THE SPILL MAGAZINE ARTIST PORTRAIT:
ALICE COOPER
Alice Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical brand of hard rock that was designed to shock.Β Drawing equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock, the group created a stage show that featured electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood and boa constrictors. He continues to tour regularly, performing shows worldwide with the dark and horror-themed theatrics that heβs best known for.
With a schedule that includes six months each year on the road, Alice Cooper brings his own brand of rock psycho-drama to fans both old and new, enjoying it as much as the audience does. Known as the architect of shock-rock, Cooper (in both the original Alice Cooper band and as a solo artist) has rattled the cages and undermined the authority of generations of guardians of the status quo, continuing to surprise fans and exude danger at every turn, like a great horror movie, even in an era where CNN can present real life shocking images.
Cooper was born in Detroit Michigan, and moved to Phoenix with his family.Β The Alice Cooper band formed while they were all in high school in Phoenix, and was discovered in 1969 by Frank Zappa in Los Angeles, where he signed them to his record label.Β Their collaboration with young record producer Bob Ezrin led to the break-through third album βLove It to Deathβ which hit the charts in 1971, followed by βKiller,β βSchoolβs Out,β βBillion Dollar Babies,β and βMuscle of Love.βΒ Each new album release was accompanied by a bigger and more elaborate touring stage show.Β 1974 saw the release of a βGreatest Hitsβ album, and then Cooper, in 1975, released his first solo album, βWelcome to My Nightmareβ in 1975, accompanied by the legendary groundbreaking theatrical Welcome to My Nightmare concert tour.
Associated with that album and Β tour was the ground-breaking network TV specialΒ Alice Cooper: The Nightmare.Β Β Other film and television appearances includeΒ The Muppet Show,Β Mae Westβs last filmΒ Sextette, Roadie, Sgt. Pepperβs Lonely Hearst Club BandΒ and appearances onΒ The Tonight Show starring Johnny CarsonΒ andΒ Β Tom SnyderβsΒ TomorrowΒ Show.Β Β The original band also made an appearance in the movieΒ Diary of a Mad HousewifeΒ in 1979, filmed the full-length feature filmΒ Good To See You Again Alice Cooper, and Alice appeared in a 1972 episode ofΒ The Snoop Sisters.Β
Aliceβs solo career skyrocketed in the late 1970βs, with a succession of hit singles, including βYou & Me,β and classic albums, including βLace And Whiskeyβ and βFrom The Inside,β and bigger and even more elaborate concert tours.
In the β80βs Cooper explored different sounds, highlighted by the new wavish album βFlush The Fashion,βΒ the heavy metal βConstrictorβ and βRaise Your Fist And Yell,β and then 1989βsΒ melodic hard rock album βTrash,β which featured the massive hit single βPoisonβ and became his biggest selling album and single worldwide.Β During this period Alice also appeared in the horror filmsΒ Monster DogΒ and John CarpenterβsΒ Prince of Darkness, and recorded songs for the soundtracks toΒ Roadie, Class of 1984, Friday the 13 Part VI:Β Jason LivesΒ and Wes CravenβsΒ Shocker.
Cooperβs most memorable movie appearance was as himself inΒ Wayneβs WorldΒ in 1991.Β He also played (fittingly) Freddy Kruegerβs wicked step-father inΒ Freddyβs Dead: The Final Nightmare,Β and appeared on Gene Wilderβs TV seriesΒ Something WilderΒ Β as well as onΒ That β70βs Show.Β Β The 90βs also saw the release of the albums βHey Stoopid,β βThe Last Temptation,β and βFistful of Alice,β a live album.
1999 saw the release of the definitive historical 4 CD box set βThe Life & Crimes of Alice Cooper,β from Rhino/Warners.
In the new millenium, Cooper has been very productive and busy, writing, recording and releasing the albums βBrutal Planet,β βDragon Town,β βThe Eyes of Alice Cooper,β βDirty Diamonds,β βAlong Came a Spider,βΒ and 2011βs βWelcome 2 My Nightmare,β plus βOld School 1964-1974,β a box set celebrating the original band.
He also wrote and published a memoir, βGolf Monster,β in 2007, which tracked his life from childhood to rock stardom, and his journey from alcoholic to golf addict, and was = featured in the Tim Burton film βDark Shadowsβ in 2012.
Alice, Dennis, Neal, Michael, and Glen (posthumously) were inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in March, 2011.
With his influence on rock & roll long since acknowledged, there is little that Alice
Cooper hasnβt achieved in his remarkable career, including platinum albums, sold-out tours and any number of honors and career achievement awards.
As he heads back out on the concert trail each year, Cooper insists heβs still motivated to continue touring and recording albums, as well as making time for such side projects as Cooperβstown (his Phoenix-based restaurant/sports bar) and his Nights With Alice Cooper nightly radio show, syndicated domestically and worldwide on over 100 stations.
Alice Cooper’s new studio album, his first in 6 years, Paranormal was recorded in Nashville with long-time collaborator Bob Ezrin. The 10 track album also features a very special bonus CD a mini-album consisting of two brand new songs written and recorded together with the original Alice Cooper band members Dennis Dunaway, drummer Neal Smith and guitarist Michael Bruce alongside carefully selected live recordings. ParanormalΒ also features special guest appearances by U2’s Larry Mullen Jr., ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Deep Purple’s Roger Glover.
Paranormal was released July 28th and Alice Cooper toured the US through the end of June before hitting the road with Deep Purple and the Edgar Winter Band in August.