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| Birth Name(s) : Alice Cooper |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Full Alice Cooper Biography
Alice Cooper (born February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans five decades. With a stage show that featured guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood and boa constrictors, Cooper drew equally from horror movies, vaudeville, heavy metal and garage rock to create a theatrical brand of rock music that would come to be known as shock rock.
Early press releases claimed that the name was agreed upon after one of Cooper's Ouija sessions, and learning that he was a reincarnation of a 17th century witch of the same name. However, Cooper in later interviews has said the name actually came out of thin air conjuring an image of "a cute, sweet, little girl with a hatchet behind her back." It was once said to be an inside joke associated with a Mayberry RFD character. Alice Cooper is also the name of Betty Cooper's mother in the Archie comic strips. Nonetheless, at the time Cooper and the band figured that the concept of a male playing the role of an androgynous witch, wearing tattered women's clothing and make-up would definitely have the potential to cause quite a social controversy.
With Cooper needing to be punished for his immoral ways, the first execution instrument was incorporated into the show was the Electric Chair. 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. The success of the band's single, the album, and their tour of 1971, which saw their first tour of Europe to massive success (audience members reportedly included Elton John and David Bowie), was enough encouragement for Warner Bros. to offer them a new multi-album contract.
In 1994, Cooper released The Last Temptation, a concept album dealing with issues of faith, temptation, alienation, and the frustrations of modern life. 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. Music Videos were made for "Lost In America" and "It's Me", the two singles off the album. This was to be his last album with Epic Records.
On January 26, 2004, Cooper's radio show, Nights with Alice Cooper, began airing in several US cities. The program showcases classic rock, Alice's personal stories about his life as a rock icon, obscure rock history facts, as well as interviews and special segments like the "OffBEAT News" with his counterpart, Mistress Kitty. The show appears on nearly 100 stations in the USA and Canada, and has been sold in the UK, Ireland, and Australia as well.
Cooper is a partner in a sports and rock and roll bar/restaurant called Cooper'stown, located in Phoenix. He is an avid golfer (Alice has a 4 handicap as stated on the Cowhead Show) and a member of Phoenix Country Club. He has indicated that he is a political conservative who backed George Bush in the 2004 presidential election.
On June 15, 2006, a campaign to get the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to induct him was started by two German fans online at Myspace.com. This campaign was sparked by a column written on April 5, 2006 by Creem writer and official Cooper biographer Jeffrey Morgan in Metro Times Detroit. A previous attempt was made in 2004 by fan Robert Floto using an online petition which logged more than 2,700 entries before being mailed to the RRHF in July of that year. This earlier attempt was unsuccessful.
On August 26 to August 28, 2006, Cooper took part in an annual celebrity golf version of the Ryder Cup called The All*Star Cup in South Wales, UK. Europe won the Cup for the 2nd year running. Cooper won his match on the first day, and lost his match on day two. The event was a big success, with large crowds attending, and the two main days of competition were shown live on UK television. The commentators made many references to Cooper being the best player and that he played six days a week back home in Arizona.
In a 1978 interview with Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan stated, "I think Alice Cooper is an overlooked songwriter."
In 1999 Cleopatra Records released "Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper", featuring a number of rock and metal all-star collaborations.
After conquering his alcoholism, Cooper became a noted golf enthusiast beginning in Winnipeg MB and has since participated in several Pro-Am competitions (This was detailed in his book, Alice Cooper: Golf Monster). He has appeared in commercials for Callaway Golf equipment. He reportedly has a 5 handicap and plays 6 days a week. Since 1997, he has hosted an annual golf competition, the Alice Cooper Celebrity AM Golf Tournament. All proceeds from the event go to Cooper's charity, the Solid Rock Foundation. In August 2006, he participated in the Northern Rock All Stars Cup event - a celebrity version of the Ryder Cup, for charity.
Cooper has said that "I look at Mick Jagger and they're 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". |
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