Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper

1948-02-04

Biography

Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier; February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than five decades. With a stage show that sometimes included a guillotine, gallows, electric chair, fake blood, boa constrictor and baby dolls, Cooper drew equally from horror movies, vaudeville and garage rock to pioneer a grandly theatrical and violent brand of heavy metal that was designed to shock. Alice Cooper originally was a band that consisted of Furnier on vocals and harmonica, Glen Buxton on lead guitar, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar, Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar, and Neal Smith on drums. Taking on the name in 1968, the Alice Cooper band broke into the international music mainstream with the 1971 hit "I'm Eighteen". It was followed in 1972 by the even bigger single "School's Out", which reached #1 in the UK during that summer. The band reached its commercial peak with the transatlantic #1 album Billion Dollar Babies in 1973. Furnier's solo career as Alice Cooper, legally adopting the band's name as his own, began with the 1975 concept album Welcome to My Nightmare, and reached his commercial peak with the 1989 hit "Poison". His most recent studio release (his 18th solo album) was in 2008, Along Came a Spider. Expanding from his original Detroit-based garage rock roots, over the years Cooper has experimented with many different musical styles, including art rock, conceptual rock, rock and roll, jazz, new wave, and heavy metal. He's known for his social and witty persona offstage. The Rolling Stone Album Guide goes so far as to call him the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer". He helped to shape the sound and look of heavy metal, and is seen as the person who "first introduced horror imagery to rock'n'roll, and whose stagecraft and showmanship have permanently transformed the genre". Away from music, Cooper is a film actor, a golfing celebrity, a restaurateur, and since 2004 a popular radio DJ with his classic rock show Nights with Alice Cooper. In 2011, the original Alice Cooper Group was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Also appears in

Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows

6.1

Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th

Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th

7.9

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

5.3

Wayne’s World

Wayne’s World

6.7

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

7.8

Prince of Darkness

Prince of Darkness

6.8

Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini

Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini

6.7

Jim Henson Idea Man

Jim Henson Idea Man

7.8

The Filth and the Fury

The Filth and the Fury

7.0

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

7.7

Diary of a Mad Housewife

Diary of a Mad Housewife

6.4

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon

7.1

Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey

Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey

7.6

Wacken

Wacken

6.4

Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert

Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert

6.9

2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

8.8

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

6.8

Sunset Strip

Sunset Strip

7.3

An Honest Liar

An Honest Liar

7.1

The Lost Weekend: A Love Story

The Lost Weekend: A Love Story

6.0