Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier; February 4, 1948)[1] is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, reptiles, baby dolls, and dueling swords,[2] Cooper is considered by many music journalists and peers to be "The Godfather of Shock Rock".[3] He has drawn equally from horror films, vaudeville, and garage rock to pioneer a macabre and theatrical brand of rock designed to shock audiences.[4]
This article is about the musician. For his former rock band, see Alice Cooper (band). For other people named Alice Cooper, see Alice Cooper (disambiguation).
Alice Cooper
Vincent Damon Furnier
February 4, 1948
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
- actor
1964–present
3, including Calico Cooper
Originating in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1964, "Alice Cooper" was originally a band with roots extending back to a band called the Earwigs, consisting of Furnier on lead vocals and harmonica, Glen Buxton on lead guitar, and Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar and backing vocals. By 1966, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar joined the three and Neal Smith was added on drums in 1967. The five named the band "Alice Cooper", and Furnier eventually adopted it as his stage pseudonym.[5][6] They released their debut studio album Pretties for You in 1969 with limited chart success. Breaking out with the 1970 single "I'm Eighteen" and the third studio album Love It to Death,[7] the band reached their commercial peak in 1973 with their sixth studio album, Billion Dollar Babies.[8] After the band broke up, Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper and began a solo career in 1975 with the concept album Welcome to My Nightmare. Over his career, Cooper has sold well over 50 million records.[9]
Cooper has experimented with a number of musical styles, mainly hard rock, glam rock, heavy metal, and glam metal,[10][11] but also new wave (1980–1983),[12] art rock on DaDa (1983), and industrial rock on Brutal Planet (2000) and Dragontown (2001).[13] He helped to shape the sound and look of heavy metal, and has been described as the artist who "first introduced horror imagery to rock'n'roll, and whose stagecraft and showmanship have permanently transformed the genre".[14] He is also known for his wit offstage, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide calling him the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer".[15] Aside from music, Cooper is a film actor, a golfing celebrity, a restaurateur, and, since 2004, a radio disc jockey (DJ) with his classic rock show Alice's Attic.
Early life[edit]
Vincent Damon Furnier was born on February 4, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Ether Moroni Furnier (1924–1987) and his wife Ella Mae (née McCart; 1925–2022). He was named after his uncle, Vincent Collier Furnier, and the short-story writer Damon Runyon.[16] His father was an evangelist in The Church of Jesus Christ,[17] and his paternal grandfather, Thurman Sylvester Furnier was a leader[17] and later president (1963–1965) of that church organization.[18]
The Furnier family resided in East Detroit on Lincoln Ave near Kelly Road,[19] a few blocks from Eastland Mall.[20] Cooper attended Kantner Elementary School, recalled taking in horror movies at the Eastown Theatre (where he would later perform),[21] and local neighborhood trick-or-treating on Halloween, the “biggest night of the year,” which he took “very seriously.”[22] Cooper was active in his church at ages 11 to 12.[23][24] Following a series of childhood illnesses, he moved with his family to Phoenix, Arizona, where he attended Cortez High School.[25] In his high school yearbook, his ambition was to be "A million record seller".[26]
Current members