Vincent Damon Furnier, who later became known by the name of Alice Cooper, began his first band as a teenager in the 1960s in Arizona.  Over the next five years the band was also known as The Spiders and The Nazz, but upon learning there was another band by that name, Furnier settled on the band name Alice Cooper.
Read more...

Alice Cooper

I appreciate an audience that reacts to the music, even if they jump on stage and try to beat us up, I think that's a fantastic reaction. I think that they're really hearing something then.

Vincent Damon Furnier, who later became known by the name of Alice Cooper, began his first band as a teenager in the 1960s in Arizona.  Over the next five years the band was also known as The Spiders and The Nazz, but upon learning there was another band by that name, Furnier settled on the band name Alice Cooper.

Performances by Alice Cooper were designed to shock, utilizing grand theatrics inspired by horror movies including guillotines, electric chairs, and fake blood and violent heavy metal music.  Having coordinated all the shows himself, Furnier soon adopted the name of his androgynous on-stage personality.  The band became popular for its distinctive rock and roll music with melodies and riffs inspired by early 60’s guitar pop and show tunes.

The band’s first album was titled Pretties for You, released in 1969 and shortly followed by Easy Action which failed to chart.  Because their reputation was slowly shrinking, the band relocated from Las Angeles to Furnier’s hometown of Detroit, Michigan where they spent the next year revamping their stage show.  In 1971, Alice Cooper released an album in their classic heavy metal style titled Love it to Death which featured the number 21 hit single, Eighteen. 

The success of this album allowed the band to develop a more impressive live show which resulted in their album Killer, released in late 1971 which reached gold status.  In the summer of 1972, the group released School’s Out which sold over a million copies.  The title song became a Top Ten hit and the album peaked at number two.  The following year Billion Dollar Babies was released which reached number one in both the US and the UK.  The band’s next album Muscle of Love failed to live up to the standard set by Billion Dollar Babies and after its release Furnier left the band to launch his solo career as Alice Cooper.

Welcome to My Nightmare, Alice Cooper’s first solo album was released in 1975 with Lou Reed’s backing band from Rock n’ Roll Animal.  Similar in style to his previous work, Welcome to My Nightmare became a Top Ten hit in the US which put the brakes on the idea of getting the band Alice Cooper back together.  In 1976, Alice Cooper Goes to Hell was another big hit that went gold but after its release Alice Cooper’s career began to go downhill. 

This was partially a result of changing trends in music, but also due in part to his alcoholism.  Alice Cooper went into rehab in 1978 and wrote an album about his experience titled From the Inside, but did not reached the level of popularity he had once known until his comeback in the late 1980’s sparked by his appearance in horror films.

In 1986 Alice Cooper released the album Constrictor but it was not until the release of Trash in 1989 that he regained his old following.  Featuring appearances by Jon Bon Jovi and Aerosmith, Trash became a Top Ten hit in Britain and went platinum in the US.  In recent years Alice Cooper has starred in the occasional film and has released several more albums, but his popularity slowly declined after none of his subsequent albums could match the fame of Trash. 

 Did you know…
-  The name Alice Cooper came to Furnier while using a Ouija board; he was told that he was the reincarnation of a 17^th century witch of the same name
-  Outside of his music and film career, Alice Cooper is a golf celebrity, restauranteur and popular radio DJ
-  Alice Cooper was a member of the Order de Molay, an international youth fraternity for young men founded in 1919

• Unlimited Music Access
• Music File Sharing
• Country Based Radio Channels
• Easy, Fast and Safe!
• 100% Free!