The stage name of American singer, songwriter, and actor Vincent Damon Furnier is Alice Cooper. He is largely regarded as the founder of the “Shock Rock” subgenre, which he unintentionally popularized in the course of his early career. He started out in a band with his high school buddies with the goal of selling a million records; nevertheless, after several name changes, the group came to be known as “Alice Cooper.” Furnier legally changed his identity and continued to play and record albums under the same name after the band went on hiatus after a brief career spanning around ten years. He has put out 27 studio albums, 48 singles, 11 live albums, 21 compilation albums, 12 videos, and an audiobook during the course of a career spanning more than five decades. The RIAA awarded platinum certification to two of his solo albums and four of his band albums. He has been nominated for two Grammys for his solo work, and he and his former bandmates were both inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Additionally, he has made numerous film and television appearances.
Early Childhood & Life
On February 4, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan, to the pastor Ether Moroni Furnier and his wife Ella Mae, Alice Cooper was born Vincent Damon Furnier. When he was between the ages of 11 and 12, his family became incredibly involved in religion, and he started going to church every day with his father.
He went to Washington Elementary School and Nankin Mills Jr. High in Detroit, but after the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, he later enrolled in Cortez High School. Later on, he graduated from Glendale Community College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Employed by his Band
In order to compete in the local yearly Letterman’s talent show in 1964, Alice Cooper, then 16 years old, established his first band, the “Earwigs,” with Glen Buxton, Dennis Dunaway, John Tatum, and John Speer. They performed parodies of the Beatles’ songs while wearing costumes and wigs, and the enthusiastic audience response helped them win the competition.
Encouraged by the favorable feedback, they made the decision to start a genuine band and changed their name to the “Spiders,” with Cooper taking the lead vocals. Michael Bruce took over as the band’s guitarist in 1966, and they started playing in clubs and on stages. Eventually, they produced their first original record, the regional smash “Don’t Blow Your Mind.”
In 1967, the group changed its name to “Nazz” and started frequently visiting Los Angeles for performances. By the end of the year, the group had moved there and Neal Smith had taken over for John Speer as the drummer. They chose the more gimmicky stage name “Alice Cooper” after finding that Todd Rundgren had a band with the same name.
They won a three-album deal primarily due to their peculiarity after a chance encounter with music manager Shep Gordon, following a terrible performance and another inconvenient audition for producer Frank Zappa’s company, Straight Records. Their debut album, “Pretties for You,” released in 1969, was both a critical and economic disaster. It was an experimental presentation of their psychedelic rock music.
The incident involving the chicken at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival performance in September 1969, which made headlines, also contributed to the band’s ultimate “shock rock” reputation. Despite receiving media attention, their subsequent album, “Easy Action,” was a failure. They then moved to Pontiac, Michigan, where their violent stage antics were more well-liked and helped their third record, “Love It to Death,” succeed.
Their subsequent album, “Killer” (1971), outperformed their first by peaking at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 charts in the United States and featuring smash singles like “Under My Wheels,” “Be My Lover,” and “Halo of Flies.” The title single from their fifth studio album, “School’s Out,” was acknowledged as a classic rock song and peaked at No. 2 on the US charts.
The most popular album of the group, “Billion Dollar Babies,” was released in 1973 and peaked at number one on both the US and UK charts. Following the publication of their final album, “Muscle of Love,” later that year, the band came under increased criticism from political organizations and also broke up internally.
Career of Alice Cooper
In order to avoid legal issues over ownership of the band name, Vincent Furnier legally changed his name to “Alice Cooper” before releasing the album “Welcome to My Nightmare” as a solo artist in 1975. Despite the album’s popularity, his last three releases—”Alice Cooper Goes to Hell,” “Lace and Whiskey,” and the semi-autobiographical “From the Inside”—all suffered from chart failures, in part because of his drinking.
With the albums “Flush the Fashion,” “Special Forces,” “Zipper Catches Skin,” and “DaDa,” which he supposedly doesn’t even remember recording due to drug addiction, his commercial failure persisted into the following decade.
With the albums “Constrictor” (1986) and “Raise Your Fist and Yell” (1987), he made a comeback to the music industry. However, his 1989 “Grammy”-nominated album “Trash” became his most popular record of the decade.
In the following decade, he only had two albums released: “Hey Stoopid” (1991) and “The Last Temptation,” which contributed to his continued decline in popularity (1994). ‘Brutal Planet’ (2000), ‘Dragontown’ (2001), ‘The Eyes of Alice Cooper’ (2003), and ‘Dirty Diamonds’ (2005) were his following four albums released in the new millennium, and all four barely managed to remain on the US ‘Billboard 200’ albums chart.
Along Came a Spider, his 25th studio album, which was released in 2008, reached its high at No. 31 in the UK and No. 53 in the US.
His most recent album, “Paranormal,” debuted at No. 32 while his 2011 release, “Welcome 2 My Nightmare,” peaked at No. 22.
Bigger Works of Alice Cooper
The debut solo album by Alice Cooper, “Welcome to My Nightmare,” is regarded as his finest effort to date. In the US and Canada, it received platinum certifications.
His band’s most financially successful record is “Billion Dollar Babies.” It peaked at number one in the US and UK charts and received a platinum certification in the US.
Recognition & Achievements
The “Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards” and the “Kerrang! Awards” have recognized Alice Cooper as a “Legend,” and in 1984 and 1997, he was nominated for two “Grammys.” He and the other members of his old band were inducted into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” in 2011.
Personal Legacy & Life
Miss Christine, a member of the GTOs who her away on November 5, 1972, from an overdose, was dating Alice Cooper. He then spent several years living with Cindy Lang before they separated in 1975, at which point she filed a palimony claim against him.
After a brief relationship with the actress Raquel Welch, he wed Sheryl Goddard, a ballet instructor, and choreographer who appeared in his productions, in 1976. He was a terrible alcoholic when she filed for divorce from him in 1983, but they reconciled the following year and went on to produce three children: Calico, Dash, and Sonora Rose.
Alice Cooper’s Net Worth
American rock singer, songwriter, and musician Alice Cooper has a $50 million dollar fortune. The rock subgenres hard rock, heavy metal, glam rock, industrial rock, and many more are among those for which he is best known. Because Cooper frequently uses theatrical items like guillotines, swords, and electric chairs, critics frequently refer to his musical genre as “Shock-Rock.” In addition to music, Alice Cooper engaged in a variety of other activities, most notably acting in movies and television.