Legendary rocker Alice Cooper heads across the U.S. with his new NO MR. NICE GUY TOUR.The tour coincides with the release of his new “Welcome 2 My Nightmare” album, produced by longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin (who also produced the original “Welcome to My Nightmare” album in 1975). The release features a host of special guests (including the three other surviving members of the original band, "Nightmare" guitarists Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner, Alice's touring band, Vince Gill, Rob Zombie, and, most shockingly, Ke$ha) as Alice revisits his legendary nightmares. The original release is an all-time rock classic that spawned a worldwide theatrical tour and certified Alice Cooper as a visionary trailblazer whose influence persists today in rock, metal, pop, punk, theatre, television, film and much more.
Without Alice Cooper, there might never have been the New York Dolls, KISS, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Motley Crüe, Slipknot or Rob Zombie ... maybe not even David Bowie, or at least not Ziggy Stardust. Known as the architect of shock-rock, Alice Cooper has rattled the cages and undermined the authority of generations of guardians of the status quo, continuing to surprise fans and exude danger at every turn, like a great horror movie, even in an era where CNN can present real life shocking images.
Alice Cooper actually began as a band led by its stage-namesake Vincent Furnier. According to band legend, the name came to Furnier during a Ouija board session, where he was told he was the reincarnation of a 17th century witch of the same name. Under Furnier's direction, the band Alice Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical and violent brand of heavy metal that was designed to shock. Drawing equally from horror movies, vaudeville, heavy metal, and garage rock, the group created a stage show that featured electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood, and huge boa constrictors, all coordinated by the heavily made-up Furnier. By that time, Furnier had adopted the name for his androgynous on-stage personality.
In 1971, the band gained notoriety with the gold “Love It to Death”, which featured the #21 hit single "Eighteen"; the album peaked at number 35 and went gold. “Killer”, released late in 1971, was another gold album. “School's Out” was Alice Cooper's breakthrough record, peaking at #2 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 #1 in both America and Britain; the album's first single, "No More Mr. Nice Guy," became a Top Ten hit in Britain, peaking at #25 in the U.S.
Having officially changed his name to Alice Cooper, Furnier embarked on a similarly theatrical solo career releasing “Welcome to My Nightmare” in 1975. A Top Ten hit, it launched the hit acoustic ballad "Only Women Bleed." “Alice Cooper Goes to Hell” (1976) was another hit, going gold in the U.S.
Personal troubles plagues Cooper, though he persevered making a successful comeback in the late '80s sparked by his appearances in horror films and a series of pop-metal bands that paid musical homage to his classic early records and concerts. “Constrictor” (1986) and “Trash” (1989) returned Cooper to the spotlight with the platinum "Poison." Other releases followed keeping Cooper in the spotlight as did a syndicated radio show, "Nights with Alice Cooper." “Along Came a Spider” (2008) a concept album that told the story of a spider-obsessed serial killer was followed by the live album “Theatre of Death” (2010) along with a download-only EP of redone Cooper classics titled “Alice Does Alice”.
With his influence on rock and roll long since acknowledged, there is little that Alice Cooper hasn't achieved in his remarkable career, including platinum albums, sold-out tours and any number of honors and career achievement awards.
Alice Cooper will be at the Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida on Thursday December 15, 2011.
