Alice Cooper
Having influenced everyone from Ozzy Osbourne to Motley Crue and Kiss, Alice Cooper—who was born Vincent Furnier (Alice Cooper, according to Ouija board legend, was a 17th century witch reincarnated as Furnier)—first launched his band on Straight Records in 1968.
Having influenced everyone from Ozzy Osbourne to Motley Crue and Kiss, Alice Cooper—who was born Vincent Furnier (Alice Cooper, according to Ouija board legend, was a 17th century witch reincarnated as Furnier)—first launched his band on Straight Records in 1968. After two albums that bombed, the band moved to Detroit, where they signed with producer Bob Ezrin and made their breakthrough record, Love It To Death. A combination of shock-rock tricks (chopping up dolls, live boa constrictors and at least one good execution per show) and taboo lyrics eventually worked together to launch a number of odd hits including “School’s Out,” “Elected,” “Under My Wheels,” “Hello, Hooray,” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy.”
As the novelty of macabre makeup and bizarre stage numbers began to fade in the mid-’70s, Alice tried prime time television (Alice Cooper—The Nightmare), and became a welcome guest on the Las Vegas Strip. During this strange detour, Alice landed three Top 20 hits, including “Only Women Bleed,” “I Never Cry,” and “You And Me.”
