 Discuss this band at HAIR NATION HEAVY METAL MESSAGE BOARD
 Between '50s showman Screamin' Jay Hawkins emerging from a coffin and Kiss' Gene Simmons spitting "blood" in the mid-'70s, no one defined shock rock like Alice Cooper. Cooper used violent (and vile) theatrics - simulated executions, the chopping up of baby dolls, and draping himself with a live boa constrictor - and explicit lyrics to become a controversial yet hugely popular figure in the early and mid-'70s. After a decade of fluctuating record sales, Cooper returned to platinum with the #20 1989 LP Trash. Though he is respected by a new generation of hard-rock fans, he never reached this kind of popularity again.
Vincent Furnier, son of a preacher, assembled his hard-rocking band in Phoenix. They were first known as the Earwigs, then the Spiders, and finally the Nazz (not to be confused with Todd Rundgren’s band). They moved en masse to L.A. in 1968. Billing themselves as Alice Cooper (who, according to a Ouija board, was a 17th-century witch reincarnated as Furnier), they established themselves on the Southern California bar circuit with a bizarre stage show and a reputation as the worst band in L.A. Frank Zappa’s Straight Records released their first two albums, which sold poorly and, with tour costs, left them $100,000 in debt.
The band members moved to Detroit, where they lived for several months in a single hotel room before the release of their major-label debut and breakthrough album, Love It to Death. Joining Cooper’s taboo-defying lyrics to powerful hard rock, the album became the first in a string of gold and platinum releases and included “Eighteen” (#21, 1971). Subsequent hit singles included “School’s Out” (#7, 1972), “Elected” (#26, 1972), “Hello Hooray” (#35, 1973), and “No More Mr. Nice Guy” (#25, 1973). Killer (#21, 1971), School’s Out (#2, 1972), and Billion Dollar Babies (#1, 1973) are all platinum.
In 1973 Surrealist master Salvador Dalí filmed the singer, wearing diamond necklaces and tiara, as he bit the head off a small replica of the Venus de Milo for a holographic work. With such widespread success, even amid the gruesome stage sets and macabre makeup, Cooper seemed less threatening.
The band broke up in 1974 and Cooper began using such musicians as ex–Lou Reed guitarists Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter. (In 1977 former band members Bruce, Dunaway, and Smith formed Billion Dollar Babies and recorded one unsuccessful album.) Alice Cooper - The Nightmare, an April 1975 prime-time TV special, seemed to indicate Cooper’s acceptance as a mainstream entertainer, as did a handful of appearances on The Hollywood Squares. His then-current hit, “Only Women Bleed” (#12, 1975), was a ballad, as were two subsequent hits: “I Never Cry” (#12, 1976) and “You and Me” (#9, 1977).
In 1978 Cooper committed himself to a psychiatric hospital for treatment of alcoholism, an experience chronicled on From the Inside, which includes some lyrics by Elton John’s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin and the hit “How You Gonna See Me Now” (#12, 1978). Neither the hard-rocking Flush the Fashion nor Special Forces was especially successful, and Cooper took a hiatus. He returned in 1986 with Constrictor, followed by Raise Your Fist and Yell, both deep in the heavy-metal vein. The Nightmare Returns Tour and MTV Halloween special brought Cooper’s violent, twisted onstage fantasies to a new generation, and he closed the ’80s with the platinum Trash and “Poison” (#7, 1989), his first Top 20 single in more than a decade.
Cooper, for whom Alice is such a character that he speaks of him in the third person in interviews, has also appeared in several films: Prince of Darkness (1988), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), and most notably Wayne’s World (1992). For The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II - The Metal Years, he rerecorded “Under My Wheels” with Guns n’ Roses’ Axl Rose, Slash, and Izzy Stradlin. Prominent among Cooper’s legion of second-generation fans are Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx, Joe Satriani, and Slash, all of whom guested on Hey Stoopid; Soundgarden’s singer, Chris Cornell, was on The Last Temptation, while Sammy Hagar and Rob Zombie appeared on the live recording A Fistful of Alice.
His career flagging in the late ’90s, Cooper moved away from the power ballads that had marked his ’80s records and reunited with producer Bob Ezrin (who had worked on Love It to Death, Killer, and School’s Out, among others) on the indie release Brutal Planet, a science-fiction concept album. But despite the return of a guillotine (a mainstay of his ’70s shows) as an accessory on the Live From the Brutal Planet Tour, Cooper seems mild compared to the likes of Slipknot or Marilyn Manson, who arguably were directly inspired by him. Not only does he now play family-friendly places such as state fairs but he also opened a restaurant, Alice Cooper’stown, in Phoenix.
DISCOGRAPHY
Dada
2007
Special Forces
2007
Zipper Catches Skin
2007
The Best Of Alice Cooper: Mascara & Monsters
2007
Flush The Fashion
2007
Rhino Hi-five: Alice Cooper
2006
Live In Montreux 2005
2006
Rock Masters
2005
Dirty Diamonds
2005
The Eyes of Alice Cooper
2003
Poison
2003
Dragontown [Bonus Disc]
2002
The Essentials
2002
Dragontown
2001
Alice Cooper Live
2001
Divas of Swing: Vintage Masters
2001
The Best Of Alice Cooper
2001
Science Fiction [TKO-Magnum]
2000
Brutal Planet
2000
Super Hits
1999
Keep the Faith 2000: Overcoming Stress & Anxiety
1998
Snorting Anthrax
1998
Barbecue Blues
1998
After the Rapture
1998
Love Is an Action Word
1998
Frank
1998
Freedom for Frankenstein: Hits & Pieces 1984-1991
1998
A Nice Nightmare [Sony Special Products]
1998
A Fistful Of Alice
1997
Classicks
1995
The Last Temptation
1994
Hey Stoopid
1991
Trash
1989
Prince Of Darkness
1989
Raise Your Fist and Yell
1987
Ladies Man
1987
Constrictor
1986
Freak Out [Prime Cuts]
1985
From The Inside
1978
The Alice Cooper Show
1977
Lace And Whiskey
1977
Goes To Hell
1976
Welcome To My Nightmare
1975
Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits
1974
Muscle of Love
1973
Billion Dollar Babies
1973
Billion Dollar Babies: Deluxe Edition
1973
School's Out
1972
Love It To Death
1971
Killer
1971
Easy Action
1970
What Happened
1969
Pretties for You
1969
Live At The Whiskey A-Go-Go 1969
1969
Ars Nova
1968
I'm Gonna Miss You
1967
Singles
Nobody Likes Me
Area Code 615/A Trip in the Country
2000
Here for You!
1998
The Emotions [Sony]
1998
Wiggle Wobble
1963
Compilations
Strikeforce - Volume 2
Wreaking Havoc 1975-1985 Volume 1
First Degree Metal
Iron Eagle 2
Rock On 1978
Live - The 70's
Rock On 1972: Summer Breeze
Rock Hits of the 90's
Pop Stars
2007
Music Legends Vol. 4
2007
Music Legends
2007
Rhino Hi-Five: Valentine's Day Songs 3
2006
Popera 1960-1969
2006
Butchering The Beatles
2006
Classic Pop Vol. 1
2006
Bad News Bears - Original Soundtrack
2006
Rhino Hi-Five: The Gods Of Metal
2006
Rock School Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
2005
Unity: The Offical Athens 2004 Olympic Games Album
2004
Mayor Of The Sunset Strip
2004
Rockin' 80's [Sony]
2004
Rock Giants [Sony]
2003
Absolutely the Best of Classic Rock
2003
Mullets Rock!
2003
Rock on Christian Vintage
2003
Rock Thunder
2002
Metal Mayhem [St. Clair]
2002
Ultimate Power of Supergroups
2002
Hot Guitar Licks: Guitar Rock
2002
Dogtown and Z-Boys
2002
Feel the Love: The Best of Power Ballads
2002
Behind the Wheel: The Best of Road Rock
2002
Welcome to My Nightmare [Bonus Tracks]
2002
You Will Be Rocked!
2001
Live Concert Rock Classics
2001
Classic Rock Hits
2001
Instant Party: More 70's Rock
2001
Greatest Hits of the 80's [Sony]
2001
Frezno Smooth
2001
Legends Of Legends: Supergroups Of The 80's
2000
Hard Rock to Metal
2000
The Filth and the Fury [Rhino]
2000
The Essential Cult Movies [13 Disc Box]
2000
Let It Rock 1989
2000
The Goth Witch Project
2000
Power Ballads (Flashback)
2000
Double Shot: Metal
2000
Rock Hits of the 80's [Sony Special Products 2000]
2000
Hard Rockin' Hits: 20 Original Recordings
2000
Eighties Rock
2000
Racing Rocks: Sounds Of The Speedway
2000
Millennium Party
1999
Monsters, Ghouls, Goblins, and Demons
1999
That '70s Show Presents That '70s Album: Rockin'
1999
Glam Bam, Thank You Ma'am
1999
Acid: Final Frontier
1999
80's Rock, Vol. 2
1999
Acid Space
1999
The Life & Crimes of Alice Cooper
1999
Invasion Of The Rock Zombies
1999
The Greatest Hits of the '80s, Vol. 12
1999
80s Monster Rock, Vol. 4
1999
Rock Giants Vol. 1
1999
Pop In The 70's Vol. 2
1999
Ultimate Power Of The 70s
1999
Hard Rock Cafe: Rockin' Down The Highway
1999
Millennium Classic Rock Party
1999
Plan 9: Tribute to Ed Wood
1999
Hard Rock Cafe: Party Classics
1998
Harley Davidson Road Songs, Vol. 2
1998
Killer Classic Rock
1998
Love Rocks: Love Time
1998
Chronicles
1998
Have A Nice Decade: The '70s Pop...
1998
Chart Toppers: Rock Hits of the 70's
1998
Rock & Roll Relix: 1988-1989
1998
Masters of Rock
1998
Stud Rock: Rock Me
1998
Classic Rock Vol. 1
1998
Classic Rock Vol. 3
1998
The Number One's: Classic Rock
1998
Rock On: Dance, Dance, Dance 1977
1998
Metal [Delta]
1998
70's Classic Rock
1998
Monsters Of Rock (Razor & Tie)
1998
In Search of Space: The Sixties to Seventies
1997
Easyriders, Vol. 1
1997
Easyriders
1997
Under My Wheels: 12 Road Trippin' Tracks
1997
70's Hot Rock
1997
Crankin' Up
1997
All Out Rock
1997
Only Rock 'N Roll 1975-1979: #1 Radio Hits
1996
Only Rock 'N Roll 1970-1974: #1 Radio Hits
1996
Songs In The Key Of X:..."The X-Files"
1996
Ultimate Rock 'N' Roll Collection [EMI]
1996
Only Rock 'N Roll 1980-1984: #1 Radio Hits
1996
The Greatest Hits Of The 80's Vol. 8
1996
Greatest Hits Of The 80's
1996
Rock And Roll Festival Vol. 1
1995
Only Love: 1975-1979
1995
18 Screamers from the 70s
1995
Born To Be Wild Vol. 3
1995
Hot Hits Of The 80's
1995
Frat Rock: The '70s
1995
Even More Dazed & Confused
1994
Only Rock'N Roll 1970-1974
1994
Elvira Presents: Monster Hits
1994
80's Greatest Rock Hits, Vol. 9: Hard Rock
1993
Dazed And Confused
1993
Monsters of Rock, Vol. 1: Heaven & Hell
1993
Wayne's World
1992
Classic Rock [Cema]
1992
Atlantic Rock & Roll Box
1991
Seventies Greatest Rock Hits, Vol. 11: Heavy Hi
1991
Elvira Presents Haunted Hits
1990
Heavy Metal Memories
1990
Rock 'N' Roll High School
1981
Guest
A Tribute To Alice Cooper
2007
Bad News Bears
Simple Plan
2005
Inside Deep Throat
David Steinberg
2005
Pop 'Til You Drop
A*Teens
2002
Mutations: A Tribute to Alice Cooper
Gold Sparkle Band
2002
Humanary Stew?: A Tribute to Alice Cooper
Perry Como
1999
Right Between The Eyes
Icon (Rock)
1989
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