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ALICE COOPER:
There are many noteworthy movements in rock history, but few are as easy to recognize as the over-the-top theatrics that Alice Cooper introduced. Cooper established what some called death theatrics inspired by a twisted perception of his own psyche. The rock spectacle challenged artists to give much more to their audience. The Detroit native, born Vincent Furnier, had almost as much attention drawn to his psychological standing than his music. As a result, he kept the rock music dangerous for generations to come and has retained his chair as the king of shock rock.
Alice Coopers released his first album Pretties For You in 1969. Late in 1970, the group's contract was transferred to Straight's distributor Warner Bros., and they began recording their third album with producer Bob Ezrin. With Ezrin's assistance, Alice Cooper developed their classic heavy metal crunch on 1971's Love It to Death, which featured the number 21 hit single "Eighteen"; the album peaked at number 35 and went gold. The success enabled the group to develop a more impressive, elaborate live show, which made them highly popular concert attractions across the U.S. and eventually the U.K. Killer, released late in 1971, was another gold album. Released in the summer of 1972, School's Out was Alice Cooper's breakthrough record, peaking at number two and selling over a million copies. The title song became a Top Ten hit in the U.S. and a number one single in the U.K. Billion Dollar Babies, released the following year, was the group's biggest hit, reaching number one in both America and Britain; the album's first single, "No More Mr. Nice Guy," became a Top Ten hit in Britain, peaking at number 25 in the U.S. Muscle of Love appeared late in 1973, yet it failed to capitalize on the success of Billion Dollar Babies. After Muscle of Love, Furnier and the rest of Alice Cooper parted ways to pursue other projects.
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