a series of childhood illnesses, he moved with his family toPhoenix, Arizona, where he attendedCortez High School.[25]
In 1964, 16-year-old Furnier was eager to participate in Cortez High School's annualLetterman's talent show, so he gathered four fellowcross country teammates to form a group for the show:Glen Buxton,Dennis Dunaway, John Tatum, and John Speer.[fn 1] They named themselves the Earwigs.[26] They dressed up in costumes and wigs to resemblethe Beatles and performed several parodies of Beatles songs, with the lyrics modified to refer to the track team: in their rendition of "Please Please Me", for example, the line "Last night I said these words to my girl" was replaced with "Last night I ran four laps for my coach".[27] Of the group, only Buxton knew how to play an instrument—the guitar—so Buxton played guitar while the rest mimed on their instruments.[26][28] The group got an overwhelming response from the audience and won the talent show. As a result of their positive experience, the group decided to try to turn into a real band. They acquired musical instruments from a localpawn shop and proceeded to learn how to play them, with Buxton doing most of the teaching as well as much of the early songwriting.[28] They soon renamed themselvesthe Spiders, featuring Furnier on lead vocals, Buxton on lead guitar, Tatum on rhythm guitar, Dunaway on bass guitar, and Speer on drums.[26]
In 1966, the Spiders graduated from Cortez High School and, afterNorth High School football playerMichael Bruce replaced John Tatum on rhythm guitar, the band released their second single, "Don't Blow Your Mind", an original composition which became a local No. 1 hit, backed by "No Price Tag".[26]
By 1967, the band had begun to make regular road trips to Los Angeles to play shows.[26] They soon renamed themselves Nazz and released the single "Wonder Who's Lovin' Her Now", backed with future Alice Cooper track "Lay Down and Die, Goodbye". Around this time, drummer John Speer was replaced byNeal Smith. By the end of the year, the band relocated to Los Angeles.[26]
In 1968, the band learned thatTodd Rundgren also had a band calledNazz, which was signed to a major label, and found themselves in need of another name.[29] Furnier also believed that the group needed a gimmick to succeed, and that other bands were not exploiting the showmanship potential of the stage.[26] They chose the name "Alice Cooper" largely because it sounded innocuous and wholesome, in humorous contrast to the band's image and music. In his 2007 bookAlice Cooper, Golf Monster, Cooper stated that his look was inspired in part by films. One of the band's all-time favorite movies wasWhat Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) starringBette Davis: "In the movie, Bette wears disgusting caked makeup smeared on her face and underneath her eyes, with deep, dark, black eyeliner." Another movie the band watched over and over wasBarbarella (1968): "When I sawAnita Pallenberg playing the Great Tyrant in that movie in 1968, wearinglong black leather gloves with switchblades coming out of them, I thought, 'That's what Alice should look like.' That, and a little bit ofEmma Peel fromThe Avengers."[30]
The classic Alice Cooper group lineup consisted of Furnier, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, rhythm guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith.[26] With the exception of Smith, who graduated from Camelback High School (which is referred to in the song "Alma Mater" on the band's fifth studio albumSchool's Out), all of the band members were on the Cortez High School cross-country team.[31] Furnier, Buxton, and Dunaway were also art students, and their admiration for the works ofsurrealist artists such asSalvador Dalí further inspired their stage antics.[32]
One night after an unsuccessful gig at the Cheetah club inVenice, Los Angeles, where the band emptied the entire room of patrons after playing just ten minutes, they were approached and enlisted by music managerShep Gordon, who saw the band's negative impact that night as a force that could be turned in a more productive direction.[26] Shep then arranged an audition for the band with composer and renowned record producerFrank Zappa, who was looking to sign bizarre music acts to his new record label,Straight Records.[26] For the audition Zappa told them to come to his house "at 7 o'clock." The band mistakenly assumed he meant 7 o'clock in the morning. Being woken up by a band willing to play that particular brand of psychedelic rock at seven in the morning impressed Zappa enough for him to sign them to a three-album deal. Another Zappa-signed act, the all-femaleGTOs, who liked to "dress the Cooper boys up like full sizeBarbie dolls," played a major role in developing the band's early onstage look.[33][fn 2]
The band's debut studio album,Pretties for You (1969), was eclectic and featured an experimental presentation of their songs in a psychedelic context.
Alice Cooper's "shock rock" reputation apparently developed almost by accident at first. An unrehearsed stage routine involving a feather pillow and a live chicken garnered attention from the press; the band decided to capitalize on the tabloidsensationalism, creating in the process a new subgenre,shock rock.[26] Cooper claims that the infamous "Chicken Incident" at theToronto Rock and Roll Revival concert in September 1969 was an accident.[26] A chicken somehow made its way onto the stage into the feathers of a feather pillow that was opened during Cooper's performance and, not having any experience with farm animals, Cooper presumed that, because the chicken had wings, it would be able to fly.[26][34] He picked it up and threw it out over the crowd, expecting it to fly away. The chicken instead plummeted into the first few rows occupied by wheelchair users, who reportedly proceeded to tear the bird to pieces.[fn 3] The next day the incident made the front page of national newspapers, and Zappa phoned Cooper and asked if the story, which reported that he had bitten off the chicken's head and drunk its blood on stage, was true. Cooper denied the rumor, whereupon Zappa told him, "Well, whatever you do, don't tell anyone you didn't do it."[26][35][fn 4]
The band later claimed that this period was highly influenced byPink Floyd, especially their debut studio albumThe Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founding memberSyd Barrett (lead vocals and guitar). Glen Buxton said he could listen to Barrett's guitar for hours at a time.[36]
Alice Cooper band in the early 1970s. L-R: Neal Smith, Michael Bruce, Cooper (then Vincent Furnier), Dennis Dunaway, Glen Buxton
Despite the publicity from the chicken incident, the band's second studio album,Easy Action, produced byDavid Briggs and released in June 1970, fared even worse than its predecessor, entirely failing to chart within theBillboard Top 200. Around this time, fed up with Californians' indifference to their act, they relocated toPontiac, Michigan, where their bizarre stage act was much better received byMidwestern crowds accustomed to theproto-punk styles of local bands such asthe Stooges andthe MC5. Despite this, Cooper still managed to receive a creampie in the face when performing at theCincinnati Pop Festival. Michigan remained their steady home base until 1972. "L.A. just didn't get it," Cooper stated. "They were all on the wrong drug for us. They were on acid and we were basically drinking beer. We fit much more in Detroit than we did anywhere else."[37]
Alice Cooper appeared at theWoodstock-esqueStrawberry Fields Festival nearToronto, Ontario, in August 1970. The band's mix of glam and increasingly violent stage theatrics stood out in stark contrast to the bearded, denim-clad hippie bands of the time.[38] As Cooper himself stated: "We were into fun, sex, death and money when everybody was into peace and love. We wanted to see what was next. It turned out we were next, and we drove a stake through the heart of the Love Generation".[39]
In autumn 1970, the Alice Cooper group teamed with producerBob Ezrin for the recording of their third studio album,Love It to Death. This was the final album in their Straight Records contract and the band's last chance to create a hit. That first success came with the single "I'm Eighteen", released in November 1970, which reached number 21 on theBillboard Hot 100 in early 1971. Not long after the album's release in January 1971,Warner Bros. Records purchased Alice Cooper's contract from Straight and re-issued the album, giving the group a higher level of promotion.[40]
Love It to Death proved to be their breakthrough studio album, reaching number 35 on the U.S.Billboard 200 album charts. It was the first of 11[fn 5] Alice Cooper group and solo albums produced by Ezrin, who is widely seen as being pivotal in helping to create and develop the band's definitive sound.[41]
The group's 1971 tour featured a stage show involving mock fights and gothic torture modes being imposed on Cooper, climaxing in a staged execution byelectric chair, with the band sporting tight, sequined, color-contrastingglam rock-style costumes made by prominent rock-fashion designer Cindy Dunaway (sister of band member Neal Smith, and wife of band member Dennis Dunaway). Cooper's androgynous stage role had developed to present avillainous side, portraying a potential threat to modern society. The success of the band's single and album, and their tour of 1971, which included their first tour of Europe (audience members reportedly includedElton John and a pre-Ziggy StardustDavid Bowie), provided enough encouragement for Warner Bros. to offer the band a new multi-album contract.[citation needed]
Cooper performing in 1972
Their follow-up studio albumKiller, released in November 1971, continued the commercial success ofLove It to Death and included further single success with "Under My Wheels", "Be My Lover" in early 1972, and "Halo of Flies", which became a Top 10 hit in the Netherlands in 1973. Thematically,Killer expanded on the villainous side of Cooper's androgynous stage role, with its music becoming the soundtrack to the group's morality-based stage show, which by then featured aboa constrictor hugging Cooper on stage, the murderous axe chopping of bloodied baby dolls, and execution by hanging at thegallows. In January 1972, Cooper was again asked about his peculiar name, and told talk show hostessDinah Shore that he took the name from a "Mayberry RFD" character.[citation needed]
The summer of 1972 saw the release of the single "School's Out". It went Top 10 in the U.S. and to number 1 in the UK, and remains a staple onclassic rock radio to this day. The studio albumSchool's Out reached No. 2 on the US charts and sold over a million copies. The band relocated to their new mansion inGreenwich, Connecticut.[42] With Cooper's on stage androgynous persona completely replaced with brattiness andmachismo, the band solidified their success with subsequent tours in the United States and Europe, and won over devoted fans in droves while at the same time horrifying parents and outraging the social establishment.[citation needed] In the United Kingdom,Mary Whitehouse, a Christian morality campaigner, persuaded theBBC to ban the video for "School's Out",[43] although Whitehouse's campaign did not prevent the single also reaching number one in the UK. Cooper sent her a bunch of flowers in gratitude for the publicity.[44] Meanwhile,British Labour Member of ParliamentLeo Abse petitioned Home SecretaryReginald Maudling to have the group banned altogether from performing in the country.[45]
In February 1973,Billion Dollar Babies was released worldwide and became the band's most commercially successful studio album, reaching No. 1 in both the US and UK. "Elected", a late-1972 Top 10 UK hit from the album, which inspired one of the firstMTV-style story-line promo videos ever made for a song (three years beforeQueen's promotional video for "Bohemian Rhapsody"), was followed by two more UK Top 10 singles, "Hello Hooray" and "No More Mr. Nice Guy", the latter of which was the last UK single from the album; it reached No. 25 in the US.[46] The title track, featuring guest vocals byDonovan, was also a US hit single. Around this time Glen Buxton left Alice Cooper briefly because of waning health.[47]
With a string of successfulconcept albums and several hit singles, the band continued their grueling schedule and toured the United States again. Continued attempts by politicians and pressure groups to ban their shocking act only served to fuel the legend of Alice Cooper further and generate even greater public interest.[citation needed] Their 1973 US tour broke box office records previously set bythe Rolling Stones and raised rock theatrics to new heights; the multi-level stage show by then featured numerous special effects, including Billion Dollar Bills, decapitated baby dolls and mannequins, a dental psychosis scene complete with dancing teeth, and the ultimate execution prop and highlight of the show: theguillotine. The guillotine and other stage effects were designed for the band by magicianJames Randi, who appeared on stage during some of the shows asexecutioner. In 2012 atDragon Con, Randi and Cooper discussed their working relationship during this period.[48] The Alice Cooper group had now reached its peak and it was among the most visible and successful acts in the industry. Beneath the surface, however, the repetitive schedule of recording and touring had begun to take its toll on the band.[citation needed]
Muscle of Love, released at the end of 1973, was to be the last studio album from the classic lineup, and marked Alice Cooper's last UK Top 20 single of the 1970s with "Teenage Lament '74". An unsolicited theme song was recorded for theJames Bond spy filmThe Man with the Golden Gun (1974),[49] but a different song of the same name byLulu was chosen instead. By 1974, theMuscle of Love album still had not matched the top-charting success of its predecessor, and the band began to have constant disagreements. For various reasons, the members agreed to take what was expected to be a temporary hiatus. "Everyone decided they needed a rest from one another", said manager Shep Gordon at the time. "A lot of pressure had built up, but it's nothing that can't be dealt with. Everybody still gets together and talks." JournalistBob Greene spent several weeks on the road with the band during the Muscle of Love Christmas Tour in 1973. His bookBillion Dollar Baby, released in November 1974, painted a less-than-flattering picture of the band, showing a group in total disharmony.[50] Cooper later wrote an autobiography withSteven Gaines calledMe, Alice (1976) which gave Cooper's version of that era of his career, among other things.[51]
During this time, Cooper relocated back to Los Angeles and started appearing regularly on television shows such asThe Hollywood Squares, and Warner Bros. released theGreatest Hits compilation album. It featured classic-style artwork and reached the US Top 10, performing better thanMuscle of Love. However, the band's 1974 feature filmGood to See You Again, Alice Cooper (consisting mainly of 1973 concert footage with 'comedic' sketches woven throughout to a faint storyline), released on a minorcinematic run mostly todrive-in theaters, saw little box office success. On March 5, 1974, Cooper appeared on episode 3 ofThe Snoop Sisters playing aSatanic cult singer. The final shows by Alice Cooper as a group were in Brazil in March and April 1974, including the record indoor attendance estimated as high as 158,000 fans in São Paulo on March 30, at the Anhembi Exposition Hall at the start of the first ever South American rock tour.[52]
In 1975, Alice Cooper returned as a solo artist with the release ofWelcome to My Nightmare. To avoid legal complications over ownership of the group name, "Alice Cooper" had by then become Furnier's new legal name. Speaking on the subject of Alice Cooper continuing as a solo project as opposed to the band it once was, Cooper stated in 1975, "It got very basically down to the fact that we had drawn as much as we could out of each other. After ten years, we got pretty dry together." Manager Gordon added, "What had started in a sense as a pipe-dream became an overwhelming burden."[50] The success ofWelcome to My Nightmare marked the final breakup of the original members of the band, with Cooper collaborating with their producer Bob Ezrin, who recruitedLou Reed's backing band, including guitaristsDick Wagner andSteve Hunter, to play on the album. Spearheaded by the US Top 20 hit ballad "Only Women Bleed", the album was released byAtlantic Records in March of that year and became a Top 10 hit for Cooper. It was a concept album that was based on the nightmare of a child named Steven, featuring narration by classic horror movie film starVincent Price, and serving as the soundtrack to Cooper's new stage show, which now showcased more theatrics than ever, including an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) furryCyclops which Cooper decapitated and killed.[citation needed]
Accompanying the album and stage show was the television specialAlice Cooper: The Nightmare, starring Cooper andVincent Price, which aired on US prime-time TV in April 1975.The Nightmare (which was later released on home video in 1983 and gained aGrammy Award nomination forBest Long Form Music Video) was regarded as another groundbreaking moment in rock history. Adding to it all, a concert film,Welcome to My Nightmare, produced, directed, and choreographed byWest Side Story cast memberDavid Winters and filmed live at London'sWembley Arena in September 1975, was released to theaters in 1976. The film was released in a special edition DVD in 2017.[53]
Cooper in 1976
Such was the immense success of Cooper's solo project that he decided to continue as a solo artist, and the original band became officially defunct. Bruce, Dunaway, and Smith went on to form the short-lived band Billion Dollar Babies, producing one studio album—Battle Axe—in 1977. While occasionally performing with one another andGlen Buxton, they did not reunite with Alice until October 23, 1999, at the second Glen Buxton Memorial Weekend for a show at CoopersTown in Phoenix. They reunited for another show, withSteve Hunter on guitar, on December 16, 2010, at theDodge Theatre in Phoenix.[54] This lineup performed together again (televised) on March 14, 2011, at the induction of the original Alice Cooper group into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as on May 11, 2011, at London'sBattersea Power Station at theJägermeister Ice Cold 4D event (webcast). In 2011, Bruce, Dunaway, and Smith appeared on three tracks they co-wrote on Alice's solo studio albumWelcome 2 My Nightmare. In 2017, they appeared on two tracks they co-wrote on Alice's solo studio albumParanormal, released in July, and in November they joined his current live band for five tour dates in the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
Following the 1976 US No. 12 ballad hit "I Never Cry";[41] two studio albums,Alice Cooper Goes to Hell andLace and Whiskey; and the 1977 US No. 9 ballad hit "You and Me", it became clear during his 1977 US tour that Cooper was in dire need of help with his alcoholism (at his alcoholic peak it was rumored that he was consuming up to two cases ofBudweiser beer and a bottle ofSeagram's Seven Crown whiskey a day). Following the tour, Cooper had himself hospitalized in a sanitarium for treatment, during which time the live albumThe Alice Cooper Show was released.[55]
In 1978, asobered Cooper used his experience in the sanitarium as the inspiration for his semi-autobiographical studio albumFrom the Inside, which he co-wrote withBernie Taupin, known for his work with Elton John; it spawned yet another US Top 20 hit ballad, "How You Gonna See Me Now". The subsequent tour's stage show was based inside an asylum, and was filmed for Cooper's first home-video release,The Strange Case of Alice Cooper, in 1979. Around this time, Cooper performed "Welcome to My Nightmare", "You and Me", and "School's Out" onThe Muppet Show (episode #307) on March 28, 1978 (he played one of thedevil's henchmen trying to dupeKermit the Frog,Gonzo andMiss Piggy into selling their souls). He also appeared in an against-typecasting role as a piano-playing disco waiter inMae West's final film,Sextette, and as a villain in the filmSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Cooper also led celebrities in raising money to remodel the famousHollywood Sign in Los Angeles, California. Cooper himself contributed over $27,000 to the project, buying an O in the sign in memory of close friend and comedianGroucho Marx. In 1979, Cooper also guest starred on good friendSoupy Sales' show,Lunch with Soupy Sales and was hit in the face with a pie, as part of the show. When asked about the experience, Cooper had this to say about his friend: "Being from Detroit, I came home every day and watched Soupy at lunch (Lunch with Soupy Sales). One of the greatest moments of my life was getting pie-faced by Soupy. He was one of my all time heroes."[56]
Cooper's studio albums from the beginning of the 1980s have been referred to by Cooper as his "blackout albums" because he cannot remember recording them, owing to the influence of his new, and increasing, cocaine addiction.Flush the Fashion (1980),Special Forces (1981),Zipper Catches Skin (1982) andDaDa (1983) saw a gradual commercial decline, with the last two not charting within theBillboard Top 200.Flush the Fashion, produced byRoy Thomas Baker, known for his work withQueen andthe Cars, had a thick, edgynew wave musical sound that baffled even longtime fans, though it still yielded the US Top 40 hit "Clones (We're All)". The track also surprisingly charted on the USDisco Top 100 chart.Special Forces featured a more aggressive but consistent new wave style, and included a new version of "Generation Landslide" fromBillion Dollar Babies (1973). His tour forSpecial Forces marked Cooper's last time on the road for nearly five years; it was not until 1986, forConstrictor, that he toured again. 1982'sZipper Catches Skin was a morepop punk-oriented recording, containing many quirky high-energy guitar-driven songs along with his most unusual collection of subject matters for lyrics, andPatty Donahue ofthe Waitresses provided guest vocals and "sarcasm" on the track "I Like Girls". 1983 marked the return collaboration of producerBob Ezrin and guitaristDick Wagner for the haunting epicDaDa, the final studio album in his Warner Bros. contract.[57]
In mid-1983, after the recording ofDaDa was completed, Cooper was hospitalized for alcoholism again, andcirrhosis of the liver.[58] He credits his Christian faith for a recovery doctors described as "miraculous" and he talks of how he did not "recover" but how his addiction was "taken away" byJesus Christ.[59] Cooper was finally stable and sober (and has remained sober since that time) by the timeDaDa andThe Nightmare home video (of his 1975 TV Special) were released in the fall of that year; however, both releases performed below expectations. Even withThe Nightmare scoring a nomination for 1984'sGrammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video (he lost toDuran Duran), it was not enough for Warner Bros. to keep Cooper on their books. By February 1984, Cooper became a "free agent" for the first time in his career.[60]
Cooper spent a lengthy period away from the music business dealing with personal problems. His divorce fromSheryl Cooper was heard at Maricopa County Superior Court, Arizona, on January 30, 1984, but a decision was made by the couple not to move forward with the divorce. The following month he guested at the26th Annual Grammy Awards alongside co-presenterGrace Jones. Behind the scenes Cooper kept busy musically, working on new material in collaboration withAerosmith guitaristJoe Perry. The spring of 1984 was taken up with filming, Cooper acting in theB-grade horror movieMonster Dog, filmed inTorrelodones, Spain. Shortly thereafter he reconciled with Sheryl; the couple relocated to Chicago. The year closed with more writing sessions, this time in New York during November withHanoi Rocks guitaristAndy McCoy.[61] In 1985, he met and began writing songs with guitaristKane Roberts. Cooper was subsequently signed toMCA Records, and appeared as guest vocalist onTwisted Sister's song "Be Chrool to Your Scuel". A music video was made for the song, featuring actorLuke Perry and Cooper donning his black snake-eyes makeup for the first time since 1979, but neither the song nor the video drew public interest.[62]
Cooper in 1986
In 1986, Alice Cooper officially returned to the music industry with the studio albumConstrictor. The album spawned the hits "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" (the theme song for the movieFriday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives; in the video for the song Cooper was given a cameo role as a deranged psychiatrist) and the fan favorite "Teenage Frankenstein". TheConstrictor album was a catalyst for Cooper to make a triumphant return to the road for the first time since the 1981Special Forces project, on a tour titled The Nightmare Returns. The Detroit leg of this tour, which took place at the end of October 1986 duringHalloween, was captured on film asThe Nightmare Returns (1987), and is viewed by some as being the definitive Alice Cooper concert film. It was released on DVD in 2006.[63] The concert, which received rave reviews in the rock music press,[fn 6] was also described byRolling Stone magazine as bringing "Cooper's violent, twisted onstage fantasies to a new generation". TheConstrictor album was followed byRaise Your Fist and Yell in 1987, which had an even rougher sound than its predecessor, as well as the Cooper classic "Freedom". The subsequent tour ofRaise Your Fist and Yell, which was heavily inspired by the slasher horror movies of the time such as theFriday the 13th series andA Nightmare on Elm Street, served up a shocking spectacle similar to its predecessor, and courted the kind of controversy, especially in Europe, that recalled the public outrage caused by Cooper's public performances in America in the early 1970s.[64]
In Britain, Labour MPDavid Blunkett called for the show to be banned, saying "I'm horrified by his behaviour – it goes beyond the bounds of entertainment." The controversy spilled over into the German segment of the tour, with the German government actually succeeding in having some of the gorier segments of the performance removed.[65] It was also during the London leg of the tour that Cooper met with a near fatal accident during rehearsal of the hanging execution sequence that occurs at the end of the show.[66]
Constrictor (1986) andRaise Your Fist and Yell (1987) were recorded with lead guitaristKane Roberts and bassistKip Winger, both of whom left the band by the end of 1988 (although Kane Roberts played guitar on "Bed of Nails" on Cooper's 1989 studio albumTrash).
In 1987, Cooper made a brief appearance as a vagrant in the supernatural horror filmPrince of Darkness, directed byJohn Carpenter. His role had no lines and consisted of generally menacing the protagonists before eventually impaling one of them with a bicycle frame.[67]
Also in 1987, Cooper appeared atWrestleMania III, escorting wrestlerJake "The Snake" Roberts to the ring for his match againstThe Honky Tonk Man. After the match, which Roberts lost, ended, Cooper got involved and threw Jake's snake Damien at Honky's managerJimmy Hart. Roberts considered the involvement of Cooper to be an honor, as he had idolized Cooper in his youth and was still a huge fan. WrestleMania III, which attracted aWWF record 93,173 fans, was held in thePontiac Silverdome near Cooper's home town of Detroit.[68]
Cooper recorded a music video for the "Poison" B-side "I Got a Line on You" after the song was featured on the soundtrack toIron Eagle II (1988).[69]
On April 7, 1988, Cooper nearly died of asphyxiation after a safety rope broke during a rehearsal concert wherein he pretended to hang himself, a stunt he often performed during live concerts.[70][71]
In 1988, Cooper's contract with MCA Records expired and he signed withEpic Records. Then in 1989 his career finally experienced a legitimate revival with theDesmond Child produced andGrammy-nominated studio albumTrash, which spawned a hit single "Poison", which reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 7 in the US, and a worldwidearena tour.[72]
In 1991, Cooper released his nineteenth studio albumHey Stoopid featuring several notable rock musicians guesting on the record. Released asglam metal's popularity was on the wane, and just before the explosion ofgrunge, it failed to have the same commercial impact as its predecessor. The same year also saw the release of the videoAlice Cooper: Prime Cuts which chronicled his entire career using in depth interviews with Cooper himself, Bob Ezrin, and Shep Gordon. One critic has noted thatPrime Cuts demonstrates how Cooper had used (in contrast to similar artists who succeeded him) themes of satire and moralization to such good effect throughout his career.[73] It was in thePrime Cuts video that Bob Ezrin delivered his own summation of the Alice Cooper persona: "He is the psycho killer in all of us. He's the axe murderer, he's the spoiled child, he's the abuser, he's the abused; he's the perpetrator, he's the victim, he's the gun slinger, and he's the guy lying dead in the middle of the street".[74]
Cooper made a cameo appearance in the 1992 comedy filmWayne's World. Cooper and his band first appear on stage performing "Feed My Frankenstein" from their studio albumHey Stoopid. Afterwards at a backstage party, the movie's main characters Wayne Cambell and Garth Algar discover that when offstage, Cooper is a calm, articulate intellectual as he and his band discuss the history ofMilwaukee in depth. Wayne and Garth respond to an invitation to hang out with Cooper by kneeling and bowing reverently before him while chanting "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"[76]
In 1994, Cooper releasedThe Last Temptation, his first concept album sinceDaDa (1983). The album deals with issues of faith, temptation, alienation and the frustrations of modern life, and has been described as "a young man's struggle to see the truth through the distractions of the 'Sideshow' of the modern world".[77] Concurrent with the release ofThe Last Temptation was a three-part comic book series written byNeil Gaiman, fleshing out the album's story. This was to be Cooper's last album with Epic Records since according to Brian 'Renfield' Nelson, Cooper's personal assistant, "Alice was interested in going toHollywood Records even before 'The Last Temptation' was released because Bob Pfeifer, who originally signed Alice to Epic, was now the President of Hollywood Records. After 'The Last Temptation' was finished, Alice requested thatSony/Epic let him go so that he could make the switch to Hollywood. He just wanted to go where his friends are." and was his last studio release for six years, though during this period the live albumA Fistful of Alice (1997)[78] was released, and in 1997 he lent his voice to the intro track ofInsane Clown Posse'sThe Great Milenko.[79]
During his absence from the recording studio, Cooper toured extensively every year throughout the latter part of the 1990s, including, in 1996, South America, which he had not visited since 1974. Also in 1996, Cooper sang the role ofHerod on the London cast recording of the musicalJesus Christ Superstar.[80]
In 1999, the four-disc box setThe Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper appeared, which contained the authorized biography[81] of Cooper,Alcohol and Razor Blades, Poison and Needles: The Glorious Wretched Excess of Alice Cooper, All-American, written byCreem magazine editorJeffrey Morgan.[82]
The first decade of the 21st century saw a sustained period of activity from Alice Cooper, the decade in which he turned 60. He toured extensively releasing a steady stream of studio albums to favorable critical acclaim. Beginning in 2000 withBrutal Planet, a return to horror-filled heavy metal,industrial rock, set in adystopian post-apocalyptic future.[83] The album was produced byBob Marlette, with longtime Cooper production collaboratorBob Ezrin returning as executive producer. The accompanying world tour, which included Cooper's first concert in Russia, also resulted inBrutally Live (2000), a DVD of a concert, recorded in London, England, on July 19, 2000.[84]
Cooper made a guest appearance in 2001 on a third-season episode ofThat '70s Show titled "Radio Daze", in which he partook in a game ofDungeons & Dragons.[85]
Brutal Planet was succeeded by the sonically similar and acclaimed sequelDragontown (2001), which sawBob Ezrin back as producer. The album has been described as leading the listener down "a nightmarish path into the mind of rock's original conceptual storyteller"[86] and by Cooper himself as being "the worst town on Brutal Planet". LikeThe Last Temptation, bothBrutal Planet andDragontown are albums which explore Cooper's born-again Christianity. It is often cited in the music media thatDragontown forms the third chapter in a trilogy begun withThe Last Temptation;[87] however, Cooper has indicated that this in fact is not the case.[88]
Cooper again adopted a leaner, cleaner sound for his critically acclaimed 2003 releaseThe Eyes of Alice Cooper.[89] Recognizing that many contemporary bands were having great success with his former sounds and styles, Cooper worked with a somewhat younger group of road and studio musicians who were familiar with his oeuvre of old. The resulting Bare Bones tour adopted a less-orchestrated performance style that had fewer theatrical flourishes and a greater emphasis on musicality.[90]
Cooper's radio showNights with Alice Cooper began airing on January 26, 2004, in several US cities. The program showcases classic rock, Cooper's personal stories about his life as a rock icon and interviews with prominent rock artists.[91] The show is broadcast on nearly 100 stations in the US and Canada, and has been broadcast internationally.[92]
A continuation of the songwriting approach adopted onThe Eyes of Alice Cooper was again adopted by Cooper for his seventeenth solo studio albumDirty Diamonds, released in 2005.Dirty Diamonds became Cooper's highest-charting album since 1994'sThe Last Temptation at the time.[93] The Dirty Diamonds tour launched in America in August 2005 after several European concerts, including a performance at theMontreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 12. Cooper and his band, includingKiss drummerEric Singer, were filmed for a DVD released asAlice Cooper: Live at Montreux 2005 (2006). One critic, in a review of the Montreux release, commented that Cooper was to be applauded for "still mining pretty much the same territory of teenage angst and rebellion" as he had done more than 30 years previously.[94]
In December 2006, the original Alice Cooper band reunited to perform six classic Alice Cooper songs at Cooper's annual charity event in Phoenix, entitled "Christmas Pudding".[fn 7]
On July 1, 2007, Cooper performed a duet withMarilyn Manson at the B'Estival event inBucharest, Romania.[95] The performance represented a reconciliation between the two artists; Cooper had previously taken issue with Manson over his overtlyanti-Christian on stage antics and had sarcastically made reference to the originality of Manson's choosing a female name and dressing in women's clothing.[83] Cooper and Manson have been the subject of an academic paper on the significance of adolescentantiheroes.[96]
In January 2008, Cooper was one of the guest singers onAvantasia's third studio albumThe Scarecrow, singing the seventh track "The Toy Master". In July 2008, after lengthy delays, Cooper releasedAlong Came a Spider, his eighteenth solo studio album. It was Cooper's highest-charting album since 1991'sHey Stoopid, reaching No. 53 in the US and No. 31 in the UK. The album, visiting similar territory explored in 1987'sRaise Your Fist and Yell, deals with the nefarious antics of a derangedserial killer named "Spider" who is on a quest to use the limbs of his victims to create a human spider. The album generally received positive reviews from music critics, thoughRolling Stone magazine opined that the music on the record sorely missed Bob Ezrin's production values.[97] The resulting Theatre of Death tour of the album (during which Cooper is executed on four separate occasions) was described in a long November 2009 article about Cooper inThe Times as "epic" and featuring "enough fake blood to remakeSaving Private Ryan".[citation needed]
In January 2010, it was announced that Cooper would be touring withRob Zombie on The Gruesome Twosome Tour.[105] In May 2010, Cooper made an appearance during the beginning of the season finale of the singing competition showAmerican Idol, in which he sang "School's Out".[106]
Cooper performing live atWembley Arena in London, England, 2012
With his daughter, and former band memberDick Wagner, Cooper scored the music for the indie horror flickSilas Gore (2010).[107]
During 2010, Cooper began working on a new studio album, dubbedWelcome 2 My Nightmare, a sequel to the originalWelcome to My Nightmare (1975).[108] In a Radio Metal interview, he said that "We'll put some of the original people on it and add some new people ... I'm very happy with working with Bob (Ezrin) again."[108]
On December 15, 2010, it was announced Cooper and his former band would be inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place on March 14, 2011, where Cooper was inducted by fellow horror-rocker Rob Zombie. Original members Bruce, Cooper, Dunaway, and Smith all made brief acceptance speeches and performed "I'm Eighteen" and "School's Out" live together, with Steve Hunter filling in for the late Glen Buxton. Cooper showed up for the event wearing a (presumably fake) blood-splattered shirt and had a live albinoBurmese python wrapped around his neck.[109][110] Cooper toldRolling Stone magazine that he was "elated" by the news and that the nomination had been made for the original band, as "We all did go to the same high school together, and we were all on the track team, and it was pretty cool that guys that knew each other before the band ended up going that far".[111]
On June 9, 2011, Cooper was awarded theKerrang! Icon Award atKerrang! magazine's annual awards show. Cooper used the opportunity to hit out at the "anaemic" rock music that dominates the charts, and said he has no intention of retiring from the industry.[114]
In 2013, Cooper announced that he had finished recording a covers album, based on songs by his rock star drinking buddies in the 1970s who had since died from excess, and that it was scheduled for a spring 2014 release.[119] Later he announced that the album would likely be released in 2015.[120]
On January 28, 2014, it was officially revealed that Alice Cooper would be the opening act forMötley Crüe's final tour, spanning 2014 and 2015. Cooper was featured on the song "Savages" onTheory of a Deadman's fifth studio album.[121]
On Easter Sunday, 2018, Cooper performed asHerod inNBC's live performance ofAndrew Lloyd Webber'sJesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.[127] Reviews were positive, withThe New York Times' critic Noel Murray praising "Alice Cooper's magnificently scenery-chewing performance" as a "startling moment of clarity,"[128] and Lorraine Ali of theLos Angeles Times describing his performance as, "Weird? Yes, but also perfect in a campy, dramatic and evil 'Billion Dollar Babies' kind of way. Cooper's part was small but indelible."[129] Cooper had previously recorded the song (though not performed it live) in 2000, with the 1996 London revival cast.[130]
Cooper released his twenty-first solo studio album,Detroit Stories, on February 26, 2021.[131] In May, he announced a fall tour to promote the album, supported byAce Frehley, which began in September 2021.[132]
Cooper wrote the afterword toJeffrey Morgan's autobiographyRock Critic Confidential which was published by New Haven on June 28, 2021.[133]
Cooper participated as a judge on the music competition television showNo Cover season 1 that started to be aired in theSumerian Records YouTube Channel in April 2022.[134]
On July 11, 2022, touring guitaristNita Strauss announced she had departed the band.[135] A few days later, it was announcedKane Roberts had rejoined the band, replacing Strauss.[136] On March 6, 2023, it was announced Strauss had rejoined the band.[137]
Cooper's twenty-second studio albumRoad was released on August 25, 2023.[138]
In the fall of 2023, Cooper co-headlined the Freaks on Parade tour withRob Zombie, withFilter andMinistry acting as the opening acts.[139] The tour spanned one month, lasting from August 24, 2023, until September 24, 2023, visiting 19 venues across the United States and Canada.
Cooper presents a show five weekdays on the UK'sPlanet Rock.
Cooper recorded the albumSolid Rock Revival with different, child-friendly lyrics for his songs and those of other artists. "School's Out" became "School's In", "No More Mr. Nice Guy" became "Now, I'm Mr. Nice Guy" and "I'm Eighteen" became "I'm Thirteen". WithRob Halford he recorded "Pleasant Dreams", and withDarryl McDaniels he recorded ahip hop version of "In the Midnight Hour" called "Midday Hour". Proceeds go to Norelli Family Foundation and Cooper's Solid Rock Foundation.[140]
In January 2024, a newly revamped syndicated radio show,Alice's Attic with Alice Cooper syndicated by Superadio Networks debuted on over 70+ radio stations in the US and worldwide.Radio Ink
During an interview for the programEntertainment USA in 1986, Cooper told interviewerJonathan King thatthe Yardbirds were his favorite band of all time.[142] Cooper had as far back as 1969 said that it was music from the mid-sixties, and particularly from British bandsthe Beatles,the Who, andthe Rolling Stones, as well as the Yardbirds, that had the greatest influence on him.[143] Cooper later paid homage to the Who by singing "I'm a Boy" forA Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who in 1994 atCarnegie Hall in New York, and performing a cover version of "My Generation" on theBrutal Planet tour of 2000. During an interview withOzzy Osbourne from radio programNights with Alice Cooper on May 22, 2007, Cooper again affirmed his debt of gratitude to these bands, and to the Beatles in particular. During their discussion, Cooper and Osbourne bemoaned the often inferior quality of songwriting coming from contemporary rock artists. Cooper stated that in his opinion the cause of the problem was that certain modern bands "had forgotten to listen to the Beatles".[144]
Arthur Brown was a major influence on Cooper. During live performances and in the promotional video, Brown performed the 1968 song "Fire" wearing black and white makeup (corpse paint) and a burning headpiece.[145][146]
On seeing shock rock pioneerArthur Brown performing his US number two hit "Fire" in 1968, Cooper states, "Can you imagine the young Alice Cooper watching that with all his make-up and hellish performance? It was like all my Halloweens came at once!"[147] A 2014 article on Alice Cooper inThe Guardian mentioned Arthur Brown and his flaming helmet, "British rock always was more theatrical than its US counterpart. Often this involved destruction or macabre gimmickry", with Cooper responding, "That's why most people thought we were British at first."[148]
Rob Zombie, former lead vocalist ofWhite Zombie, claims his first "metal moment" was seeing Alice Cooper onDon Kirshner's Rock Concert.[151][152] Zombie has also claimed to have been heavily influenced by Cooper's costumes.[30] In a 1978 interview withRolling Stone, Bob Dylan stated, "I think Alice Cooper is an overlooked songwriter."[153]
In the foreword to Alice Cooper's CD retrospective box setThe Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper,John Lydon of theSex Pistols pronouncedKiller (1971) as the greatest rock album of all time, and in 2002 Lydon presented his own tribute program to Cooper on BBC radio. Lydon told the BBC that "I know the words to every Alice Cooper song. The fact is, if you can call what I have a musical career, it all started with me miming to 'I'm Eighteen' on a jukebox."[154]
The Flaming Lips are longtime Alice Cooper fans and used the bassline from "Levity Ball" (an early song from the 1969 releasePretties for You) for their song "The Ceiling Is Bending". They also covered "Sun Arise" for an Alice Cooper tribute album. (Cooper's version, which closes the albumLove It to Death, was itself a cover of aRolf Harris song.[155])
Unlikely non-musician fans of Cooper have included comedianGroucho Marx and actressMae West, who both reportedly saw the early shows as a form of vaudeville revue,[158] and artistSalvador Dalí, who on attending a show in 1973 described it as being surreal, and made ahologram,First Cylindric Chromo-Hologram Portrait of Alice Cooper's Brain.[159][fn 8]
In the early 1970s, a story was widely reported thatLeave It to Beaver actorKen Osmond had become "rock star Alice Cooper". According to Cooper, the rumor began when a college newspaper editor asked him what kind of child he was, to which Cooper replied, "I was obnoxious, disgusting, a realEddie Haskell," referring to the fictional character Osmond portrayed. However, the editor ended up reporting that Cooper was the real Haskell. Cooper later told theNew Times: "It was the biggest rumor that ever came out about me. Finally, I got a T-shirt that said, 'No, I am not Eddie Haskell.' But people still believed it."[160]
On June 20, 2005, ahead of his June–July 2005 tour, Cooper had a wide-ranging interview with interviewer of celebritiesAndrew Denton for the AustralianABC TV'sEnough Rope. Cooper discussed various issues during the talk, including the horrors of acute alcoholism and his subsequent cure, being a Christian, and his social and work relationship with his family.[158] During the interview, Cooper remarked "I look atMick Jagger and he's on an 18-month tour and he's six years older than me, so I figure, when he retires, I have six more years. I will not let him beat me when it comes to longevity."[158]
In the period when the Alice Cooper group was signed toFrank Zappa'sStraight label, Miss Christine ofthe GTOs became Cooper's girlfriend. Miss Christine (real name Christine Frka), who had recommended Zappa to the group, died on November 5, 1972, of an overdose.[fn 9] Another long-time girlfriend of Cooper's was Cindy Lang,[162] with whom he lived for several years.
After his separation from Lang, Cooper was briefly linked with actressRaquel Welch, although according to Dick Wagner, Cooper rejected Welch's advances.[161] Cooper ended up marryingballerina instructor and choreographerSheryl Goddard, who performed in the Alice Cooper show from 1975 to 1982. They married on March 20, 1976. In November 1983, at the height of Cooper's alcoholism, Goddard filed for divorce, but by mid-1984, she and Cooper had reconciled.[163] They have three children: daughters Sonora andCalico, and son Dashiell.[164]
Cooper and his wife started Solid Rock foundation in 1995. The first of several teen centers opened inPhoenix, Arizona in 2012. Another opened inMesa, Arizona in 2021. The centers offer vocational and arts training.[140]
In a 2002 television interview, Cooper stated that he had never cheated on his wife the entire time they had been together. In the same interview, he also said that the secret to a lasting and successful relationship is to continue going out on dates with one's partner.[165]
In a 2019 interview, Cooper said that he and his wife Sheryl have a death pact, wherein they will die at the same time, sparking a flurry of headlines.[166] But Cooper clarified his comments, tellingUSA Today, "What I was meaning was that because we're almost always together, at home and on the road, that if something did happen to either of us, we'd most likely be together at the time. But neither of us has asuicide pact. We have a life pact."[167]
Since overcoming his own addiction to alcohol in the mid-1980s, Cooper has continued to help and counsel other rock musicians with addiction problems. "I've made myself very available to friends of mine – they're people who would call me late at night and say, 'Between you and me, I've got a problem.'"[168] In 1986,thrash metal bandMegadeth opened for Cooper on his USConstrictor tour. After noticing how Megadeth's band members abused alcohol and other drugs, Cooper personally approached the band to try to help them get clean. He has stayed close to lead vocalistDave Mustaine, who considers Cooper to be his "godfather".[169] In recognition of the work he has done in helping other addicts in the recovery process, Cooper received in 2008 theStevie Ray Vaughan Award at the fourth annualMusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert in Los Angeles.[168]
During an interview withJohnnie Walker onBBC Radio 2 in September 2007, Cooper said that he was not a Christian when he gave up drinking, but stated that he thanks God for "taking it away", saying, "I mean if He [God] canpart the Red Sea and create the universe, He can certainly take alcoholism away from somebody."[170] Although he originally did not speak publicly about his religious beliefs, Cooper was later vocal about his faith as aborn-again Christian.[171][172]
Throughout his career, Cooper's philosophy regarding politics is that politics should not be mixed with rock music. Cooper has usually kept his political views to himself, and in 2010 said, "I am extremely non-political. I go out of my way to be non-political. I'm probably the biggest moderate you know. WhenJohn Lennon andHarry Nilsson used to argue politics, I was sitting right in the middle of them, and I was the guy who was going 'I don't care.' When my parents would start talking politics, I would go in my room and put onthe Rolling Stones orthe Who as long as I could avoid politics. And I still feel that way."[111]
On occasion, Cooper has spoken out against musicians who promote or opine on politics; for example, in the build-up to the2004 presidential election, he toldThe Canadian Press that the rock stars campaigning for and touring on behalf ofDemocratic candidateJohn Kerry were committing "treason against rock n' roll". He added, upon seeing a list of musicians who supported Kerry, "If I wasn't already aBush supporter, I would have immediately switched.Linda Ronstadt?Don Henley? Geez, that's a good reason right there to vote for Bush."[173][fn 10] In December 2018, Cooper predicted that the next U.S. president would be "worse" thanDonald Trump, while arguing that musicians talking politics to their fans was an "abuse of power".[174]
Every four years since releasing his single "Elected" in 1972, Cooper has satirically run for president.[125]
In 2023, Cooper made remarks against the transgender community and suggested women would be sexually assaulted in bathrooms if men were permitted access and called most instances oftransgender identity a "fad", resulting in the loss of a cosmetics branding deal.[175][176]
In a 2025 interview withThe Times, Cooper expressed support forDonald Trump, stating that: "(America) got so 'woke' with theBiden people, even they thought it was crazy. If a guy says to a coworker, 'I like your new dress,' that means he now gets fired? That's crazy. It got so over the top that whoever ran against theDemocrats was going to win. America got sick of the stupidness and all I can say is, in a shooting war, you don't want a poodle; you want a pitbull."[177]
Cooper is an avid golfer and says that the sport played a major role in him overcoming his addiction to alcohol,[184] and has even gone so far as to say that when he took up golf, it was a case of replacing one addiction with another.[185][186] The importance that the game has had in his life is also reflected in the title to his 2007 autobiography,Alice Cooper, Golf Monster.[187] Cooper, who has participated in a number ofpro–am competitions,[fn 11] plays the game six days a week, off ahandicap of four.[31] He also, through golf, enjoyed an unlikely friendship with country guitarist and singerGlen Campbell after they became neighbors, playing together 'nearly every other day'[188]
Cooper has also appeared in commercials forCallaway Golf equipment and was a guest of veteran British player and broadcasterPeter Alliss onA Golfer's Travels.[189] He wrote the foreword to theGary McCord bookRyder Cup and participated in the secondAll-Star Cup inNewport, Wales.[190]
Cooper, a fan ofThe Simpsons, was asked to contribute a storyline for the September 2004 edition ofBongo Comics'sBart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror, a specialMonsters of Rock issue that also included stories plotted byGene Simmons,Rob Zombie andPat Boone.[191] The title of his song "Can't Sleep, Clowns Will Eat Me", fromDragontown, is a reference to the series.
Cooper is also the subject of the "We're not worthy" meme, which was popularized during his cameo inWayne's World withMike Myers andDana Carvey in 1992.[194]
Cooper contributed his likeness and over 700 voice lines to Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle, apinball machine released in 2018 bySpooky Pinball that also features ten songs performed by Cooper. Only 500 machines were made.[195]
At theMusical Instrument Museum ofPhoenix, Cooper is honored with a dedicated exhibit showcasing props and instruments from his career, including one of the dummy heads used during the infamous guillotine stunt.[196][197]
^Cooper describes in detail in his first autobiography,Me, Alice (1976), how he was tasked with organizing an act for the show.
^Barry Miles's biography ofFrank Zappa includes a vivid description of howthe GTOs influenced Cooper to wear makeup and dress in drag onstage.
^Cooper confirms this version of events in an interview inAlice Cooper: Prime Cuts.
^Five years later, the Chicken Incident was parodied in the second verse of theRay Stevens song "The Moonlight Special", with Cooper referred to asAgnes Stoopa.
^For example, see the November 13, 1986, issue ofKerrang! music magazine, whose front cover bears the headline 'The Night He Came Home ... Alice Knocks 'Em Dead in Detroit'.
^Damon Johnson, a guitarist in Cooper's then band, filled in for the deceased Glen Buxton.
^Popoff, Martin (2014).The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal's Debauched Decade. Voyageur Press. pp. 11, 171.ISBN978-0-76034-546-7.
^Wenger, Kaimi (December 30, 2003)."Famous Mormons".TimesAndSeasons.org. See comment No. 34.Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. RetrievedAugust 13, 2011.
^Furek, Maxim W. (2008).The Death Proclamation of Generation X: A Self-Fulfilling Prophesy of Goth, Grunge and Heroin. i-Universe. p. 62.ISBN978-0-595-46319-0.
^Bostic, Jeff Q.; Schlozman, Steve; Pataki, Caroly; Ristuccia, Carel; Beresin, Eugene V.; Martin, Andrés (January 9, 2014). "From Alice Cooper to Marilyn Manson".Academic Psychiatry.27 (1):54–62.doi:10.1176/appi.ap.27.1.54.ISSN1042-9670.PMID12824123.S2CID143764114.
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