Alice Cooper - Biography

Last Editor: paulclark				Alice Cooper Biography -   Name : Alice Cooper Birth name : Vincent Damon Furnier Date of birth : February 4, 1948 Place of birth : Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Profession : Singer-songwriter, Actor, DJ Genre(s) : Rock, hard rock, heavy metal, shock rock, garage rock Instrument(s) : Vocals, Harmonica, Guitar Years active : 1964 - present Height : 5' 9½" (1.77 m) Spouse : Sheryl Cooper (3 March 1976 - present) 3 children

Alice Cooper Trivia -

Alice Cooper has had songs on soundtracks for the movies Flash Fearless Meets the Zorg Women (Songs: "I'm Flash" and "Space Pirates"); _Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)_ (Songs: "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)", "Teenage Frankenstein" and others); Wayne's World (1992) (Song: "Feed My Frankenstein"); Dazed and Confused (1993) (Song: "School's Out"); Shocker (1989) (Song: "Shockdance"); and The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988) ("Under My Wheels" With W. Axl Rose, Slash and Izzy Stradlin). Alice and his original band made the song "The Man With the Golden Gun" intended for the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), but the movie producers deemed Alice "too controversial" and went with another song of the same title sung by Lulu for the movie. The Alice version of "The Man with the Golden Gun" appears on the band's 1974 album, "Muscle of Love". Once belonged to the exclusive Hollywood club the "Hollywood Vampires" in the mid to late 70s. He born at 10:33pm - EST. He graduated from Cortez High School in Phoenix, Arizona. He lived with Cynthia Lang from 1968-76. She sued for community property. In 1998 opened up his own restaurant right in downtown Phoenix called "Cooperstown". Also planning to open another one in Ohio in the year 2000. He is an avid golfer, and has participated in several celebrity tournaments. December 2, 2003 - he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's situated at the corner of Orange Drive and Hollywood Boulevard by the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Is the subject of the songs "Why Must I Be Sad?" by They Might Be Giants, "Scared" by Dangerous Toys, and the b-side "The Ballad of Alice Cooper" by Bon Jovi. Was granted an honorary PhD (Doctor of Performing Arts) from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona (2004). When the giant letters of the famous "HOLLYWOOD" sign had to be replaced with new letters in 1978, a fund-raising party was held, with the old letters being auctioned off at around $28,000 each. Hugh M. Hefner hosted the event and bought the "H", while Warner Brothers bought the "W". Alice bought an "O" in memory of the late Groucho Marx, with whom he had been very good friends. The check was painted on a big piece of the old sign and endorsed by Alice. While Cooper was playing a stadium show in the 1970s, a fan threw a live chicken on stage. Cooper, who's from Detroit and unfamiliar with farm animals, generally assumed that since the chicken had wings, it would be able to fly. So he grabbed the chicken and tossed into the air, thinking it would fly out of the stadium, when in fact it went straight down into the crowd, who ripped the bird to pieces. The parts were thrown back on stage, and the headlines later claimed that Cooper bit the head off the chicken, and drank its blood. Frank Zappa later advised Cooper not to tell the real story, simply because "everybody loves it!". Doesn't seem to mind mocking his own "scary" image in the media; young people who appear with Alice act unafraid of him, while he pretends fright at ordinary things. Cooper's daughter, Calico Cooper, has been touring with him as one of the dancers/actors in the show. Children: Calico Cooper, born 20 May 1981; Dashiell Cooper, born 1984; and Sonora Rose Cooper, born 1993. Sonora was rumored to be the young actress who appeared with Alice in a TV commercial for school supplies, but it wasn't her. Despite his horror-make up, pet snakes and wild image, he is a huge fan of Australian pop star Kylie Minogue. Hosts a radio show "Nights with Alice Cooper", broadcast on many FM radio stations across the US. [2005] Went out on a limb to get his first record deal, almost to the point of getting himself and his band tossed in jail: after discovering where Frank Zappa lived, Cooper and his band set up their instruments and audio equipment right in Zappa's yard and began to perform. Sure enough, Zappa soon came out of the house in a rage; Cooper told him that he and his band would continue playing until Zappa did one of two things: either give them a record deal or call the police. Luckily, Zappa saw fit to do the former. Once came out with wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts (Jake Roberts) to a wrestling match, carrying a huge snake. Appeared when the Phoenix Coyotes unveiled their new uniforms at the time at the Hard Rock Cafe, Phoenix, on August 26, 1996. 1974: Legally changed his name to Alice Cooper. Collects cars and antique watches. His album "Love It To Death" was recalled to airbrush Cooper's thumb from the cover after complaints it resembled a penis. Submitted a potential theme song for the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. The song was rejected, though it does appear on Cooper's 1973 Muscle of Love album. His favorite songs are "19th Nervous Breakdown" by The Rolling Stones, "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors, "My Sharona" by The Knack, "Beds Are Burning" by Midnight Oil, "My Generation" by The Who, "Welcome To The Jungle" by Guns 'N Roses, "Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie, "Over Under Sideways Down" by The Yardbirds, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet and "A Hard Day's Night" by The Beatles. (Source: BBC Radio 2 "Tracks of My Years"). He wrote the song "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" for the movie "Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI". He also appeared in "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" uncredited as Freddy's Father. This makes him the only person who has been involved with Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees almost years before the two fought each other in Freddy Vs. Jason in 2003. He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. He's the godfather of Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine. He is a huge Fan of The Simpsons.

Alice Cooper Detailed Biography -

Born February 4, 1948 Detroit, Michigan Died Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948), is a rock singer and musician. He is often called as "Father of Metal", "Founder of Shock Rock", "Glam God" and "Metal God". Alice Cooper was originally the name of Furnier's band. Furnier officially changed his own name to Alice Cooper for a successful solo career. Furnier was born in Detroit at a hospital that carried the nickname "The Butcher's Palace", but, after a stream of illnesses moved to Phoenix, Arizona in his youth. His grandfather, Thurman Furnier, was an ordained Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite). Cooper's father, Ether Furnier, was an ordained Elder. Cooper had some distant French Huguenot ancestry; the remainder of his ancestry was English. Cooper, influenced by British Bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks and in particular The Yardbirds, formed a number of rock bands in the 1960s, including the Earwigs, The Spiders, and The Nazz. Furnier, upon learning that Todd Rundgren also had a band called The Nazz, changed the band's name to Alice Cooper (the name Alice Cooper is said to have been agreed upon after one of Furnier's Ouija sessions, and learning that he was a reincarnation of a 17th century "witch" of the same name, according to band legend, although Cooper in interviews has said the name actually came out of thin air conjuring an image of "a cute little girl with an axe behind her back"). The classic Alice Cooper group line up consisted of guitarists Michael Bruce and Glen Buxton, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith. After moving to California in 1968, the band enlisted Shep Gordon and Joe Greenberg as their managers, and the band was soon signed to Frank Zappa's label, Straight Records - releasing two competent but outlandish albums, Pretties For You and Easy Action, to a frosty public and critical reception. Warner Brothers then purchased Straight Records from Frank Zappa and Alice Cooper was more highly promoted with this major label. Although the band incorporated theatrics in their stage act from the outset, a chance case of press misreporting an unfortunate, unrehearsed stage routine involving Alice and a live chicken led to the band changing tack - capitalizing on tabloid sensationalism and creating a new sub-genre, shock rock. Alice claims that the chicken incident was an accident. He says he thought, "Chickens have wings, so they must be able to fly" so when it was on the stage, he threw it out over the crowd, with the intention of having the chicken fly away. But chickens can't fly, so it was instead ripped to shreds by the rowdy audience. In 1970, after the band had recorded two records on Straight Records, the band, under the Warner Brothers label, teamed up with fledgling producer Bob Ezrin on their album entitled Love It to Death. This was the first of more than 10 Alice Cooper group and solo albums done with Ezrin who is credited with having helped to create their definitive sound. A hit single soon followed in 1971's 'I'm Eighteen'. The band's trailblazing mix of shock and glam theatrics stood out amongst bearded, denim-clad hippy bands by sporting sequined costumes by the prominent rock fashion designer Cindy Dunaway (Pink Floyd, The Who) and stage shows that involved Gothic torture modes imposed on the lead singer. The follow up Killer included further singles in 'Under My Wheels' and 'Be My Lover' and also one of the most critically acclaimed Cooper songs in the epic 'Halo Of Flies', which was a Top 10 hit in Holland. In the summer of 1972, Alice Cooper served up School's Out to their hungry audience. The album reached number two on the charts and sold over a million copies. The title song went Top 10 in the US, was a number one single in the UK, and remains a staple on classic rock radio. Album cover for Billion Dollar Babies. Billion Dollar Babies, released in 1973, was the band's most commercially successful album, reaching no. 1 in both the US and Britain. 'Elected' a 1972 top 10 UK hit included on the album (featuring one of the first creative promo films 3 years before Queen's promo video to 'Bohemian Rhapsody'), was followed by 2 more UK top 10 singles in 'Hello Hooray' and 'No More Mister Nice Guy' which was the last UK single from the album and also reached number 25 in the U.S. The title track, featuring guest vocals by Donovan, was also a US hit single. With a string of successful concept albums in the bag and several hit singles, the band toured the world - attempts to ban their shocking act by politicians and pressure groups only serving to fuel the myth of Alice Cooper and generate more audience interest. The 1973 US Tour broke box office records set by The Rolling Stones. A film 'Good To See You Again Alice' (recently re-released on DVD) was released and saw the band as the biggest act in the world at that time. Muscle of Love the last album from the classic line up marked Alice Cooper's last UK top 20 single in the 1970s, with 'Teenage Lament 74'. Even a James Bond theme song was recorded for 'The Man with the Golden Gun', but a different song of the same name by LuLu, was chosen instead. In 1974, the band split - Cooper himself wanting to retain the theatrics that had brought them so much attention, the rest of the group wanting to concentrate on the music which had given them credibility. His first solo album was Welcome to My Nightmare. He was backed by Lou Reed's band, guitarist Dick Wagner, guitarist Steve Hunter, bassist Prakash John, keyboardist Joseph Chrowski, and drummer Penti Glan. The album was another top 10 hit for Cooper and is regarded along with the stage show as ground breaking moments in rock history. In addition, the 1975 US TV special 'The Nightmare' was the first video album, and as with the album, featured horror movie film star Vincent Price, several years before he guested on Michael Jackson's Thriller. In 1978 he appeared on the The Muppet Show where he played himself. Following two less acclaimed studio albums Alice Cooper Goes to Hell and Lace and Whiskey, along with the 1977 live album The Alice Cooper Show (recorded in Las Vegas), it was clear that Alice Cooper lacked some of the cutting edge of the creative 1971-1975 period, and in 1977 Cooper was hospitalized in a New York sanitarium for alcoholism. This may be responsible for a surprise return to form on the hard-rocking, semi-autobiographical album From The Inside, which Cooper co-wrote with Bernie Taupin. Around this time, Cooper led celebrities in raising money to remodel the famous Hollywood Sign in California. Cooper himself chipped in over $27,000 for the project, doing it in memory of friend and comedian Groucho Marx. His albums from the beginning of 1980s, Flush the Fashion, Special Forces, Zipper Catches Skin, and DaDa, were not commercially successful, especially in comparison to previous sales. They were regarded as very strange and bizarre at that time, and are now considered cult classics. Flush the Fashion has a spare, edgy musical sound that was so unexpected as to have been truly baffling to long-time fans. The songs are typically clever, however, and hold up very well. Special Forces was a bit darker and more cynical, but continued with the experimental sound. However, even DaDa, the best of the alternative albums, had only mildly positive commercial and critical response. DaDa was again produced by Bob Ezrin, who used one of the first samplers (the famous Fairlight) instead of real drums. Cooper then released Constrictor (1986), a heavier album, which had more, but still very limited, success, followed by Raise Your Fist and Yell (1987) which had a rougher sound than its predecessor. Both Constrictor and Raise Your Fist and Yell were recorded with guitarist Kane Roberts & 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 the 1989 Trash, album). Kane Roberts would go on as a solo artist, while Kip formed Winger. Roberts' stage attire was unusual since he was basically a Rambo-clone - muscular body, scanty clothing and a guitar that resembled a machine gun. Keep in mind that Heavy Metal music was very popular during this time of the late 1980's and some in the music industry said that Alice was being sucessfully "resurected" for the Metal era of music; and this is where the "Father of Metal" designation came about. In 1986 he sang the theme song "The Man Behind the Mask" for the movie Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) In 1987, he made a brief appearance in the movie Prince of Darkness directed by John Carpenter. His role had no lines, and consisted of menacing the protagonists with a bicycle frame. He also appeared at WrestleMania III escorting wrestler 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. In 1989, his career experienced a real revival with the Desmond Child produced album Trash, which spawned the hit single 'Poison', reaching # 2 in the UK and #7 in the US, and a worldwide arena tour. It was during this time in the 1980s he became a Born-again Christian and became sober.