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In 1964, 16-year-old Furnier was eager to participate in Cortez High School's annual Letterman's talent show, so he gathered four fellow cross-country teammates to form a group for the show: Glen Buxton, Dennis Dunaway, John Tatum, and John Speer. See also: Alice Cooper (band) The Spiders and Nazz In his high school yearbook, his ambition was to be "A million record seller".
WELCOME TO YOUR OWN PERSONAL NIGHTMARE SERIES
Following a series of childhood illnesses, he moved with his family to Phoenix, Arizona, where he attended Cortez High School. His father was an evangelist in The Church of Jesus Christ, informally known as "Bickertonites", and his paternal grandfather, Thurman Sylvester Furnier, was an apostle (from 1917) in and president (1963–1965) of that church.Ĭooper was active in his church at ages 11 to 12. He was named after his uncle, Vincent Collier Furnier, and the writer Damon Runyon. Away from music, Cooper is a film actor, a golfing celebrity, a restaurateur, and, since 2004, a radio DJ with his classic rock show Nights with Alice Cooper.Ĭooper was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Ether Moroni Furnier (1924–1987) and his wife Ella Mae ( née McCart born 1925).
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He is also known for his wit offstage, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide calling him the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer". He helped to shape the sound and look of heavy metal, and has been described as the artist who "first introduced horror imagery to rock and roll, and whose stagecraft and showmanship have permanently transformed the genre". Ĭooper has experimented with a number of musical styles, including art rock, hard rock, heavy metal, new wave, glam metal, and industrial rock. Over his career, Cooper has sold well over 50 million records. After the band broke up, Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper and began a solo career with the 1975 concept album Welcome to My Nightmare. Breaking out with the 1970 single " I'm Eighteen" and the third album Love It to Death, the band reached their commercial peak in 1973 with their sixth studio album, Billion Dollar Babies. They released their 1969 debut album with limited chart success. The five named the band "Alice Cooper", and Furnier eventually adopted it as his stage pseudonym. By 1966, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar joined the three and Neal Smith was added on drums in 1967. Originating in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1964, "Alice Cooper" was originally a band with roots extending back to a band called The Earwigs, consisting of Furnier on vocals and harmonica, Glen Buxton on lead guitar, and Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar and background vocals.
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He has drawn equally from horror films, vaudeville, and garage rock to pioneer a macabre and theatrical brand of rock designed to shock audiences. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, reptiles, baby dolls, and dueling swords, Cooper is considered by music journalists and peers to be "The Godfather of Shock Rock". Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over 54 years.