|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Once upon a time there was a very popular band called Alice Cooper. The band formed in 1964 with high school buddies Vincent Furnier (vocals), Michael Bruce (rhythm guitar), Glen Buxton (lead guitar), Dennis Dunaway (bass) and Neal Smith (drums) and at that time called themselves The Earwigs. In '65 they changed their name to first The Spiders and then to The Nazz. They became a local hit after they released a couple of singles. In late '67 they moved to Los Angeles. Early '68 the band found out that Tod Rundgren had a band named The Nazz and they came up with the name Alice Cooper, at first if only for the shock value since they were an all male band. Shortly after, Furnier changed his name to Alice Cooper, to add even a little more shock.From the start Alice Cooper were no ordinarily band. Their live shows was unlike anyone else's and people who attended did not know what to make of the group. One night when they opened for the Doors, hundreds of fans left the hall because their music was so loud and the stage act so wild. But Frank Zappa, who was there that night loved what he saw and signed them to his Straight Records label. In early '69 their first album, Pretties For You was released. It wasn't well received and that summer the band visited Cooper's home town of Detroit. Before long the band moved there. It was the heyday of street-fighting, revolution rock in Detroit back then with the likes of the MC5 and Iggy Pop's Stooges. There the band found an audience that went crazy for them and treated them as stars.
In early '74 their last album, Muscle Of Love came out. In December of that year Alice announced that he would put out a solo LP and shortly after that the band folded. Although the entire band owned the name "Alice Cooper" they allowed Alice to use it for his solo act. In 1976 Bruce, Dunaway and Smith formed a group called Billion Dollar Babies but their album failed and they soon disbanded. In October of '97, Bruce, Buxton and Smith reunited for a couple of shows in Texas which got rave reviews. Sadly just two weeks later Buxton suddenly died, his years of heavy drinking finally catching up with him. Alice meanwhile at first had a very successful solo career, then went bust. He made a comeback in the late 80s and although he may not sell as many albums today, he still sounds great.
Official Alice Cooper site