Alice Cooper: The Shocking Truth!

Alice Cooper, born Vincent Damon Furnier on February 4th, 1948, Detroit, Michigan, U.S., is a singer, songwriter, restaurateur, radio DJ and actor, whose career spans over 50 years. With his distinctive raspy voice and a stage show featuring guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, deadly snakes, baby dolls, and dueling swords, Cooper is regarded by music journalists and peers alike to be "The Godfather of Shock Rock". He has drawn inspiration from horror films, vaudeville, and garage rock, to pioneer a macabre and theatrical brand of rock, designed to shock people. He moved from Detroit, Michigan to Phoenix, Arizona, during the late 1960s, "Alice Cooper" at first having been a band comprising Furnier on vocals and harmonica, Glen Buxton on lead guitar, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar, Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar, and Neal Smith on drums. The original Alice Cooper band issued its first L.P. during 1969. Their breakthrough record was the 1971 hit song "I'm Eighteen" from their third studio album Love It to Death. The group reached their peak popularity during 1973 with their 6th studio L.P. Billion Dollar Babies. The original Alice Cooper band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during 2011. Furnier adopted the group's name as his own during the 1970s, beginning a solo career with the 1975 concept album Welcome to My Nightmare. Developing from his Detroit rock roots, Cooper has experimented with a number of musical styles, including art rock, hard rock, heavy metal, new wave, glam metal and industrial rock. Alice is known for his sociable and witty personality offstage, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide describing him as the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer". He's been credited with having helped to shape the sound and look of heavy metal, being described as the artist who "first introduced horror imagery to rock'n'roll, and whose stagecraft and showmanship have permanently transformed the genre". Outside of music, Cooper is a film actor, a golfing celebrity, a restaurateur, and since 2004, a popular radio DJ, with his classic rock show Nights with Alice Cooper.