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{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| Name = Alice Cooper
| Img = Cooper, Alice (2007).jpg
| Img_capt = Alice Cooper in 2007
| Img_size = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| Landscape =
| Background = solo_singer
| Birth_name = Vincent Damon Furnier
| Alias =
| Born = {{birth date and age|1948|2|4}}<br/>in [[Detroit, Michigan]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| Died =
| Instrument = [[Singing|Vocals]], [[Guitar]], [[Harmonica]], [[Blues harp]]
| Genre = [[Rock music|Rock]], [[hard rock]], [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]], [[glam rock]], [[shock rock]], [[garage rock]]
| Occupation = [[Singer-songwriter]], [[Actor]], [[Disc jockey|DJ]]
| Years_active = 1964 - present
| Label = [[Straight Records|Straight]], [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]], [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]], [[MCA Records|MCA]], [[Epic Records|Epic]], [[Spitfire Records|Spitfire]], [[Eagle Records|Eagle]], [[New West Records|New West]]
| URL = [http://www.alicecooper.com/ AliceCooper.com]
}}

'''Alice Cooper''' (born '''Vincent Damon Furnier'''; February 4, 1948) is an American [[rock music|rock]] singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans five decades. With a stage show that features guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, and boa constrictors, Cooper has drawn equally from [[horror movies]], [[vaudeville]], [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]], and [[garage rock]] to create a theatrical brand of [[rock music]] that would come to be known as [[shock rock]].<ref>[http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/cooper_alice/bio.jhtml Artist bio by Rock critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic hosted at VH1.com]</ref>
'''Alice Cooper''' was originally a band consisting of Furnier on vocals and harmonica, lead guitarist [[Glen Buxton]], [[Michael Owen Bruce|Michael Bruce]] on rhythm guitar, [[Dennis Dunaway]] on bass guitar, and drummer [[Neal Smith (drummer)|Neal Smith]]. The original Alice Cooper band broke into the international music mainstream with 1971's monster hit [[I'm Eighteen|"I'm Eighteen"]] from the album ''[[Love it to Death]]'', which was followed by the even bigger single [[School's Out (song)|"School's Out"]] in 1972. The band reached their commercial peak with the 1973 [[album]] ''[[Billion Dollar Babies]]''.

Furnier's solo career as Alice Cooper, adopting the band's name as his own name, began with the 1975 [[concept album]] ''[[Welcome to My Nightmare]]''. In 2008 he released [[Along Came a Spider (Alice Cooper album)|''Along Came a Spider'']], his 18th solo album. Expanding from his original Detroit [[garage rock]]<ref>[http://www.furious.com/perfect/alicecooper.html Furious.com]</ref> and [[glam rock]]<ref>[http://www.doremi.co.uk/glam/1972.html History of Glam Rock]</ref> roots, over the years Cooper has experimented with many different musical styles, including [[Concept album|conceptual rock]], [[art rock]], [[hard rock]], [[new wave music|new wave]], [[pop rock]], [[experimental rock]] and [[industrial rock]]. In recent times he has returned more to his garage rock roots.<ref>[http://newwestrecords.com/alice.php NewWestRecords.com]</ref>

Alice Cooper is known for his social and witty persona offstage, ''[[Rolling Stone Album Guide|The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' going so far as to refer to him as the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer".<ref>{{cite book |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |publisher=Fireside |id=ISBN 0-74320-1698}}</ref> He helped to shape the sound and look of [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]], and is seen as being the person who "first introduced horror imagery to rock'n'roll, and whose stagecraft and showmanship have permanently transformed the genre".<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/news/gig-reviews/alice-cooper/2007/07/02/1183229014162.html Sydney Morning Herald, July 2, 2007. Article by Guy Blackman]</ref> Away from music, Cooper is a [[film actor]], a [[golf]]ing [[celebrity]], a [[restaurateur]] and, since 2004, a popular [[radio programming|radio]] [[Disc jockey|DJ]] with his classic rock shows [[Nights with Alice Cooper]].

==Early life and career==
Cooper was born '''Vincent Damon Furnier''' in [[Detroit, Michigan]], the son of Ella Mae ([[married and maiden names|née]] McCart) and Ether Moroni Furnier. While in Detroit, Furnier attended Nankin Mills Middle School, which is now [[Lutheran High School Westland]]. His grandfather, Thurman Sylvester Furnier, was an apostle in [[Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)|The Church of Jesus Christ]] based in [[Monongahela]], [[Pennsylvania]]. Vincent Furnier's father was an Elder in The Church of Jesus Christ. Vincent Furnier has some distant [[France|French]] [[Huguenot]] ancestry; the remainder of his ancestry is [[English people|English]] and [[Scottish people|Scottish]].<ref>[http://www.wargs.com/other/furnier.html Ancestry of Alice Cooper compiled by William Addams Reitwiesner]</ref>

After a series of childhood illnesses, Vincent Furnier and his family moved to [[Phoenix, Arizona]]. After Washington Elementary School, Furnier attended [[Glendale Union High School District|Cortez High School]] in northern Phoenix. Furnier was also a member of the [[DeMolay International|Order of DeMolay]].

In 1964, at the age of 16, Furnier was eager to take part in the local annual Letterman's [[talent show]] and gathered fellow [[cross country running|cross-country]] [[team]]mates from the school to form a group for the show.<ref>Cooper describes in detail in his first autobiography, ''Me:Alice'' how he was tasked to organize an act for the show</ref> They named themselves The Earwigs, and since they didn't know how to play any [[Musical instrument|instruments]] at the time, they dressed up like [[The Beatles]] and [[mime]]d their performance to Beatles songs. As a result of winning the talent show and loving the experience of being onstage, the group immediately proceeded to learn how to play instruments they acquired from a local pawn shop and soon renamed themselves The Spiders, featuring Furnier on [[singing|vocals]] and [[harmonica]], [[Glen Buxton]] on [[lead guitar]], John Tatum on [[rhythm guitar]], [[Dennis Dunaway]] on [[bass guitar]], and John Speer on [[Drum kit|drums]].<ref>[http://www.dennisdunawayproject.com/Dennis.htm Dennis Dunaway's website gives a detailed description of how the line up of The Spiders evolved]</ref> Musically, the group were inspired by artists such as [[The Beatles]], [[The Rolling Stones]], [[Janis Joplin]], [[The Who]], [[The Kinks]], and [[The Yardbirds]]. For the next year the band performed regularly around the Phoenix area with a huge black spider's web as their backdrop, the group's first stage prop. In 1965 they also recorded their first [[single (music)|single]] "Why Don't You Love Me" (originally performed by The Blackwells), with Furnier learning the harmonica for the song.

In 1966, the members of The Spiders graduated from Cortez High School. After [[North High School (Phoenix, Arizona)|North High School]] footballer [[Michael Owen Bruce|Michael Bruce]] replaced John Tatum on rhythm guitar, the band scored a local #1 radio hit with "Don't Blow Your Mind", an original composition from their second single release. By 1967, the band had begun to make regular roadtrips to [[Los Angeles, California]] to play shows. They soon renamed themselves The Nazz and released the single "Wonder Who's Lovin' Her Now", backed with future Alice Cooper track "Lay Down And Die, Goodbye". It was around this time that drummer John Speer was replaced by [[Neal Smith (drummer)|Neal Smith]], and by the end of the year the band had relocated to Los Angeles permanently.

In 1968, upon learning that [[Todd Rundgren]] also had a band called [[The Nazz|Nazz]], the band were again in need of another stage name. Furnier recognized that the group needed a [[gimmick]] to succeed, and that other bands were not exploiting the showmanship potential of the stage. He subsequently chose Alice Cooper as the band's name and adopted this stage name as his own.<ref>[http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/cooper_alice/bio.jhtml Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic]</ref>

Early press releases claimed that the name was agreed upon after a session with a [[Ouija]] board, during which it was revealed that Furnier was the reincarnation of a 17th century [[witch]] named '''Alice Cooper'''. However, it is now widely accepted that this story was in fact a publicity stunt - Cooper in later interviews confirmed that the name actually came out of thin air, conjuring an image of "a cute and sweet little girl with a [[hatchet]] behind her back". (The name was also once said to be an inside joke associated with a character in the television show [[Mayberry R.F.D.]]; Alice Cooper is also the name of [[Betty Cooper]]'s mother in the [[Archie]] comic strips). Nonetheless, at the time Cooper and the band realized that the [[concept]] of a male playing the role of an [[androgynous]] witch, in tattered women's clothing and wearing [[make-up]], would definitely have the potential to cause considerable social [[controversy]] and grab headlines. Furnier would later admit that the name change was one of his most important and brilliant career moves.<ref>[http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/cooper%20name%20change%20was%20the%20best%20decision%20i%20ever%20made_1049224 Alice Cooper - 'Name change was best decision I ever made']</ref>

The classic Alice Cooper group [[line-up]] consisted of [[singer]] Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier), [[lead guitarist]] Glen Buxton, [[rhythm guitarist]] Michael Bruce, [[bassist]] Dennis Dunaway, and [[drummer]] Neal Smith. With the exception of Smith, all of the band members were on the Cortez High School cross-country team, and many of Alice Cooper's stage 'effects' were inspired by their cross-country coach, Emmett Smith<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372260/ ''The Emmett Smith Story'']</ref> (one of Smith's class projects was to build a working guillotine for slicing watermelons). Cooper, Buxton and Dunaway were also [[art]] students, and their admiration for the works of [[surrealist]] [[artists]] such as [[Salvador Dalí]] would further inspire their future stage antics.

One night, at a gig at a [[Venice, California|Venice]] club called The Cheetah, where the band managed to scare the entire room of patrons empty after playing just ten minutes, they were approached and enlisted by [[music manager|manager]] Shep Gordon, who ironically saw the band's seemingly negative impact that night as a force that could be directed in a more positive direction. Shep then managed to arrange an audition for the band with [[composer]] and renowned [[record producer]] [[Frank Zappa]], who was looking to sign bizarre music acts to his new record label, [[Straight Records]]. For the audition, Zappa told them to come to his house "at 7 o'clock", however, the band mistakenly assumed he meant 7 o'clock in the morning. Being woken up by a band willing to play that particular brand of psychedelic rock at seven in the morning (a time unbeknownst to most in the rock music world) impressed Zappa enough to sign them on a three-album deal. It was another Zappa signed act, the all-female [[The GTOs|GTOs]], who liked to "dress the Cooper boys up like full size barbie dolls", that played a major role in developing the band's early onstage look.<ref>[http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/people/p-christine.php ''Sick Things UK'' re: Role played by the GTOs (and Miss Christine in particular) in the development of the Alice Cooper look]</ref><ref>The Barry Miles biography of Frank Zappa also includes a vivid description of how the GTOs influenced Cooper in wearing make up and dressing in drag onstage</ref> Alice Cooper's first album ''[[Pretties for You]]'' was released in 1969 and, though it touched the US charts for one week at #193, ultimately met with critical and commercial failure.

After an unrehearsed stage routine involving Cooper and a live [[chicken]] garnered attention from the press, the band decided to capitalize on [[tabloids|tabloid]] [[sensationalism]], creating in the process a new subgenre, [[shock rock]]. Cooper claims that the infamous 'Chicken Incident', which took place at the Toronto [[Rock and roll revival|Rock 'n Roll Revival]] concert in September 1969, was in fact an accident. A chicken somehow made its way on stage during Alice Cooper's performance. Not having any experience around farm animals, Cooper presumed that, since the chicken had wings, it would be able to fly.<ref>[http://www.superseventies.com/ssalicecooper.html Alice Cooper - In His Own Words]</ref> He picked it up and threw it out over the crowd, expecting it to fly away; the bird instead plummeted into the first few rows of the crowd occupied by disabled people in wheelchairs, who reportedly proceeded to tear the animal to pieces.<ref>Cooper himself confirms this version of events in an interview given in ''Alice Cooper: Prime Cuts''</ref>

The next day, the incident made the front page of many national newspapers, and Zappa phoned him to ask if the story, which reported that Cooper had bit the head off the chicken and drunk its blood on stage, was true. Cooper denied the rumor, whereupon Zappa told him, "Well, whatever you do, don't tell anyone you didn't do it",<ref>http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/marilyn2.htm</ref> obviously recognising that such kind of publicity would be priceless for the band.

Despite the infamy the band received from the Chicken Incident, their stronger second album, ''[[Easy Action]]'', released in 1970, met with the same fate as its [[predecessor]]. Music label [[Warner Bros. Records]] then purchased Straight Records from Frank Zappa, and the Alice Cooper group was set to receive a higher level of promotion from the more major label. It was around this time that the band, fed up with Californians' indifference to their act, relocated to Cooper's birthplace, [[Detroit]], where their bizarre stage act was much better received. Detroit would remain their steady home base until 1972. "LA just didn’t get it. They were all on the wrong drug for us. They were on acid and we were basically drinking beer. We fit much more in Detroit than we did anywhere else..."<ref>[http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=5479 Alice doesn’t live here anymore (Metro Times Detroit)]</ref>

==1970s==
By mid-1970, after two failed albums, the Alice Cooper group was teamed up with fledgling producer [[Bob Ezrin]] for their third album, the last in their contract with [[Straight Records]], and the band's last chance to create a hit. That hit soon came with the single [[I'm Eighteen|"I'm Eighteen"]], released in November of 1970, which reached number 21 in the [[Billboard Hot 100]]. The album that followed was ''[[Love it to Death]]'', released in February 1971, which proved to be their breakthrough record, reaching number 35 in the [[US]] [[Billboard 200]] album charts. ''Love it to Death'' would be the first of eleven<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ezrin#List_of_albums_produced_by_Ezrin See the Alice Cooper entry under ''List of albums produced by Ezrin'' at Ezrin's Wikipedia page]</ref> Alice Cooper group and solo albums produced by Ezrin, who is seen as being instrumental in helping to create and develop the band's definitive sound.<ref>[http://emusician.com/em_spotlight/bob_ezrin_interview/ In a revealing online interview] Ezrin discusses in some detail the technicalities of producing, as a raw 19 year old, both ''Love it to Death'' and other early Alice Cooper recordings</ref> The band's trailblazing mix of glam and increasingly violent stage theatrics stood out in stark contrast to the bearded, denim-clad hippie bands of the time.<ref>[http://www.roctober.com/roctober/behindthemusic3.html Cooper's outspoken views on the [[Vietnam War]] stood out no less, as he was always staunchly pro-war — in stark contrast to the vast majority of musicians at the time, who were rebelliously anti-war - mention of this is made in the VH1 program ''Behind the Music: 1972'' (see the end of the 1972 entry)]</ref> Sporting tight sequined costumes by the prominent rock fashion designer Cindy Dunaway (sister to band member Neal, and wife to band member Dennis) and stage shows that involved mock fights and Gothic torture modes being imposed on Cooper, the androgynous stage role now presented a [[villain]]ous side which posed a potential threat to modern society. With Cooper needing to be punished for his immoral ways, the first of a number of methods of execution was incorporated into the show - the [[Electric Chair]].

The success of the band's single, the album, and their tour of 1971, which saw their first and hugely successful tour of Europe (audience members reportedly included [[Elton John]] and [[David Bowie]]), was enough encouragement for Warner Bros. to offer them a new multi-album contract.

Their follow-up album ''[[Killer (album)|Killer]]'', released in late 1971, continued the commercial success of ''Love It To Death'' and included further single success with "[[Under My Wheels]]" and "Be My Lover" in early 1972, and "Halo Of Flies", which became a Top 10 hit in the Netherlands. Thematically, ''Killer'' expanded on the villainous side of Cooper's androgynous stage role, with its music becoming the soundtrack to the group's morality-based stage show, which by then featured a [[Boa Constrictor]] hugging Cooper onstage and the murderous axe chopping of bloodied 'dead babies'. In addition, the method of execution had developed into death by hanging - The [[Gallows]]. By mid-1972 the Alice Cooper show had become infamous, but what the band really needed was a big hit single.

That summer saw the release of the appropriately-titled single "[[School's Out (song)|School's Out]]". It went Top 10 in the US, was a #1 single in the UK, and remains a staple on [[classic rock]] radio to this day. Their hit had arrived. ''[[School's Out (album)|School's Out]]'' the album reached #2 on the US charts and sold over a million copies. The band now relocated to their new mansion in [[Greenwich, Connecticut]].<ref>[http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/misc/mansion.php ''Sick Things UK'' re: The Galesi Estate (aka The Cooper Mansion), where Billion Dollar Babies would eventually be recorded]</ref> With Cooper's on stage androgynous persona completely replaced with [[Spoiled brat|brattiness]] and [[machismo]], the band's traveling carnival of filth and terror cemented their success with subsequent tours in the US and Europe, and winning over devoted fans in their droves while at the same time horrifying parents and outraging the social establishment. In England, [[Mary Whitehouse]], a well known campaigner for values of morality and decency, succeeded in having the [[BBC]] ban the video for "School’s Out"<ref> [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3984003.ece Cooper responded by sending Whitehouse flowers in thanks for the publicity the incident generated]</ref> and Member of Parliament [[Leo Abse]] petitioned Home Secretary [[Reginald Maudling]] to have the group banned altogether from performing in the country.<ref>[http://www.alicecooperechive.com/index_articles.php?artlist=b&width=1440 Leo Abse's sensational Holy War against Alice]</ref> Instead, the Alice Cooper band proceeded to go from strength to strength. They were selected to be the first band to appear on the television series [[ABC In Concert]] in September 1972, and in February 1973 ''[[Billion Dollar Babies]]'' appeared, which was the band's most commercially successful album. It reached #1 in both the US and UK, and is also viewed by many critics as representing the band's creative peak.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} "Elected", a 1972 Top 10 UK hit from the album, which inspired one of the first MTV-style story-line promo videos ever made for a song (three years before Queen's promotional video for "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]"), was followed by two more UK Top 10 singles, "Hello Hooray" and "No More Mr Nice Guy", the latter of which was the last UK single from the album; it reached #25 in the US. The title track, featuring guest vocals by [[Donovan]], was also a US hit single. Due to Glen Buxton's health problems<ref>Buxton’s recurring health problems are documented in [http://www.nealsmith.com/GlenBuxtonDeath.htm a number of obituaries that appeared after his death on Neal Smith’s website]</ref>
around this time, [[Mick Mashbir]] was added to the band (who also played, without credit, on ''[[Muscle of Love]]'').

With a string of successful [[concept album]]s and several hit singles, the band continued their grueling schedule and toured the US once again. Continued attempts by politicians and pressure groups to ban their shocking act only served to fuel the myth of Alice Cooper further and generate even more public interest. Their 1973 US tour broke box office records previously set by [[The Rolling Stones]] and raised rock theatrics to new heights; the multi-level stage show by then featured numerous special effects including Billion Dollar Bills, decapitated baby dolls and mannequins, a dental psychosis scene complete with dancing teeth, and the ultimate execution prop and highlight of the show - a [[Guillotine]]. The guillotine and other stage effects were designed for the band by magician [[James Randi]], who appeared on stage during some of the shows as [[executioner]]. The Alice Cooper group had now reached its peak in every respect and were among the most visible and successful acts in the industry. (Cooper's stage antics would influence a host of later bands, including, among others, [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]], [[Blue Öyster Cult]], [[GWAR]], [[W.A.S.P. (band)|W.A.S.P.]] and later [[Marilyn Manson]].) Beneath the surface, however, the repetitive schedule of recording and touring had begun to take its toll on the band. By then, Cooper, who was under the constant pressure of 'getting into character' for that night's show, was consistently sighted nursing a can of [[beer]].

''[[Muscle of Love]]'', released at the end of 1973, was to be the last studio album from the classic line-up, and marked Alice Cooper's last UK Top 20 single of the 1970s with "Teenage Lament '74". A [[theme song]] was recorded for the [[James Bond]] movie ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man with the Golden Gun]]'', but a different song of the same name by [[Lulu (singer)|Lulu]] was chosen instead. By 1974, the
''Muscle of Love'' album had not matched the top-charting success of its predecessor, and the band began to have constant disagreements. Cooper wanted to retain the theatrics in the show that had brought them so much attention, while the rest of the group thought they should be toned down so that they could concentrate more on the music which had given them credibility. Largely as a result of this difference of opinion, the band decided to take a much-needed hiatus.

During this time, Cooper relocated back to Los Angeles and started appearing regularly on TV shows such as ''[[Hollywood Squares]]'', and Warner Bros. released the ''[[Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits]]'' compilation album which performed better than ''Muscle of Love'', reaching the US Top 10. However, the band's feature film ''[[Good To See You Again, Alice Cooper]]'' (mainly concert footage with a faint storyline and 'comedic' sketches woven throughout), released on a minor theatrical run mostly to drive-in theaters, saw little box office success.

In 1975 Cooper released his first solo album, which marked the final break with the original members of the Alice Cooper band. Again collaborating with producer Bob Ezrin, and recruiting [[Lou Reed]] guitarist [[Dick Wagner]], (as well as Reed's backing band) the project eventually resulted in ''[[Welcome To My Nightmare]]''. Spearheaded by the US Top 20 hit "[[Only Women Bleed]]", a ballad, the solo album was released by [[Atlantic Records]] in March 1975 and became a Top 10 hit for Cooper. It was a concept album, based on the nightmare of a child named Steven, featuring narration by classic horror movie film star [[Vincent Price]] (several years before he guested on [[Michael Jackson]]'s [[Thriller (song)|"Thriller"]]), and serving as the soundtrack to Cooper's new stage show, which now included more theatrics than ever (including an eight foot tall furry [[Cyclops]] which Cooper decapitates and kills).

Accompanying the album and stage show was the TV special ''The Nightmare'', starring Cooper and Vincent Price in person, which aired on US prime-time TV in April 1975. ''The Nightmare'', the first rock music video album ever made (it was later released on [[home video]] in 1983 and gained a Grammy Awards nomination for [[Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video|Best Long Form Music Video]]), was regarded as another groundbreaking moment in rock history. Adding to all that, a concert film, also called ''[[Welcome to My Nightmare (film)|Welcome to My Nightmare]]'' and filmed live at London's [[Wembley Arena]] in September 1975, was released to theaters in 1976. Though it failed at the box office, it later became a [[midnight movie]] favorite and a [[cult classic]]. Such was the immense success of this solo project that Cooper decided to continue alone as a solo artist, and the original band became officially defunct. It was also during this time that Cooper co-founded the legendary drinking club [[The Hollywood Vampires]], which gave him yet another reason to indulge his ample appetite for [[Alcoholic beverage|alcohol]].

Following the 1976 US #12 hit "I Never Cry",<ref>[http://emusician.com/em_spotlight/bob_ezrin_interview/ Bob Ezrin has been directly credited with encouraging Cooper at this time to write ballads such as "Only Women Bleed" and "I Never Cry"]</ref> another ballad, two albums, ''[[Alice Cooper Goes to Hell]]'' and ''[[Lace and Whiskey]]'', and another ballad hit, the US #9 "You and Me", it became clear from regularly shambolic performances on his US tour of 1977 that the musician was in dire need of specialized help with his [[alcoholism]] (at his alcoholic peak it was rumoured that Cooper was consuming up to two cases of [[Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)|Budweiser]] and a bottle of [[whiskey]] a day). Following the tour, Cooper had himself hospitalized in a [[New York]] [[sanitarium]] for treatment, during which time the live album ''[[The Alice Cooper Show]]'' was released. His experience in the sanitarium was the inspiration for his 1978 semi-autobiographical album ''[[From the Inside (Alice Cooper album)|From The Inside]]'', which Cooper co-wrote with [[Bernie Taupin]]. The release spawned another US Top 20 hit "How You Gonna See Me Now", which peaked at #12, and was yet another ballad, based on his fear of how his wife would react to him after his spell in hospital. The subsequent tour's stage show was based inside an asylum, and was filmed for Cooper's first home video release, ''[[The Strange Case of Alice Cooper]]'', in 1979.

Around this time, Cooper performed "Welcome To My Nightmare", "You and Me", and "School's Out" on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' (episode # 3.7) on March 28, 1978 (he played one of the [[devil]]'s henchmen trying to dupe [[Kermit the Frog]] and [[Gonzo (Muppet)|Gonzo]] into selling their [[souls]]). He also appeared in an against-type casting in the campy role of a piano playing, disco bellboy in [[Mae West]]'s final film, ''[[Sextette]]''. Cooper also led celebrities in raising money to remodel the famous [[Hollywood Sign]] in [[California]]. Cooper himself contributed over $27,000 to the project, buying an O in the sign in memory of friend and [[comedian]] [[Groucho Marx]].

==1980s==
Cooper's albums from the beginning of the 1980s, ''[[Flush the Fashion]]'', ''[[Special Forces (Alice Cooper album)|Special Forces]]'', ''[[Zipper Catches Skin]]'', and ''[[DaDa]]'', were not as commercially successful as his past releases, and Cooper has claimed that, suffering from acute alcoholic [[amnesia]], he has no recollection of recording the latter two of these albums.{{Fact|date=August 2008}} ''Flush the Fashion'', produced by [[Queen (band)|Queen]] producer [[Roy Thomas Baker]], had a thick, edgy [[New Wave music|New Wave]] musical sound that baffled even long-time fans, though it still yielded the US Top 40 hit "Clones (We're All)". The album ''Special Forces'' featured a more aggressive but consistent form of New Wave style, and included a new version of "Generation Landslide". The following album, ''Zipper Catches Skin'' was a more [[power pop]]-oriented recording, with lots of quirky high-energy guitar-driven songs. While those three albums engaged the experimental New Wave sound with energetic results, 1983 marked the return collaboration of producer [[Bob Ezrin]] and guitarist [[Dick Wagner]] with the haunting epic ''[[DaDa]]'', the final album in his Warner Bros. contract.

In 1983, after the recording of ''DaDa'', Cooper was re-hospitalized for alcoholism. In a deathly state of health, he relocated back to [[Phoenix, Arizona]], in order to try and save his marriage from collapse and so that he could receive the support of family and friends. Cooper was finally clean and sober by the time ''DaDa'' and ''The Nightmare'' home video (of his 1975 TV Special) were released in the fall of that year, however both releases performed below expectations. Even with ''The Nightmare'' scoring a nomination for 1984's [[Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video]] (he lost to [[Duran Duran]]), it wasn't enough for Warner Bros. to keep Cooper on their books, and in 1984 Alice Cooper became, for the first time in his career, a free agent.

After over a year on hiatus, during which time he spent being a full-time dad, perfecting his golf swing everyday on the course, and also finding time to star in the [[Spain|Spanish]] [[B-grade]] [[horror movie]] production ''[[Monster Dog]]'', Cooper sought to pick up the pieces of his musical career, and in 1985 he met and began writing songs with guitarist [[Kane Roberts]]. Cooper was subsequently signed to [[MCA Records]], and appeared as guest vocalist on [[Twisted Sister]]'s song "Be Chrool To Your Scuel". A video was made for the song, featuring Cooper donning his black snake-eyes make-up for the first time since 1979, but any publicity it may have given to Cooper's return to the music scene was cut short as the video was promptly [[ban (law)|banned]] due to its graphically gory [[make-up]] (by [[Tom Savini]]) of the innumerable [[zombies]] in the video and their insatiable appetite for human flesh.

In 1986, Alice Cooper officially returned to the music industry with the album ''[[Constrictor (album)|Constrictor]]''. The album spawned the hits "[[He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)]]" (the theme song for the movie ''[[Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives]]''; in the video of the song Cooper was given a cameo role as a deranged psychiatrist) and the fan favorite "Teenage Frankenstein". The Constrictor album was a catalyst for Cooper to make (for the first time since the 1982 ''Special Forces'' tour) a triumphant return to the road, on a tour appropriately entitled ''The Nightmare Returns''. The Detroit leg of this tour, which took place at the end of October 1986 during Halloween,<ref>[http://www.alicecooper.co.uk/29.html Alice Cooper website giving every leg of every tour he has made]</ref> was captured on film as ''[[The Nightmare Returns]]'', and is viewed by some as being the definitive Alice Cooper concert film.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0191773/maindetails Alice Cooper: The Nightmare Returns (1986)]</ref> The concert, which received rave reviews in the rock music press,<ref>For example, see the November 13, 1986 issue of Kerrang! music magazine, whose front cover bears the headline - "The Night He Came Home...Alice Knocks 'Em Dead in Detroit"</ref> and which was also described as bringing "Cooper’s violent, twisted onstage fantasies to a new generation"<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/alicecooper/biography See the Rolling Stone biography of Cooper]</ref> sees a reborn and sober Cooper who is leaner, meaner, fitter and in imperious form, and demonstrating a complete mastery over the stage and his music, in a series of meticulously choreographed and flawlessly executed songs that span his career up to that point, and which feature his full repertoire of stunts, special effects, darkly black humour, horror and gore. The ''Constrictor'' album was followed by ''[[Raise Your Fist and Yell]]'' in 1987, which had an even rougher sound than its predecessor, as well the Cooper classic "Freedom". The subsequent tour of ''Raise Your Fist and Yell'', which was heavily inspired by the slasher horror movies of the time such as the [[Friday the 13th (franchise)|Friday the 13th]] series and [[Nightmare on Elm Street]], served up a similar shocking spectacle as its predecessor, and courted the kind of controversy, especially in Europe, that recalled the public outrage caused by Cooper’s public performances in America in the early 70s. In Britain, the Labour member of parliament [[David Blunkett]] called for the show to be banned, saying "I'm horrified by his behaviour – it goes beyond the bounds of entertainment".<ref>The Daily Mirror, (U.K.) April 6th, 1988</ref> The controversy spilled over into the German segment of the tour, with the German government actually succeeding in having some of the gorier segments of the performance removed.<ref>[http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/timelines/t-ryfay.php ''Sick Things UK'' re: the censorship, Cooper was quoted as saying 'It's hard for an American to imagine anything as too violent for Germany']</ref> It was also during the London leg of the tour that Cooper met with a near fatal accident during the hanging execution sequence at the end of the show.<ref>[http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/theatrics/gallows.php ''Sick Things UK'' re: The Gallows]</ref> Needless to say the attendant publicity served only to increase public interest and ensure that the tour was completely sold out.

''Constrictor'' and ''Raise Your Fist and Yell'' were recorded with lead guitarist [[Kane Roberts]] and bassist [[Kip Winger]], both of whom would leave the band by the end of 1988 (although Kane Roberts played guitar on "Bed Of Nails" on 1989's album [[Trash (album)|Trash]]). Roberts would continue as a solo artist while Kip Winger would go on to form [[Winger (band)|Winger]].

In 1987, Cooper made a brief appearance as a vagrant in the horror movie ''[[Prince of Darkness (1987 movie)|Prince of Darkness]]'', directed by [[John Carpenter]]. His role had no lines and consisted of generally menacing the protagonists before eventually impaling one of them with a bicycle frame. Cooper also appeared at ''[[WrestleMania III]]'', escorting wrestler [[Jake Roberts|Jake 'The Snake' Roberts]] to the ring. After the match was over, Cooper got involved and threw Jake's snake Damien at [[The Honky Tonk Man]]'s manager [[Jimmy Hart]]. Jake considered the involvement of Cooper to be an honor, as he had idolized Cooper in his youth and was still a huge fan.

In 1988 Cooper's contract with MCA Records expired and he signed with [[Epic Records]]. Then, in 1989, his career finally experienced a real revival with the [[Desmond Child]] produced album ''[[Trash (album)|Trash]]'', which spawned a hit single "[[Poison (Alice Cooper song)|Poison]]", which reached #2 in the UK and #7 in the US, and a worldwide [[concert|arena tour]].

==1990s==
1991 saw the release of Cooper's 19th studio album ''[[Hey Stoopid]]'', however, amidst the grunge rock explosion, it failed to have the same commercial impact as its predecessor, ''Trash'', though several of rock music’s glitterati again guested on the record. The same year also saw the release of the video ''Alice Cooper: Prime Cuts'' which chronicled his entire career using in depth interviews with Cooper himself, Bob Ezrin, and Shep Gordon. One critic has noted how ''Prime Cuts'' demonstrates how Cooper had used (in contrast to similar artists who succeeded him) themes of satire and moralisation to such good effect throughout his career.<ref>[http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=3619 Review of ''Prime Cuts'' by Mark Boydell]</ref>

By the early 1990s Cooper had become a genuine cultural icon, guesting on records by the most successful bands of the time, such as the [[Guns N' Roses]] album ''[[Use Your Illusion I]]'', (on which he shared vocal duties with [[Axl Rose|Axl]] on the track "[[The Garden (song)|The Garden]]"); making a brief appearance as the abusive stepfather of [[Freddy Krueger]] in the ''[[Nightmare On Elm Street]]'' film ''[[Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare]]'' (1991); and making a famous [[Cameo appearance|cameo]] in the [[1992 in film|1992]] [[comedy film]] ''[[Wayne's World (film)|Wayne's World]]'', in which he and his band intellectually discuss (after a performance of the song "Feed My Frankenstein" from ''Hey Stoopid'') the history of [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin|Milwaukee]] in surprising depth.

Cooper released in 1994 ''[[The Last Temptation]]'', his first concept album since ''DaDa'', which dealt with issues of faith, temptation, alienation, and the frustrations of modern life, and which has been described as "a young man's struggle to see the truth through the distractions of the 'Sideshow' of the modern world".<ref> [http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Alice_Cooper_The_shock_rock_pioneer_speaks_about_his_Christian_faith/30163/p1/ Darren Hirst article on Cooper, featuring an analysis of ''The Last Temptation'']</ref> Concurrent with the release of ''The Last Temptation'' was a three-part [[comic book]] series written by [[Neil Gaiman]], fleshing out the album's story. This was to be Cooper’s last album with Epic Records, and his last studio release for six years, though during this period the live album ''[[A Fistful of Alice]]''<ref>Recorded in 1996 at [[Sammy Hagar]]'s Cabo Wabo club in [[Cabo San Lucas, Mexico]], it featured guest performances by [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] and [[Rob Zombie]]. [http://home.att.net/~rarebird9/alicecooper.html A synopsis of the album can be found here]</ref> was released, and in 1997 he lent his voice to the first track of Insane Clown Posse's ''The Great Milenko''. In 1999, the four-disc box set ''[[The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper]]'' appeared, which contained an authorized biography of Cooper, ''Alcohol and Razor Blades, Poison and Needles: The Glorious Wretched Excess of Alice Cooper, All-American'', written by longtime ''[[Creem]]'' magazine Canadian editor [[Jeffrey Morgan]].<ref>[http://www.alicecooper.com/bio.html The biography can be found in full here at Cooper's official website]</ref>

During his absence from the recording studio, Cooper toured extensively every year throughout the latter part of the 1990s, including, in 1996, through South America, which he had not visited since 1974. Also in 1996, Cooper sang the role of [[Herod]] on the London cast recording of the musical ''[[Jesus Christ Superstar]]''.

==2000s==
The 2000s has seen a sustained period of activity from Cooper, in which, in the decade that he turned sixty, he has toured extensively and released (after a significant break) a steady stream of studio albums to favorable critical acclaim. During this period Cooper has also been recognized and awarded in various ways; he received a Rock Immortal award at the 2007 [[Scream Awards]],<ref> [http://www.tvguide.com/news/alice-cooper-spike/071023-03 Cooper joked in an interview regarding the award "Are you sure they don't mean immoral?"]</ref> was given a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in
2003,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3286705.stm BBC News article covering the event]</ref> he received (in May 2004) an honorary doctoral degree from [[Grand Canyon University]],<ref>[http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=18238 Baptist Press article on the award, as well as Cooper's Christian faith and philanthropic relationship to the university]</ref> was given (in May 2006) the [[key to the city]] of [[Alice, North Dakota|Alice]] [[North Dakota]],<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4771763.stm BBC News article on the award]</ref> he scooped the living legend award at the 2006 Classic Rock Roll of Honour event,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6124434.stm Alice Cooper scoops legend award]</ref> and fans have twice tried to induct him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<ref> A campaign to induct Cooper was started in June 2006 by two German fans online at Myspace.com, sparked by a column written in April 2006 by Creem writer and official Cooper biographer Jeffrey Morgan in Metro Times Detroit. A previous unsuccessful attempt was made in 2004 by fan Robert Floto using an online petition which logged more than 2,700 entries.</ref>

The lengthy break between studio albums ended in 2000 with ''Brutal Planet'', which was a return to horror-lined heavy metal, with a vicious injection of industrial rock, and with subject matter thematically inspired by the brutality of the modern world, set in a [[dystopia]]n post-apocalyptic future, and also inspired by a number of news stories that had recently appeared on the news channel [[CNN]].<ref>[http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/C/Cooper_Alice/2000/08/29/744188.html Cooper stated in an interview with Jane Stevenson] that the darkest and most frightening material on the album had been directly lifted from CNN news stories; in particular, the song "Pick Up The Bones" (about the [[Kosovo War|war in Kosovo]]) had been written after Cooper had seen a man in Kosovo collecting the remains of his family in a pillow case. Cooper commented that "even Stephen King couldn't write this."
</ref> The album was produced by Bob Marlett, with longtime Cooper production collaborator [[Bob Ezrin]] returning as Executive Producer. The accompanying world tour, which included Cooper’s first concert in Russia, was a resounding success, introducing Alice Cooper to a new audience and producing the live home video, ''[[Brutally Live]]'', in 2001. During one memorable episode in ''Brutally Live'', [[Britney Spears]] (being played by Alice Cooper’s real life daughter, Calico), and representing "everything that my audience hates - the softening of rock and roll...the sweetness of it"<ref>[http://www.ink19.com/issues/december2001/interviews/aliceCooper.htmlInterview Cooper speaking in an interview with online music magazine ''Ink 19'']</ref> is executed by Cooper.

Brutal Planet was succeeded by the sonically-similar and widely acclaimed sequel ''[[Dragontown]]'', which saw Bob Marlett back at the helm as Producer. The album has been described as leading the listener down "a nightmarish path into the mind of rock's original conceptual storyteller"<ref>[http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=2056773 An online review of ''Dragontown'' can be found here]</ref> and by Cooper himself as being "the worst town on Brutal Planet".<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/alicecooper/albums/album/321368/review/6210440/dragontown The album also received a favourable review in Rolling Stone magazine]</ref> Like ''The Last Temptation'', both ''Brutal Planet'' and ''Dragontown'' are albums which explore Cooper's personal faith perspective (born again Christianity) with ''Dragontown'' forming the third chapter of the trilogy.<ref>[http://www.mp3.com/albums/493259/reviews.html See the Joe Viglione, ''Allmusic'' review (again very favourable) of the album]</ref>

Cooper again adopted a leaner, cleaner sound for his critically acclaimed<ref>[http://www.musicomh.com/albums/alice-cooper.htmalbum For example, see Simon Evans's review]</ref> 2003 release ''[[The Eyes Of Alice Cooper]]''. Recognizing that many contemporary bands were having great success with his former sounds and styles, Cooper worked with a somewhat younger group of road and studio musicians who were very familiar with his oeuvre of old. However, instead of rehashing the old sounds, they updated them, often with surprisingly effective results. The resulting ''Bare Bones'' tour adopted a less-orchestrated performance style that had fewer theatrical flourishes and a greater emphasis on musicality. The success of this tour helped support the growing recognition that the classic Cooper songs were exceptionally clever, tuneful, and unique.
Cooper's radio show, ''[[Nights with Alice Cooper]]'', began airing on January 26, 2004 in several US cities. The program showcases classic rock, Cooper's personal stories about his life as a rock icon, and interviews with prominent rock artists. The show appears on nearly 100 stations in the USA and Canada, and has also been sold all over the world. In 2006 it began to appear as the Breakfast Show on the UK's [[Digital audio broadcasting|DAB]] only [[Planet Rock]], and in June 2006 it also started airing on Irish radio.
A continuation of the songwriting approach adopted on ''The Eyes of Alice Cooper'' was again adopted by Cooper for his 24th studio album, ''[[Dirty Diamonds]]'', released in 2005. ''Dirty Diamonds'' became Cooper's highest charting album since 1994's ''The Last Temptation''.<ref>[http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=40365 Blabbermouth article reporting on Billboard announcement re: the album]</ref> The Dirty Diamonds tour launched in America in August 2005 after several European concerts, including a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 12. Cooper and his band, including Kiss drummer Eric Singer, were filmed for a DVD released as ''[[Live at Montreux (Alice Cooper album)|Alice Cooper: Live at Montreux 2005]]''. One critic, in a review of the Montreux release, commented that Cooper was to be applauded for "still mining pretty much the same territory of teenage angst and rebellion" as he had done more than thirty years previously.<ref>[http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/05/21/0908173.php Glen Boyd review of the Montreux DVD]</ref>
On July 1, 2007 Cooper performed a duet with [[Marilyn Manson]] at the [[BestFest|B'Estival]] event in [[Bucharest]], [[Romania]].<ref>[http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/2007/06/27/cooper_manson_in_concert_for_first_time/1362/ The event received considerable media coverage, for example, see the United Press International article]</ref> The performance represented a reconciliation between the two artists; Cooper had previously taken issue with Manson over his overtly anti-Christian onstage antics, which included tearing up bibles, and he had sarcastically made reference to the originality of Manson’s choosing a female name and dressing in women's clothing.<ref>[http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/C/Cooper_Alice/2000/08/29/744188.html Jane Stevenson interview re: Manson]</ref> Both Cooper and Manson have been the subject of an academic paper on the significance of adolescent antiheroes.<ref>[http://ap.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/27/1/54 From Alice Cooper to Marilyn Manson]</ref>

In July 2008, after lengthy delays, Cooper released ''[[Along Came a Spider (album)|Along Came a Spider]]'', his 25th studio album. It was Cooper's highest charting album since 1991's ''Hey Stoopid'', reaching #53 in the US and #31 in the UK. The album, visiting similar territory as 1987's ''Raise Your Fist and Yell'', deals with the nefarious antics of a deranged [[serial killer]] named Steven and is symbolized by the "Spider." The album generally received extremely positive reviews from music critics, though Rolling Stone magazine opined that the music on the record sorely missed Bob Ezrin's production values.<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/22028709/review/22575622/along_came_a_spider Alice Cooper Along Came a Spider Rolling Stone album review]</ref>

==Influences==

During an interview for the programme ''Entertainment USA'' in 1986, Cooper stunned interviewer [[Jonathan King]] by stating that [[The Yardbirds]] were his favorite band of all time.<ref> Interview aired on Entertainment USA, BBC 2 (U.K.) during either November/December 1986</ref> Perhaps King should not have been so taken aback, as Cooper had as far back as 1969 gone on record as saying that it was music from the mid-sixties, and particularly from British bands [[The Beatles]], [[The Who]], and [[The Rolling Stones]], as well as The Yardbirds, that had had the greatest influence on him;<ref>[http://www.mjq.net/interviews/alice.htm The interview appeared in the September 1969 issue of the Canadian music magazine ''Poppin'']</ref> Cooper would later pay homage to The Who by appearing in ''[[A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who]]'' in 1994 at Carnegie Hall in New York, and performing a cover of [[My Generation|"My Generation"]] on the ''Brutal Planet'' tour of 2000.

During an interview that Cooper himself conducted with [[Ozzy Osbourne]] on his radio show [[Nights with Alice Cooper]] in 2007,<ref> Interview with Ozzy Osbourne from radio programme Nights with Alice Cooper aired 05/22/2007 </ref> Cooper again affirmed his debt of gratitude to these bands, and to The Beatles in particular. During their discussion, Cooper and Osbourne bemoaned the often inferior quality of songwriting coming from contemporary rock artists. Cooper said that in his opinion the cause of the problem was that certain modern bands "had forgotten to listen to The Beatles".<ref>[http://www.nightswithalicecooper.com/audio/05-23-07-OZZY.mp3 Interview (mp3) with Osbourne]</ref>

==Fans==
In a 1978 interview with ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', [[Bob Dylan]] stated, "I think Alice Cooper is an overlooked songwriter".<ref>Cott, Jonathan (January 26, 1978). [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5940104/the_rolling_stone_interview_part_i/ ''The Rolling Stone Interview'']. Rolling Stone.</ref>

In the foreword to Alice Cooper's CD retrospective box set ''[[The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper]]'', [[John Lydon]] of [[The Sex Pistols]] pronounced [[Killer (album)|Killer]] as the greatest rock album of all time, and in 2002 Lydon presented his own tribute programme to Cooper on BBC radio.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2346057.stm Lydon also admitted in an interview with the BBC that 'I know the lyrics to every single Alice Cooper song']</ref>

[[The Flaming Lips]] are longtime Alice Cooper fans and used the bass line from "Levity Ball" (an early song from the 1969 release ''Pretties for You'') for their song "The Ceiling Is Bending". They also covered "Sun Arise" for an Alice Cooper tribute album. (Cooper's version, which closes the album ''Love It To Death'', was itself a cover of a [[Rolf Harris]] song.)

In 1999 Cleopatra Records released ''Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper'' featuring a number of contributions from rock and metal all-star collaborations, including [[Dave Mustaine]], [[Roger Daltrey]], [[Ronnie James Dio]], [[Slash (musician)|Slash]], [[Bruce Dickinson]], and [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]].<ref>[http://music.yahoo.com/read/review/14236292 An online review of the album at Yahoo Entertainment can be found here]</ref> The album was notable for the fact that it was possible to assemble a different supergroup for each cover version on the record, which gave an indication of the depth of esteem in which Cooper is held by other eminent musicians within the music industry.

Heavey Metal Rocker [[Jon Mikl Thor]], also known as [[Thor]], stated in an interview that Alice Cooper was his idol and hero.

The band [[Demon king needs flesh]] claims that Alice Cooper is one of their idols.

Non-musician fans of Cooper's have included [[Groucho Marx]] and [[Mae West]], who both saw the early shows as a form of vaudeville revue,<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1396692.htm ''Enough Rope'' re: Groucho Marx and Mae West]</ref> and artist [[Salvador Dalí]], who on attending a show in 1973 described it as being surreal, and made a [[hologram]] entitled ''First Cylindric Chromo-Hologram Portrait of Alice Cooper's Brain.''<ref>[http://www.abcgallery.com/D/dali/dali219.html Salvador Dali's Hologram Portrait of Cooper]</ref><ref> A replica of the hologram can be seen at the [[Dalí Museum]] in [[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]], [[Florida]]. Cooper and original band members Dennis Dunaway and Glen Buxton studied Dalí as art students at Cortez High School in Phoenix, Arizona, and the cover art of Cooper's DaDa album features a slightly altered version of Dalí's painting "Slave Market with Disappearing Bust of Voltaire."</ref>

==Religion and politics==
Although he tends to shy away from speaking publicly of his faith, Cooper has confirmed in interviews that he is in fact a born again [[Christian]].<ref>[http://www.jesusjournal.com/content/view/79/85/ Article in which Cooper speaks at some length about his faith and career]</ref><ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26647 ''World Net Daily'' article in which Cooper speaks of his wish to shun so called celebrity Christianity]</ref> He has avoided so called celebrity Christianity because, as Cooper states himself: "it's really easy to focus on Alice Cooper and not on Christ. I'm a rock singer. I'm nothing more than that. I'm not a philosopher. I consider myself low on the totem pole of knowledgeable Christians. So, don't look for answers from me".<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26647 Cooper speaking in a a ''World Net Daily'' article]</ref>

When asked by the British ''[[Sunday Times]]'' newspaper in 2001 how a rebellious shock-rocker could be a Christian, Cooper is credited with providing this response "Drinking beer is easy. Trashing your hotel room is easy. But being a Christian, that's a tough call. That's real rebellion!"<ref>[http://www.goodnewsmag.org/magazine/NovemberDecember/nd05culture.htm Cooper's response to ''The Sunday Times'' is quoted in an online ''Good News'' magazine article dealing with well known rock musicians who have a Christian faith]</ref>

Cooper claims to be "not political at all" <ref>http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id=889898351</ref>, despite often being reported to be a Republican.<ref>http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/BLABBERMOUTH.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=106541</ref> In response to news that a group of musicians were participating in a series of concerts in support of [[John Kerry]] in 2004, he declared their actions to be "treason against rock 'n' roll".<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40127 ''World Net Daily'' article covering the incident]</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27098-2004Aug23.html The incident also drew attention from ''The Washington Post'']</ref>

In 2004, he supported [[George W Bush]]<ref>http://wcbstv.com/slideshows/Conservative.Celebrities.20.824701.html?rid=82</ref>. In a 2008 interview Cooper described Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as "a breath of fresh air", but that he also flitted between being a supporter of the Republican and Democrat parties.<ref>[http://www.hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=15739 Flown the Coop - Interview with with online Canadian music magazine]</ref>

==Personal life==
In the period when the Alice Cooper group was signed to Frank Zappa's Straight label, [[Miss Christine]] of the GTOs became Cooper's girlfriend. Miss Christine (real name: Christine Frka), who had actually recommended Zappa to the group, died on November 5, 1972 of an overdose.<ref>Cooper describes how he fell in love with Miss Christine in his 1976 autobiography ''Me, Alice''</ref> Another long-time girlfriend of Cooper's was Cindy Lang, with whom he lived for several years. They separated in 1975. Lang sued Cooper for [[palimony]], and they eventually settled out of court in the early 1980s.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004840/bio Mentioned in a profile on the ''Internet Movie Database'']</ref><ref>[http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/musicians/m-alice.php ''Sick Things UK'' re: Estrangement from Cindy Lang]</ref> After his separation from Lang, Cooper was briefly linked with actress [[Raquel Welch]], at the time widely regarded as the most beautiful woman in Hollywood.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2007/08/28/nosplit/ftcooper128.xml Cooper's liaison with Welch is described in a 2007 Daily Telegraph (U.K.) article]</ref> Cooper then reportedly left Welch, however, to marry, on March 20th 1976, ballerina instructor/choreographer Sheryl Goddard, who performed in the Alice Cooper show from 1975 to 1982. In November 1983, at the height of Cooper’s alcoholism, Sheryl filed for divorce, but by mid-1984, she and Cooper had reconciled,<ref>[http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/timelines/t-dada.php ''Sick Things UK'' re: Reconciliation of Cooper and Sheryl Goddard]</ref> and the couple have remained together ever since. In a 2002 television interview, Cooper claimed that he had "never cheated" on his wife in all the time they had been together. In the same interview, he also claimed that the secret to a lasting and successful relationship is to continue going out on dates with your partner.<ref>The Johnny Vaughan Show (U.K.) 2002</ref> The couple have three children: eldest daughter [[Calico Cooper]] (born 1981) is an actress and singer and has been performing in the Alice Cooper show since 2000; son Dashiel (born 1985) is an [[Arizona State University|ASU]] student and plays in a band called Runaway Phoenix; and youngest daughter Sonora was born in 1993.

Cooper became part of Kyle MacDonald's [[one red paperclip]] project when he agreed to offer an afternoon with himself as a trade for one year of rent for an employee at his restaurant.<ref>[http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/2006/04/one-afternoon-with-alice-cooper.html ''One Red Paperclip'' blog entry]</ref>

Cooper, a huge fan of [[The Simpsons]], was asked to contribute a storyline for the September 2004 edition of Bongo Comics's ''Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror'', a special ''Monsters of Rock'' issue that also included stories plotted by [[Gene Simmons]], [[Rob Zombie]] and [[Pat Boone]].<ref>[http://www.snpp.com/news/pr10_06_04.html 2004 Fox/Bongo Press Release detailing the various storylines, which also remarks on Cooper's notoriously 'wicked sense of humor']</ref> Cooper's story featured Homer Simpson being a [[Jason Voorhees]], Friday the 13th style killer and Alice and the citizens of [[Springfield]] are being stalked by Homer.

On June 20, 2005, ahead of his June–July 2005 tour, Cooper had a wide-ranging interview with interviewer of celebrities [[Andrew Denton]] for [[Australia]]n television's ''[[Enough Rope]]''. Cooper discussed various issues during a revealing and frank talk, including the horrors of acute alcoholism and his subsequent cure, being a [[Christian]], and his social and work relationship with his family.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1396692.htm ''Enough Rope]'' interview transcript, June 20, 2005</ref> During the interview Cooper also remarked "I look at [[Mick Jagger]] and he's on an 18-month tour and he's six years older than me, so I figure, when he retires, I have six more years. I will not let him beat me when it comes to longevity".<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1396692.htm ''Enough Rope'' re: Mick Jagger and retirement]</ref>

In 1986, [[Megadeth]] were asked to open for Alice Cooper for dates on his US tour. After noticing the hardcore [[drug abuse|drug and alcohol abuse]] in the band, Cooper personally approached them to try to help them control their demons, and he has stayed close to front man [[Dave Mustaine]] ever since; Mustaine in fact considers him his "Godfather".<ref>[http://biz.yahoo.com/brn/080125/24126.html?.v=1 Fame & Fortune: Dave Mustaine]</ref> Since conquering his own addiction to alcohol in the mid 1980s, Cooper has continued to help and counsel other rock musicians battling addiction problems, who often turn to him for help. "I've made myself very available to friends of mine - they're people who would call me late at night and say, 'Between you and me, I've got a problem.'"<ref>[http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003791560 Cooper quoted in April 18, 2008 billboard.com article]</ref> In recognition of the work he has done in helping other addicts in the recovery process, Cooper received in 2008 the [[Stevie Ray Vaughan]] Award at the fourth annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert in Los Angeles.<ref>[http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003791560 Alice Cooper Receives MusiCares MAP Fund Award]</ref>

The actual ownership of the Alice Cooper name is often cited by intellectual property lawyers and law professors as an example of the value of a single copyright or trademark. Since Alice Cooper was originally the name of the band, and not the lead singer (e.g. Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull, etc.), and it was actually owned by the band as whole, Cooper paid, and continues to pay, a yearly royalty to his original bandmates for the right to use the name commercially. While the exact amount is not known, insiders agree that it is a significant enough sum for the other band members to live comfortably on.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}

==Alice on TV==
*Alice was on the Late Late Show twice in 2008 on CBS
*Alice hosted a Munsters marthon on W.G.N America on 10/31/2008
*Alice was on episode 307 of the [[Muppet Show]] which orginally aired in the U.S. on November 2 1978

==Love of golf==
Cooper has on several occasions credited [[golf]] as having played a major role in helping him to overcome his addiction to alcohol,<ref>[http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/coopers%20golf%20addiction_1049258 For example, see this entry at contactmusic.com]</ref> and has even gone as far to say that when he took up golf, it was a case of replacing one addiction with another.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/11/13/svgadget13.xml Cooper spoke to the British Daily Telegraph about the addictive nature of golf in 2005]</ref><ref>[http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003581021 Also see ''Alice Cooper: Saved By The Golf Course?'' at billboard.com]</ref> The importance that the game has had in his life is also reflected in the title to his 2007 autobiography: ''Alice Cooper, Golf Monster''.<ref>[http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307394255 An online Random House review of the autobiography can be found here]</ref>
Cooper, who has participated in a number of [[Pro-Am]] competitions,<ref>Details of these events can be found in ''Alice Cooper, Golf Monster''</ref> plays the game six days a week, and plays off a [[Golf handicap|handicap]] of either three or four.<ref>[http://www.detnews.com/2005/wings/0501/31/D02-73932.htm 2005 interview with Cooper in ''The Detroit News'']</ref> Since 1997, he has hosted an annual golf competition, the ''Alice Cooper Celebrity AM Golf Tournament'', all proceeds from which go to his charity, the [[Solid Rock Foundation]]. Cooper has also appeared in commercials for [[Callaway Golf]] equipment, was a guest of veteran British player and broadcaster [[Peter Alliss]] on the programme ''A Golfer's Travels'',<ref>[http://www.clearwaterimages.biz/series1/series1.html Cooper met Alliss in Hawaii for a round of golf - Alliss commented that he thought Cooper was 'quite a gentleman']</ref> and he wrote the foreword to the [[Gary McCord]] book, ''Golf for Dummies''.
In August 2006, Cooper took part in an annual celebrity golf version of the [[Ryder Cup]] called the [[All*Star Cup]] in South Wales.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_east/5289398.stm BBC news article covering the event]</ref> He won his match on the first day, but lost his match on day two. The competition was shown live on UK television, and commentators made numerous references to Cooper being the best player, and to the fact that he played the game six days a week back home in Arizona.
In an interview with [[VH1]], friend and fellow golfer [[Pat Boone]] said that Cooper was "'this close to being a pro".{{Fact|date=July 2008}}

==Discography==
:''See: [[Alice Cooper discography]]''

==Filmography==
:''See: [[Alice Cooper filmography]]''

==See also==
*[[List of Alice Cooper personnel]]

*[[Shock Rock]]

*[[Alcoholism]]

*[[Born again (Christianity)]]

==References==
*{{cite book|author=Alice Cooper, Keith Zimmerman|title=Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock 'n' Roller's 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict|publisher=Crown Publishers|year=2007|id=ISBN 0-307-38265-6}}

*{{cite book|author=Alice Cooper, Steven Gaines|title=Me, Alice: The Autobiography of Alice Cooper|publisher=Putnam|year=1976|id=ISBN 0-399-11535-8}}

*{{cite book|author=Wolfgang Heilemann, Sabine Thomas|title=Alice Cooper: Live on Tour, Studio, Backstage|publisher=Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf|year=2005|id=ISBN 3-896-02651-8}}

*{{cite book|author=[[Michael Owen Bruce|Michael Bruce]], Billy James|
title=No More Mr. Nice Guy: The Inside Story of the Original Alice Cooper Group|publisher=SAF Publishing Ltd|year=2000|id=ISBN 0-946-71932-2}}

*{{cite book|author=[[Bob Greene]]|
title=Billion Dollar Baby|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1974|id=ISBN 9780689106163}}

See also

*{{cite book|author=[[Jeffrey Morgan]]|
title=Alcohol and Razor Blades, Poison and Needles: The Glorious Wretched Excess of Alice Cooper, All-American|publisher=(Reproduced on the [http://www.alicecooper.com/ Alice Cooper official website])|year=1999|}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons}}
* [http://www.alicecooper.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.nightswithalicecooper.com Alice Cooper's Internationally Syndicated Radio Show]
* [http://www.alicegolf.com/ Alice Cooper Celebrity AM Golf Tournament]
* [http://www.alicecoopersolidrock.com/ Solid Rock Foundation]

{{Alice Cooper}}

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Revision as of 05:20, 4 November 2008

ALICE COOPER IS GAY

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