Alice Cooper facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alice Cooper
Cooper in 2022
Background information
Birth name	Vincent Damon Furnier
Born	(1948-02-04) February 4, 1948 (age 77) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Origin	Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Genres	Hard rock shock rock glam rock heavy metal
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter actor
Years active	1964–present
Labels	Straight Warner Bros. Atlantic MCA Epic Spitfire Steamhammer UMe earMusic
Members	List of solo band members
Children	3, including Calico Cooper

Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier; February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer. His career has lasted for sixty years. He is known for his rough voice and exciting stage shows. These shows often use many props and cool stage illusions. Music experts and other musicians call him "The Godfather of Shock Rock." He took ideas from horror movies, old-fashioned theater (vaudeville), and raw garage rock. He used these to create a spooky and dramatic style of rock music. His goal was to surprise and entertain audiences.

Alice Cooper started as a band in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1964. The original members were Vincent Furnier, guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith. The band released seven albums between 1969 and 1973. They broke up in 1975. Vincent Furnier then legally changed his name to Alice Cooper. He began his solo career that same year with the album Welcome to My Nightmare. Throughout his career, Cooper has sold over 50 million records.

Cooper has tried different music styles. These include hard rock, glam rock, heavy metal, and glam metal. He also explored new wave, art rock, and industrial rock. He helped shape the sound and look of heavy metal music. Many say he was the first artist to bring scary images to rock and roll. His stage skills and performances have changed the genre forever. Offstage, he is known for his clever humor. The Rolling Stone Album Guide called him the world's "most beloved heavy metal entertainer." Besides music, Cooper is also an actor, a famous golfer, and a restaurant owner. Since 2004, he has been a radio disc jockey (DJ) with his classic rock show Alice's Attic.

Discovering Alice Cooper's Early Life

Vincent Damon Furnier was born on February 4, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan. His parents were Ether Moroni Furnier and Ella Mae McCart. He was named after his uncle, Vincent Collier Furnier, and a writer named Damon Runyon. His father was a preacher in The Church of Jesus Christ. His grandfather was also a leader in that church.

Cooper was active in his church when he was 11 and 12 years old. After being sick several times as a child, his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona. There, he went to Cortez High School. In his high school yearbook, he wrote that his dream was to "sell a million records."

Alice Cooper's Musical Journey

Starting with The Spiders and Nazz

In 1964, 16-year-old Vincent Furnier wanted to join his high school's talent show. He teamed up with four friends from his cross country team: Glen Buxton, Dennis Dunaway, John Tatum, and John Speer. They called themselves the Earwigs. They dressed up like the Beatles and sang funny versions of Beatles songs. For example, they changed "Please Please Me" to be about their track team. Only Buxton knew how to play guitar, so the others pretended to play. The audience loved them, and they won the show!

Because they had so much fun, the group decided to become a real band. They bought instruments from a pawn shop and learned to play. Buxton taught them most things and wrote many early songs. Soon, they changed their name to the Spiders. Furnier sang lead, Buxton played lead guitar, Tatum played rhythm guitar, Dunaway played bass, and Speer played drums.

In 1966, the Spiders finished high school. Michael Bruce joined as rhythm guitarist, replacing John Tatum. The band then released their second song, "Don't Blow Your Mind." This song became a local hit.

By 1967, the band often traveled to Los Angeles to play shows. They changed their name again to Nazz. They released a song called "Wonder Who's Lovin' Her Now." Around this time, Neal Smith became their new drummer. By the end of the year, the band moved to Los Angeles.

How "Alice Cooper" Became a Name

In 1968, the band found out that Todd Rundgren also had a band called Nazz. So, they needed a new name. Furnier felt the band needed something special to stand out. He thought other bands weren't using the stage's full potential for a show. They picked "Alice Cooper" because it sounded innocent and sweet. This was a funny contrast to their wild music and image.

In his 2007 book, Alice Cooper, Golf Monster, Cooper said his look came from movies. One of their favorite films was What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). In it, Bette Davis wore messy makeup. Another movie they loved was Barbarella (1968). Cooper said, "When I saw Anita Pallenberg playing the Great Tyrant... wearing long black leather gloves with switchblades coming out of them, I thought, 'That's what Alice should look like.'" He also got ideas from Emma Peel in The Avengers.

The classic Alice Cooper band included Furnier, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, rhythm guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith. All the band members, except Smith, were on the Cortez High School cross-country team. Cooper, Buxton, and Dunaway also studied art. Their love for surrealist artists like Salvador Dalí inspired their future stage performances.

One night, after a bad show in Los Angeles, the band met music manager Shep Gordon. He saw their ability to shock people as a good thing. Shep then set up an audition with famous producer Frank Zappa. Zappa was looking for unusual music acts for his new record label, Straight Records. Zappa told them to come to his house at "7 o'clock." The band thought he meant 7 AM! Waking Zappa up with their loud rock music at that hour impressed him. He signed them to a three-album deal. Another group Zappa signed, the GTOs, helped the band create their early stage look.

Cooper's first album, Pretties for You (1969), was a mix of different sounds.

The band's "shock rock" fame started almost by accident. An unplanned moment with Cooper, a feather pillow, and a live chicken got a lot of attention. The band decided to use this news to their advantage. This helped them create a new type of music called shock rock.

The band later said they were very influenced by Pink Floyd. Especially their first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). Glen Buxton said he could listen to Syd Barrett's guitar playing for hours.

Alice Cooper Band: The 1970s Success (1970–1975)

Cooper performing in 1972

The band's second album, Easy Action, came out in June 1970. It did not do well, even worse than the first album. Around this time, the band was tired of people in California not caring about their shows. So, they moved to Pontiac, Michigan. Their wild stage act was much more popular with audiences there. People in the Midwest were used to the raw, energetic music of local bands like the Stooges. Even so, Cooper still got a cream pie thrown in his face at the Cincinnati Pop Festival. Michigan became their main home until 1972.

Alice Cooper also played at the Woodstock-like Strawberry Fields Festival in Canada in August 1970. The band's mix of flashy style and increasingly wild stage acts stood out. They were very different from the other hippie bands of that time.

In late 1970, the Alice Cooper group worked with producer Bob Ezrin. They recorded their third album, Love It to Death. This was their last album for Straight Records. It was their final chance to make a hit song. Their first success came with the song "I'm Eighteen". It was released in November 1970 and reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1971. Soon after the album came out in January 1971, Warner Bros. Records bought Alice Cooper's contract. They re-released the album and promoted the band more.

Love It to Death was their big breakthrough album. It reached number 35 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album charts. This was the first of 11 albums that Ezrin produced for Alice Cooper. Ezrin is seen as very important in creating the band's unique sound.

The band's 1971 tour featured a stage show where they wore tight, shiny, colorful costumes. These were made by rock fashion designer Cindy Dunaway. Cooper's stage character became more villainous. He seemed like a threat to society. The success of their songs and album, and their 1971 tour, helped them get a new contract with Warner Bros. They even toured Europe for the first time. Elton John and David Bowie (before his Ziggy Stardust days) were reportedly in the audience.

Their next album, Killer, came out in November 1971. It continued the success of Love It to Death. It had more hit songs like "Under My Wheels" and "Be My Lover" in early 1972. "Halo of Flies" became a Top 10 hit in the Netherlands in 1973. On stage, Cooper's villainous character grew. The show included a boa constrictor wrapped around Cooper. There were also scenes of chopping up bloody baby dolls and a fake execution by hanging. In January 1972, Cooper was asked about his unusual name. He told talk show host Dinah Shore that he took the name from a character on the TV show "Mayberry RFD."

In the summer of 1972, the song "School's Out" was released. It became a Top 10 hit in the U.S. and number 1 in the UK. It is still played on classic rock radio today. The album School's Out reached No. 2 in the U.S. and sold over a million copies. The band moved to a new mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Cooper's stage character changed from being gender-bending to a brattiness and machismo style. The band became even more successful with tours in the U.S. and Europe. They gained many devoted fans. At the same time, they shocked parents and angered social groups. In the UK, a Christian campaigner named Mary Whitehouse convinced the BBC to ban the "School's Out" music video. But this didn't stop the song from reaching number one. Cooper even sent her flowers to thank her for the publicity! A British politician, Leo Abse, tried to get the group banned from performing in the country.

The group in 1973

In February 1973, Billion Dollar Babies was released worldwide. It became the band's most successful album, reaching No. 1 in both the U.S. and UK. "Elected", a UK Top 10 hit from late 1972, had one of the first MTV-style music videos. This was three years before Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" video. Two more UK Top 10 songs followed: "Hello Hooray" and "No More Mr. Nice Guy". The song "Billion Dollar Babies" also became a U.S. hit. Around this time, Glen Buxton left the band for a short period due to health issues.

With many successful albums and hit songs, the band kept up their busy schedule. They toured the United States again. Politicians and groups tried to ban their shocking shows. But this only made Alice Cooper more famous and created more public interest. Their 1973 U.S. tour broke ticket sales records set by the Rolling Stones. Their rock shows reached new levels of theater. The stage show had many special effects, including "Billion Dollar Bills" and a dental scene with dancing teeth. The Alice Cooper group was at its peak. They were one of the most famous and successful acts in music. However, the constant recording and touring began to wear down the band members.

Muscle of Love, released in late 1973, was the last album from the original band. It featured Alice Cooper's last UK Top 20 song of the 1970s, "Teenage Lament '74". The band also recorded a theme song for the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). But a different song by Lulu was chosen instead. By 1974, Muscle of Love had not done as well as Billion Dollar Babies. The band started having many disagreements. For different reasons, the members decided to take a break. Manager Shep Gordon said, "Everyone decided they needed a rest from one another."

In the 1970s, Cooper founded a celebrity club, the Hollywood Vampires, headquartered at the Rainbow Bar and Grill in West Hollywood, California

During this time, Cooper moved back to Los Angeles. He started appearing on TV shows like The Hollywood Squares. Warner Bros. released the Greatest Hits album. It reached the U.S. Top 10, doing better than Muscle of Love. The band's 1974 movie Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper did not do well in theaters. On March 5, 1974, Cooper appeared on a TV show called The Snoop Sisters. The final shows by Alice Cooper as a group were in Brazil in March and April 1974. They played to a record indoor crowd of 158,000 fans in São Paulo.

Alice Cooper as a Solo Artist: 1975–1980

In 1975, Alice Cooper returned as a solo artist. He released Welcome to My Nightmare. To avoid legal problems over the band name, "Alice Cooper" became Vincent Furnier's new legal name. Cooper explained in 1975 that the band members had given all they could to each other. He said, "After ten years, we got pretty dry together." Manager Gordon added that what started as a dream became a huge burden. Welcome to My Nightmare was a big success. This led to the final breakup of the original band members. Cooper worked with producer Bob Ezrin. Ezrin brought in Lou Reed's backing band, including guitarists Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter, to play on the album.

The album's main song was the U.S. Top 20 hit "Only Women Bleed". The album was released by Atlantic Records in March 1975. It became a Top 10 hit for Cooper. It was a concept album about a child named Steven's nightmare. It featured narration by horror movie star Vincent Price. The album was the soundtrack for Cooper's new stage show. This show had even more dramatic effects, including an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) furry Cyclops.

Along with the album and stage show, there was a TV special called The Nightmare. It starred Cooper and Vincent Price. It aired on U.S. prime-time TV in April 1975. The Nightmare was later released on home video. It was even nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video. It was seen as another important moment in rock history. A concert film, Welcome to My Nightmare, was filmed live in London in September 1975. It was released in theaters in 1976.

Cooper's solo project was so successful that he decided to continue as a solo artist. The original band officially ended. Bruce, Dunaway, and Smith formed a short-lived band called Billion Dollar Babies. They released one album, Battle Axe, in 1977. They would sometimes play together. But they did not reunite with Alice until October 23, 1999, for a show in Phoenix. They reunited again on December 16, 2010, in Phoenix. This lineup also performed on March 14, 2011, when the original Alice Cooper group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2011, Bruce, Dunaway, and Smith appeared on three songs on Alice's solo album Welcome 2 My Nightmare. In 2017, they appeared on two songs on his album Paranormal. In November 2017, they joined his current live band for five shows in the United Kingdom.

Cooper in 1977

In 1978, Cooper released his album From the Inside. He wrote it with Bernie Taupin, who worked with Elton John. It had another U.S. Top 20 hit song, "How You Gonna See Me Now". The tour for this album was set inside an asylum. It was filmed for Cooper's first home video, The Strange Case of Alice Cooper, in 1979. Around this time, Cooper performed on The Muppet Show in 1978. He played one of the devil's helpers trying to trick Kermit, Gonzo, and Miss Piggy. He also appeared in movies like Sextette and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Cooper also helped raise money to fix the famous Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles. He gave over $27,000, buying an "O" in the sign in memory of his friend Groucho Marx. In 1979, Cooper was a guest on Soupy Sales' show, Lunch with Soupy Sales, and got a pie in the face.

Alice Cooper in the 1980s

The albums Flush the Fashion (1980), Special Forces (1981), Zipper Catches Skin (1982), and DaDa (1983) saw a slow drop in sales. The last two did not even make it onto the Billboard Top 200 chart. Flush the Fashion, produced by Roy Thomas Baker, had a strong, edgy new wave sound. This sound confused even his longtime fans. But it still had the U.S. Top 40 hit "Clones (We're All)". This song also surprisingly charted on the U.S. Disco Top 100. Special Forces had a more aggressive new wave style. It included a new version of "Generation Landslide" from Billion Dollar Babies (1973). His tour for Special Forces was Cooper's last tour for almost five years. He did not tour again until 1986 for Constrictor. Zipper Catches Skin (1982) was more pop punk-like. It had many quirky, high-energy guitar songs and unusual lyrics. Patty Donahue of the Waitresses sang on the song "I Like Girls." In 1983, producer Bob Ezrin and guitarist Dick Wagner worked together again for the album DaDa. This was the last album in his Warner Bros. contract.

In mid-1983, after recording DaDa, Cooper was hospitalized. He was finally stable when DaDa and The Nightmare home video came out that fall. However, both did not sell as well as expected. Even though The Nightmare was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video in 1984, Warner Bros. decided not to keep Cooper. By February 1984, Cooper was a "free agent" for the first time in his career.

Cooper took a long break from music to deal with personal matters. His divorce from Sheryl Cooper was discussed in court in Arizona on January 30, 1984. But the couple decided not to go through with the divorce. The next month, he was a guest at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards. Behind the scenes, Cooper kept busy with music. He worked on new songs with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. In the spring of 1984, he filmed the B-grade horror movie Monster Dog in Spain. Soon after, he got back together with Sheryl. They moved to Chicago. The year ended with more songwriting sessions in New York with Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy. In 1985, he met and started writing songs with guitarist Kane Roberts. Cooper then signed with MCA Records. He was a guest singer on Twisted Sister's song "Be Chrool to Your Scuel." A music video was made for the song, featuring actor Luke Perry. Cooper wore his black snake-eyes makeup for the first time since 1979. But neither the song nor the video gained much public interest.

In 1986, Alice Cooper officially returned to music with the album Constrictor. The album had hits like "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" (the theme song for the movie Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives). In the video, Cooper had a small role as a crazy psychiatrist. Another popular song was "Teenage Frankenstein". The Constrictor album helped Cooper make a big return to touring. This was his first tour since 1981. The tour was called The Nightmare Returns. The Detroit show of this tour, in October 1986 during Halloween, was filmed as The Nightmare Returns (1987). Many see it as the best Alice Cooper concert film. It was released on DVD in 2006. The concert got great reviews. Rolling Stone magazine said it brought "Cooper's violent, twisted onstage fantasies to a new generation." The Constrictor album was followed by Raise Your Fist and Yell in 1987. This album had an even tougher sound. It also included the classic Cooper song "Freedom".

Constrictor (1986) and Raise Your Fist and Yell (1987) were recorded with lead guitarist Kane Roberts and bassist Kip Winger. Both left the band by the end of 1988. (Kane Roberts did play guitar on "Bed of Nails" on Cooper's 1989 album Trash).

In 1987, Cooper had a small role as a homeless person in the horror movie Prince of Darkness, directed by John Carpenter.

Also in 1987, Cooper appeared at WrestleMania III. He walked with wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts to the ring. After the match, Cooper threw Jake's snake, Damien, at Honky's manager Jimmy Hart. Roberts felt honored to have Cooper there. WrestleMania III had a record 93,173 fans. It was held near Cooper's hometown of Detroit.

Cooper recorded a music video for the song "I Got a Line on You". This song was on the soundtrack for Iron Eagle II (1988).

In 1988, Cooper signed with Epic Records. Then, in 1989, his career really took off again. He released the album Trash, produced by Desmond Child. It was nominated for a Grammy. The album had a huge hit song, "Poison". It reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 7 in the U.S. This led to a worldwide tour in big arenas.

Alice Cooper in the 1990s

In 1991, Cooper released his nineteenth album, Hey Stoopid. Many famous rock musicians played on this record. It came out as glam metal was becoming less popular, just before grunge music became big. So, it did not sell as well as his previous album. The same year, the video Alice Cooper: Prime Cuts was released. It showed his whole career with interviews from Cooper, Bob Ezrin, and Shep Gordon. One critic said that Prime Cuts showed how Cooper used humor and moral lessons in his music.

In the early 1990s, Cooper was a guest on albums by popular bands. He sang with Axl Rose on the song "The Garden" from Guns N' Roses' album Use Your Illusion I. He also had a short role as the stepfather of Freddy Krueger in the horror movie Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991).

Cooper made a quick appearance in the 1992 comedy movie Wayne's World. Cooper and his band first perform "Feed My Frankenstein." Later, at a party, the main characters Wayne and Garth find out that offstage, Cooper is a calm, smart person. He and his band discuss the history of Milwaukee in detail. Wayne and Garth respond by kneeling and bowing to him, chanting, "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"

In 1994, Cooper released The Last Temptation. This was his first concept album since DaDa (1983). The album talks about faith, temptation, feeling alone, and the problems of modern life. It was described as "a young man's struggle to see the truth through the distractions of the 'Sideshow' of the modern world." A three-part comic book series by Neil Gaiman came out with the album. It told the album's story in more detail. This was Cooper's last album with Epic Records. He wanted to move to Hollywood Records because his friend Bob Pfeifer was now the president there. This was his last album for six years. But during this time, the live album A Fistful of Alice (1997) was released. In 1997, he also lent his voice to the intro of Insane Clown Posse's The Great Milenko.

While not recording new music, Cooper toured a lot every year in the late 1990s. In 1996, he visited South America for the first time since 1974. Also in 1996, Cooper sang the role of Herod for the London recording of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

In 1999, a four-disc box set called The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper was released. It included an official biography of Cooper by Creem magazine editor Jeffrey Morgan.

Alice Cooper in the 2000s

Cooper in 2006

The first ten years of the 2000s were very busy for Alice Cooper. He turned sixty during this time. He toured a lot and released new albums that got good reviews. It started in 2000 with Brutal Planet. This album was a return to horror-filled heavy metal and industrial rock. It was set in a dark, future world, inspired by our modern world and news stories on CNN. The album was produced by Bob Marlette, with Bob Ezrin as executive producer. The tour for this album included Cooper's first concert in Russia. It also led to Brutally Live (2000), a DVD of a concert recorded in London.

Cooper made a guest appearance in 2001 on an episode of That '70s Show called "Radio Daze." In the episode, he played a game of Dungeons & Dragons.

Brutal Planet was followed by Dragontown (2001), which had a similar sound and was also praised. Bob Ezrin returned as producer. The album was described as taking the listener on "a nightmarish path into the mind of rock's original conceptual storyteller." Cooper himself called it "the worst town on Brutal Planet." Like The Last Temptation, both Brutal Planet and Dragontown explore Cooper's born-again Christianity. Some music media say Dragontown is the third part of a story that started with The Last Temptation. However, Cooper has said this is not true.

Cooper used a simpler, cleaner sound for his 2003 album The Eyes of Alice Cooper. He noticed that many new bands were doing well with his older sounds. So, Cooper worked with younger musicians who knew his old style. The tour that followed, called Bare Bones, had fewer dramatic effects and focused more on the music.

Cooper's radio show Nights with Alice Cooper began on January 26, 2004. It started in several U.S. cities. The show plays classic rock music. Cooper shares personal stories about his life as a rock star and interviews other famous rock artists. The show is broadcast on almost 100 stations in the U.S. and Canada. It is also broadcast internationally.

Cooper used the same songwriting style from The Eyes of Alice Cooper for his album Dirty Diamonds, released in 2005. Dirty Diamonds became Cooper's highest-charting album since The Last Temptation (1994) at that time. The Dirty Diamonds tour started in America in August 2005 after some European concerts. This included a show at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 12. Cooper and his band, including Kiss drummer Eric Singer, were filmed for a DVD called Alice Cooper: Live at Montreux 2005 (2006). One critic said Cooper should be praised for "still mining pretty much the same territory of teenage angst and rebellion" as he had done over 30 years before.

In December 2006, the original Alice Cooper band reunited. They performed six classic Alice Cooper songs at Cooper's yearly charity event in Phoenix, called "Christmas Pudding."

On July 1, 2007, Cooper sang a duet with Marilyn Manson at a festival in Romania. This performance showed that the two artists had made up. Cooper had previously disagreed with Manson about his very anti-Christian stage acts. Cooper and Manson have been studied in a paper about the meaning of teenage antiheroes.

In January 2008, Cooper was a guest singer on Avantasia's album The Scarecrow. He sang on the song "The Toy Master." In July 2008, after many delays, Cooper released Along Came a Spider. This was his eighteenth solo album. It was Cooper's highest-charting album since Hey Stoopid (1991). It reached No. 53 in the U.S. and No. 31 in the UK. The album was similar to his 1987 album Raise Your Fist and Yell. It generally received good reviews. However, Rolling Stone magazine felt the music on the album missed Bob Ezrin's production. The tour for the album, called Theatre of Death, was described as "epic." During the show, Cooper was "executed" four times.

During this time, Cooper also received many awards. He got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003. In May 2004, he received an honorary doctoral degree from Grand Canyon University. In June 2005, he was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. In May 2006, he was given the key to the city of Alice, North Dakota. He won the living legend award at the 2006 Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. He also won the 2007 Mojo music magazine Hero Award. He received a Rock Immortal award at the 2007 Scream Awards.

Cooper appeared on the British TV show Room 101, where a balloon model of him was featured.

Alice Cooper in the 2010s

Cooper performing at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland, 2011

In January 2010, it was announced that Cooper would tour with Rob Zombie on The Gruesome Twosome Tour. In May 2010, Cooper appeared at the start of the season finale of American Idol. He sang "School's Out".

Cooper performing live at Wembley Arena in London, England, 2012

Cooper, his daughter, and former band member Dick Wagner wrote music for the indie horror movie Silas Gore (2010).

In 2010, Cooper started working on a new album called Welcome 2 My Nightmare. This was a sequel to his original Welcome to My Nightmare (1975). He said in an interview that he would have some of the original people on it and add new ones. He was happy to work with Bob Ezrin again.

On December 15, 2010, it was announced that Cooper and his former band would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The ceremony was on March 14, 2011. Fellow horror-rocker Rob Zombie inducted Cooper. Original members Bruce, Cooper, Dunaway, and Smith all gave short speeches. They performed "I'm Eighteen" and "School's Out" live together. Steve Hunter filled in for the late Glen Buxton. Cooper wore a fake blood-splattered shirt and had a live albino Burmese python around his neck. Cooper told Rolling Stone magazine that he was "elated" by the news. He said it was cool that friends from high school and the track team went so far together.

On March 10, 2011, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Cooper, Jennifer Warnes, and others performed at a benefit concert in Tucson, Arizona. It helped a foundation that raises awareness about mental disorders. In June 2011, Cooper took his turn in the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car on the BBC show Top Gear.

On June 9, 2011, Cooper received the Kerrang! Icon Award at Kerrang! magazine's awards show. Cooper used this chance to criticize the "weak" rock music on the charts. He said he had no plans to retire.

Cooper supported Iron Maiden on their tour from June to July 21, 2012. He then headlined Bloodstock Open Air on August 12. On September 16, 2012, Cooper appeared at the Sunflower Jam charity concert in London. He performed with Brian May from Queen, John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin, Ian Paice from Deep Purple, and Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden.

Cooper made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2012 Tim Burton movie Dark Shadows. It starred Johnny Depp. In the movie, Depp's character, Barnabas Collins, thinks Alice is a woman. He describes Alice as the ugliest woman he has ever seen.

In 2013, Cooper announced he had finished recording a covers album. It was based on songs by his rock star friends from the 1970s who had passed away. He said it would likely be released in 2015.

On January 28, 2014, it was announced that Alice Cooper would open for Mötley Crüe's final tour. This tour would last through 2014 and 2015. Cooper was also featured on the song "Savages" on Theory of a Deadman's album.

Cooper was the subject of Super Duper Alice Cooper. This was a documentary film by Canadian directors Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen, and Reginald Harkema. The film won an award for Best Feature Length Documentary in 2015. In October, Cooper released the live album and video Raise the Dead: Live from Wacken. It was recorded at Germany's Wacken heavy metal festival the year before.

In 2015, Cooper started Hollywood Vampires. This was a supergroup with Johnny Depp and Joe Perry. They released an album of rock covers with many guest artists, including Paul McCartney. They also played live shows. In 2016, Cooper made news again by jokingly campaigning for the U.S. presidency. Cooper co-headlined several tours with Deep Purple and Edgar Winter from August to early September 2017.

Cooper released his twentieth solo album Paranormal in July 2017. It had contributions from drummer Larry Mullen Jr. of U2, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top on guitar, and Roger Glover from Deep Purple on bass guitar. Guitarists Tommy Denander and Tommy Henriksen played most of the guitars.

Cooper performing live at Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, 2022

On Easter Sunday, 2018, Cooper played Herod in NBC's live performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. Reviews were very positive. A critic from The New York Times praised "Alice Cooper's magnificently scenery-chewing performance." Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times called his performance "Weird? Yes, but also perfect." Cooper had recorded the song before, but not performed it live.

Alice Cooper in the 2020s

Cooper released his twenty-first solo album, Detroit Stories, on February 26, 2021. In May, he announced a fall tour to promote the album, with Ace Frehley supporting him. The tour began in September 2021.

Cooper wrote the afterword for Jeffrey Morgan's book Rock Critic Confidential. It was published on June 28, 2021.

Cooper was a judge on the music competition TV show No Cover season 1. It started airing on the Sumerian Records YouTube Channel in April 2022.

On July 11, 2022, touring guitarist Nita Strauss announced she had left the band. A few days later, it was announced that Kane Roberts had rejoined the band, replacing Strauss. On March 6, 2023, it was announced that Strauss had rejoined the band.

Cooper's twenty-second album Road was released on August 25, 2023.

Alice Cooper and his band perform at the White River Amphitheatre in Washington state in 2023.

In the fall of 2023, Cooper co-headlined the Freaks on Parade tour with Rob Zombie. Filter and Ministry opened the shows. The tour lasted one month, from August 24 to September 24, 2023. They visited 19 places across the United States and Canada.

Cooper hosts a show five weekdays on the UK's Planet Rock.

Cooper recorded an album called Solid Rock Revival. It has different, kid-friendly lyrics for his songs and others' songs. "School's Out" became "School's In." "No More Mr. Nice Guy" became "Now, I'm Mr. Nice Guy." "I'm Eighteen" became "I'm Thirteen." With Rob Halford, he recorded "Pleasant Dreams." With Darryl McDaniels, he recorded a hip hop version of "In the Midnight Hour" called "Midday Hour." The money from this goes to the Norelli Family Foundation and Cooper’s Solid Rock Foundation.

Alice Cooper's Musical Style and Inspirations

In a 1986 interview, Cooper told Jonathan King that the Yardbirds were his favorite band ever. As early as 1969, Cooper said that music from the mid-sixties, especially from British bands like the Beatles, the Who, and the Rolling Stones, influenced him the most. Cooper later honored the Who by singing "I'm a Boy" in 1994. He also covered "My Generation" on the Brutal Planet tour in 2000. In a 2007 interview with Ozzy Osbourne, Cooper again thanked these bands, especially the Beatles. Cooper and Osbourne talked about how songwriting quality in modern rock was often not as good. Cooper believed it was because some modern bands "had forgotten to listen to the Beatles."

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 and a burning headpiece.

When Cooper saw Arthur Brown perform his hit song "Fire" in 1968, he was amazed. Brown wore black and white makeup and a burning headpiece. Cooper said, "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!" A 2014 article about Alice Cooper mentioned Arthur Brown and his flaming helmet. It said, "British rock always was more theatrical than its US counterpart." Cooper replied, "That's why most people thought we were British at first."

You can see Cooper's wide range of music tastes from his radio show. When he was on the BBC Radio 2 show Tracks of My Years in 2007, he listed his favorite songs. These included "19th Nervous Breakdown" by the Rolling Stones, "My Generation" by the Who, and "A Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles. On another show in 2010, he chose songs like "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" by the Yardbirds and "Ballad of a Thin Man" by Bob Dylan.

Rob Zombie, former singer of White Zombie, said his first "metal moment" was seeing Alice Cooper on TV. Zombie also said Cooper's costumes greatly influenced him. In a 1978 interview, Bob Dylan said, "I think Alice Cooper is an overlooked songwriter."

The Flaming Lips are big Alice Cooper fans. They used a bassline from Cooper's early song "Levity Ball" for their song "The Ceiling Is Bending." They also covered "Sun Arise" for an Alice Cooper tribute album.

In 1999, Cleopatra Records released Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper. It featured many rock and metal stars. These included Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, Roger Daltrey of the Who, Ronnie James Dio, Slash of Guns N' Roses, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, and Steve Jones.

A song by They Might Be Giants from their 1994 album John Henry is called "Why Must I Be Sad?" It mentions 13 Cooper songs. It was described as being "from the perspective of a kid who hears all of his unspoken sadness given voice in the music of Alice Cooper."

Some unexpected fans of Cooper include comedian Groucho Marx and actress Mae West. They reportedly saw his early shows as a type of old-fashioned variety show. Artist Salvador Dalí also saw a show in 1973. He called it surreal and made a hologram called First Cylindric Chromo-Hologram Portrait of Alice Cooper's Brain.

Alice Cooper's Personal Life

In the early 1970s, a rumor spread that Leave It to Beaver actor Ken Osmond had become "rock star Alice Cooper." Cooper said the rumor started when a college newspaper editor asked him what kind of child he was. Cooper replied, "I was obnoxious, disgusting, a real Eddie Haskell," referring to Osmond's character. But the editor reported that Cooper was the real Haskell. Cooper later said, "It was the biggest rumor that ever came out about me." He even got a T-shirt that said, "No, I am not Eddie Haskell."

Cooper often talks about himself as "Alice" in the third person. This helps him separate himself from his stage character.

Family Life

When the Alice Cooper group was signed to Frank Zappa's label, Miss Christine of the GTOs was Cooper's girlfriend. Cooper later married ballerina instructor and choreographer Sheryl Goddard. She performed in the Alice Cooper show from 1975 to 1982. They married on March 20, 1976. They have three children: daughters Sonora and Calico, and son Dashiell.

Cooper and his wife started the Solid Rock foundation in 1995. The first of their teen centers opened in Phoenix, Arizona in 2012. Another opened in Mesa, Arizona in 2021. These centers offer training in jobs and arts.

In a 2002 TV interview, Cooper said he had never cheated on his wife. He also said the secret to a lasting relationship is to keep going on dates with your partner.

In a 2019 interview, Cooper said that he and his wife Sheryl have a "death pact." This means they plan to die at the same time. This caused many headlines.

Faith and Beliefs

At first, Cooper did not talk much about his religious beliefs. But later, he openly shared his faith as a born-again Christian.

Views on Politics

Throughout his career, Cooper believes that politics should not be mixed with rock music. Cooper usually keeps his political views private. In 2010, he said, "I am extremely non-political." He added that when his parents talked politics, he would go to his room and listen to music. He still feels that way.

Sometimes, Cooper has spoken against musicians who talk about politics. For example, before the 2004 presidential election, he said that rock stars campaigning for Democratic candidate John Kerry were "committing treason against rock n' roll." He joked that if he wasn't already a Bush supporter, he would switch if he saw who supported Kerry. In December 2018, Cooper said that musicians talking politics to their fans was an "abuse of power."

Every four years since his song "Elected" came out in 1972, Cooper has jokingly run for president.

Sports Interests

Cooper is a big fan of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings and Arizona Coyotes. On February 18, 2012, the Coyotes gave away his bobblehead to fans. Cooper is also a longtime baseball fan. He supports the Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Tigers. As a child, he dreamed of playing left field for the Tigers. He has coached Little League baseball teams since his son played in the early 1990s. Cooper also likes NBA basketball. He supports both the Detroit Pistons and the Phoenix Suns.

Cooper loves to golf. The importance of golf in his life is even in the title of his 2007 book, Alice Cooper, Golf Monster. Cooper plays golf six days a week. He has a very good handicap of four. Through golf, he became good friends with country guitarist Glen Campbell. They played together almost every other day.

Cooper has also appeared in commercials for Callaway Golf equipment. He wrote the introduction for the Gary McCord book Ryder Cup.

Alice Cooper's Band Members

Current members

• Alice Cooper – lead vocals, harmonica, guitars, percussion, synthesizer (1974–present)
• Ryan Roxie – guitars, backing vocals (1996–2006, 2012–present)
• Chuck Garric – bass, backing vocals (2002–present)
• Tommy Henriksen – guitars, backing vocals (2011–present)
• Glen Sobel – drums, percussion (2011–present)
• Nita Strauss – guitars, backing vocals (2014–2022, 2023–present)

Alice Cooper's Music Albums

Band studio albums

• Pretties for You (1969)
• Easy Action (1970)
• Love It to Death (1971)
• Killer (1971)
• School's Out (1972)
• Billion Dollar Babies (1973)
• Muscle of Love (1973)

Solo studio albums

Alice Cooper's Tours

Alice Cooper's Film and TV Appearances

Awards and Honors

See Also

In Spanish: Alice Cooper para niños

• List of Alice Cooper solo band members
• List of glam metal bands and artists