WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.819 Welcome back to the deep dive. Today we are really 00:00:03.819 --> 00:00:06.419 undertaking quite a mission. We're aiming to 00:00:06.419 --> 00:00:10.160 dissect one of the most durable and frankly paradoxical 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:13.140 careers in rock history. We're talking about 00:00:13.140 --> 00:00:15.640 the man who basically turned rock music into 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:18.160 theater. You know a total villain on stage but 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:22.300 then off stage. A dedicated family man and incredibly 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:25.100 a sober golfer. We're talking of course about 00:00:25.100 --> 00:00:27.539 Alice Cooper. Yeah and our deep dive today is 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:30.149 really focused on unpacking that whole five -decade 00:00:30.149 --> 00:00:33.070 evolution of Vincent Damon Furnier. He was born 00:00:33.070 --> 00:00:35.549 in Detroit in 1948. We really need to try and 00:00:35.549 --> 00:00:37.829 understand how the son of an evangelist became, 00:00:37.969 --> 00:00:40.890 well, the ultimate vaudeville horror icon. We'll 00:00:40.890 --> 00:00:43.950 be tracking his artistic influences, those profound 00:00:43.950 --> 00:00:46.009 personal struggles with addiction, and then the 00:00:46.009 --> 00:00:48.810 surprisingly complex, actually very stable life 00:00:48.810 --> 00:00:51.170 he leads today. The scope of his impact, it's 00:00:51.170 --> 00:00:53.189 just immense, isn't it? He's instantly recognizable. 00:00:53.310 --> 00:00:55.409 You hear that distinctive, raspy voice. And then, 00:00:55.469 --> 00:00:57.009 of course, the stage shows. Well, the shows. 00:00:57.630 --> 00:01:00.750 Elaborate, macabre, theatrical. Yeah. We're talking 00:01:00.750 --> 00:01:04.450 meticulous choreography, props, illusions, mock 00:01:04.450 --> 00:01:08.510 violence, just enough gothic torture to keep, 00:01:08.569 --> 00:01:11.170 what, three generations of fans completely thrilled. 00:01:11.370 --> 00:01:14.090 He didn't just join the pantheon of rock stars. 00:01:14.189 --> 00:01:17.450 He sort of pioneered a whole new way of performing. 00:01:17.590 --> 00:01:19.209 And that's exactly why he was just called. the 00:01:19.209 --> 00:01:21.829 rock star, he was like coronated the godfather 00:01:21.829 --> 00:01:24.870 of shock rock. Right. And what makes that Alice 00:01:24.870 --> 00:01:28.010 Cooper persona so powerful, I think, is his ability 00:01:28.010 --> 00:01:31.290 to synthesize genuinely disparate elements. You 00:01:31.290 --> 00:01:34.150 know, he took the chaos, the raw power of garage 00:01:34.150 --> 00:01:37.030 rock, proto -proke, injected it with the high 00:01:37.030 --> 00:01:40.069 concept drama of like vaudeville theater, and 00:01:40.069 --> 00:01:41.930 then overlaid the whole thing with the gruesome 00:01:41.930 --> 00:01:44.170 aesthetics of B -horror films. This wasn't just 00:01:44.170 --> 00:01:46.489 noise. It was calculated. It was revolutionary 00:01:46.489 --> 00:01:49.340 performance art. permanently transformed rock 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:51.719 showmanship. And the numbers, they really back 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:54.239 up his endurance. I mean, 30 studio albums, over 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:57.120 50 million records sold worldwide. And he's still 00:01:57.120 --> 00:01:59.700 headlining major tours well into his late 70s. 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:02.420 It's incredible. And in 2011, the original lineup, 00:02:02.620 --> 00:02:04.900 they were rightfully inducted into the Rock and 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:08.340 Roll Hall of Fame. Finally. Yeah. But, you know, 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:10.400 if you only fixate on the gallows and the snakes 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:12.719 and all that, you really miss the man. The man 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:15.500 who is far more multifaceted than the character. 00:02:15.659 --> 00:02:18.120 True. I mean, beyond the stage, he's a credited 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:21.199 film actor. He's a successful restaurateur. And 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:23.860 he's hosted his syndicated classic rock radio 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:27.439 show, Alice's Attic, since, what, 2004? Right. 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:29.939 Still going strong. And he's also known in celebrity 00:02:29.939 --> 00:02:32.860 circles as this passionate, almost professional 00:02:32.860 --> 00:02:35.590 golfer. That golf angle is truly one of the great 00:02:35.590 --> 00:02:37.669 surprises in the sources, isn't it? We absolutely 00:02:37.669 --> 00:02:39.550 have to circle back to that later. Oh, definitely. 00:02:39.770 --> 00:02:43.810 But let's not overlook his philanthropic impact 00:02:43.810 --> 00:02:46.509 either. His Solid Rock Foundation in Phoenix, 00:02:46.610 --> 00:02:50.349 Arizona. It provides free music, art, vocational 00:02:50.349 --> 00:02:53.090 programs, all designed specifically for at -risk 00:02:53.090 --> 00:02:55.710 youth. It's an incredibly constructive, positive 00:02:55.710 --> 00:02:58.669 existence for a man who, well, made his career 00:02:58.669 --> 00:03:02.110 by staging his own nightly executions. The ultimate 00:03:02.110 --> 00:03:05.840 paradox right there. Absolutely. So, OK, to appreciate 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:09.000 the depth of the stage monster, we kind of have 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:11.300 to start right at the beginning. Vincent Damon 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:13.759 Furnier's upbringing. It was quite religious. 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:15.780 Yeah. His father and his paternal grandfather 00:03:15.780 --> 00:03:18.020 were both evangelists in the Church of Jesus 00:03:18.020 --> 00:03:21.240 Christ. Born in Detroit. Then the family moved 00:03:21.240 --> 00:03:23.840 to Phoenix, Arizona, after he suffered a series 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:25.680 of childhood illnesses. He went to Cortez High 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:29.000 School there. Right. And the birth of this legendary 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:32.629 group came from the. Most unlikely of places. 00:03:32.889 --> 00:03:36.349 A high school cross -country team skit. 1964. 00:03:36.949 --> 00:03:39.669 Seriously? A skit? Yeah, they started as the 00:03:39.669 --> 00:03:42.629 Earwigs. And the brilliant detail here, the band 00:03:42.629 --> 00:03:44.750 wasn't even serious yet. They used costumes, 00:03:44.909 --> 00:03:47.289 wigs, the whole deal, to look like the Beatles. 00:03:47.909 --> 00:03:50.110 But they were actually performing parodies of 00:03:50.110 --> 00:03:52.469 Beatles songs. No way. Yeah. Modifying the lyrics 00:03:52.469 --> 00:03:54.590 specifically to reference the track team. It 00:03:54.590 --> 00:03:56.710 was all a joke. That's hilarious. They were playing 00:03:56.710 --> 00:03:59.490 purely for laughs. And crucially, only the guitarist, 00:03:59.530 --> 00:04:01.430 Glenn Buxton, actually knew how to play an instrument 00:04:01.430 --> 00:04:03.569 at first. The rest, they were just miming their 00:04:03.569 --> 00:04:07.400 parts. Wow. But they won. The school talent show. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:09.800 And the audience response was so strong, they 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:12.259 decided, OK, let's become a legitimate band. 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:14.800 They pooled their money for actual instruments, 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:17.779 taught themselves how to play. And that foundation 00:04:17.779 --> 00:04:20.240 quickly evolved into the Spiders and then briefly 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:24.480 Naz. OK, that brings us to 1968, the definitive 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:27.360 name change. They realized they needed a better 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:30.660 handle than Naz because Todd Rundgren already 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:32.819 had a band with that name, right? Exactly. So 00:04:32.819 --> 00:04:35.240 they chose Alice Cooper. Now, think about that 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:38.389 name. It sounds Completely innocuous. Yeah. Wholesome, 00:04:38.550 --> 00:04:40.769 even kind of sweet. Totally, like your friendly 00:04:40.769 --> 00:04:43.370 neighbor. Right. And that name choice was pure 00:04:43.370 --> 00:04:46.230 marketing genius. Yeah. Because it provided the 00:04:46.230 --> 00:04:48.949 maximum possible just hilarious contracts with 00:04:48.949 --> 00:04:51.970 their increasingly dark, bizarre image and their 00:04:51.970 --> 00:04:54.189 loud, aggressive music. Brilliant. So how did 00:04:54.189 --> 00:04:56.970 that bizarre, androgynous image actually come 00:04:56.970 --> 00:04:59.050 together? It seems like such a specific blend. 00:04:59.329 --> 00:05:00.790 Well, it's a fascinating case study, really, 00:05:00.850 --> 00:05:02.769 in blending high and low culture. Cooper, remember, 00:05:02.870 --> 00:05:04.829 he was an art student. Yeah. So he pulled from 00:05:04.829 --> 00:05:07.949 some truly... odd cinematic sources. He often 00:05:07.949 --> 00:05:10.610 cited two main visual influences that were pretty 00:05:10.610 --> 00:05:12.850 foundational to the persona. Okay, let's unpack 00:05:12.850 --> 00:05:14.990 this visual recipe because this feels like where 00:05:14.990 --> 00:05:17.529 the character truly takes shape. He specifically 00:05:17.529 --> 00:05:21.470 cited Bette Davis in that 1962 film Whatever 00:05:21.470 --> 00:05:24.490 Happened to Baby Jane, which is a very dark choice. 00:05:24.629 --> 00:05:28.050 It's crucial, yeah. But not for glamour. Cooper 00:05:28.050 --> 00:05:30.569 was inspired by the grotesque nature of the character. 00:05:31.250 --> 00:05:33.930 Specifically, that disgusting caked makeup and 00:05:33.930 --> 00:05:36.589 the heavily applied deep dark black eyeliner. 00:05:36.910 --> 00:05:40.889 It suggested decay. Madness. Okay, I see it. 00:05:41.029 --> 00:05:43.230 And this was combined with a much sleeker kind 00:05:43.230 --> 00:05:46.009 of sci -fi influence. Which would be Anita Pallenberg 00:05:46.009 --> 00:05:49.910 as the great tyrant in the 1968 cult film Barbarella. 00:05:50.089 --> 00:05:52.149 Is that right? Exactly that one. When Cooper 00:05:52.149 --> 00:05:54.449 saw her wearing those long black leather gloves 00:05:54.449 --> 00:05:56.750 with switchblades coming out of them, he said 00:05:56.750 --> 00:05:59.209 he knew instantly. That's what Alice should look 00:05:59.209 --> 00:06:01.290 like. Wow. So you take the decayed makeup of 00:06:01.290 --> 00:06:04.029 Baby Jane, combine it with the aggressive, futuristic, 00:06:04.269 --> 00:06:08.290 dominatrix gear of the Great Tyrant. And we also 00:06:08.290 --> 00:06:10.730 have to give credit to Frank Zappa's all -female 00:06:10.730 --> 00:06:13.889 signed act, the GTOs. They played a major role 00:06:13.889 --> 00:06:17.009 in developing their early, more theatrical, androgynous 00:06:17.009 --> 00:06:19.629 look. Apparently, they often dressed the Cooper 00:06:19.629 --> 00:06:22.569 boys up like full -size Barbie dolls. Your phrase. 00:06:22.689 --> 00:06:25.410 OK, so this fully formed, visually striking, 00:06:25.449 --> 00:06:28.110 but still commercially struggling band. They 00:06:28.110 --> 00:06:30.329 move to L .A., play this famously awful room 00:06:30.329 --> 00:06:33.769 emptying gig. But manager Shep Gordon spots them 00:06:33.769 --> 00:06:36.670 and he gets them an audition with Frank Zappa, 00:06:36.810 --> 00:06:39.529 who ran Straight Records. And this is where the 00:06:39.529 --> 00:06:43.170 legend truly, truly begins. Zappa, who was actively 00:06:43.170 --> 00:06:45.689 looking for really bizarre, unclassifiable acts. 00:06:46.250 --> 00:06:48.230 He told the band to come over at 7 o 'clock. 00:06:48.370 --> 00:06:50.410 Standard enough. Except the band's still a bit 00:06:50.410 --> 00:06:53.750 dazed. Chaotic. Yeah. They mistakenly thought 00:06:53.750 --> 00:06:56.870 he meant 7 in the morning. Oh no. Oh, yes. They 00:06:56.870 --> 00:06:59.250 showed up at dawn, plugged in, and basically 00:06:59.250 --> 00:07:01.810 woke Zappa up by playing their incredibly loud, 00:07:01.970 --> 00:07:04.970 very particular brand of psychedelic garage -infused 00:07:04.970 --> 00:07:07.649 rock right outside his house. Oh, my God. And 00:07:07.649 --> 00:07:10.029 Zappa. Instead of kicking them out, he was apparently 00:07:10.029 --> 00:07:12.670 so impressed by their sheer commitment to aggressive 00:07:12.670 --> 00:07:16.089 weirdness at such an ungodly hour that he signed 00:07:16.089 --> 00:07:19.589 them immediately to a three -album deal. It was 00:07:19.589 --> 00:07:21.889 a perfect match for a label that was actively 00:07:21.889 --> 00:07:24.449 seeking the unconventional. That is just perfect 00:07:24.449 --> 00:07:27.910 Zappa, isn't it? Absolutely. And Zappa understood 00:07:27.910 --> 00:07:30.370 the value of chaos, which brings us directly 00:07:30.370 --> 00:07:34.290 to the infamous chicken incident in 1969. This 00:07:34.290 --> 00:07:36.509 moment really accidentally created the entire 00:07:36.509 --> 00:07:39.310 concept of shock rock. OK, detail the origins 00:07:39.310 --> 00:07:41.269 of the chaos for us. The story is legendary. 00:07:41.730 --> 00:07:44.230 Right. So the band was playing the Toronto Rock 00:07:44.230 --> 00:07:47.870 and Roll Revival concert. Somehow, a live chicken 00:07:47.870 --> 00:07:50.649 ended up on stage. Maybe tossed up from the audience, 00:07:50.810 --> 00:07:53.290 the sources aren't totally clear. Cooper, having 00:07:53.290 --> 00:07:55.810 grown up in Detroit and Phoenix, he apparently 00:07:55.810 --> 00:07:58.149 had zero experience with farm animals, certainly 00:07:58.149 --> 00:08:00.709 not chickens. He genuinely believed that because 00:08:00.709 --> 00:08:02.490 the chicken had wings, it could fly if he just 00:08:02.490 --> 00:08:05.069 tossed it up in the air. Which for domestic chicken 00:08:05.069 --> 00:08:08.250 is a terrible assumption. It was indeed. A fatal 00:08:08.250 --> 00:08:10.850 one for the chicken. The bird just plummeted 00:08:10.850 --> 00:08:12.750 straight down into the first few rows of the 00:08:12.750 --> 00:08:15.180 crowd. Oh, geez. And according to the sources, 00:08:15.339 --> 00:08:17.819 those rows were reportedly occupied by people 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:21.300 in wheelchairs who then tragically tore the poor 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:24.199 chicken to pieces. Oh, that's grim. It's horrific. 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:26.959 Yeah. And the press sensationalized it immediately. 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:30.259 The story became that Cooper had bitten its head 00:08:30.259 --> 00:08:33.080 off and drunk the blood on stage. Of course they 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:35.179 did. So Zappa calls Cooper and Cooper denies 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:37.919 the story. He says, no, I didn't do that. And 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:40.360 Zappa's iconic career -defining management advice 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:43.320 was just brilliant. Whatever you do, he said, 00:08:43.419 --> 00:08:45.539 don't tell anyone you didn't do it. That moment 00:08:45.539 --> 00:08:48.690 is just pivotal, isn't it? Zappa didn't care 00:08:48.690 --> 00:08:51.049 about the facts at all. He saw the tabloid outrage 00:08:51.049 --> 00:08:54.049 as the most effective promotional tool imaginable. 00:08:54.090 --> 00:08:57.110 Exactly. That accidental notoriety cemented the 00:08:57.110 --> 00:08:59.570 band's infamous reputation and launched them, 00:08:59.649 --> 00:09:02.590 intentionally or not, right into this new subgenre. 00:09:02.610 --> 00:09:05.490 Truck rock was born. Pretty much. And we keep 00:09:05.490 --> 00:09:07.110 coming back to that art school background, don't 00:09:07.110 --> 00:09:09.629 we? This wasn't just mindless mayhem, or at least 00:09:09.629 --> 00:09:13.019 not entirely. The classic lineup. Fernier, Buxton, 00:09:13.059 --> 00:09:15.879 Dunaway, they were all art students. Their appreciation 00:09:15.879 --> 00:09:18.620 for the bizarre, particularly surrealist artists 00:09:18.620 --> 00:09:21.580 like Salvador Dali wasn't just aesthetic. It 00:09:21.580 --> 00:09:24.940 actively inspired their stage antics. They were 00:09:24.940 --> 00:09:27.740 deliberately trying to translate the nonlinear, 00:09:27.779 --> 00:09:31.080 often violent imagery of surrealism into a live 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:34.000 rock show. Fascinating. Art school kids creating 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:38.090 chaos. Hashtag three or three. The classic Alice 00:09:38.090 --> 00:09:42.149 Cooper band era, 1970, 1975. So that surrealist 00:09:42.149 --> 00:09:44.950 sensibility combined with their their raw Detroit 00:09:44.950 --> 00:09:47.570 roots that really propelled them toward their 00:09:47.570 --> 00:09:49.649 major breakthrough, didn't it? The L .A. scene, 00:09:49.789 --> 00:09:51.570 Cooper described it as being on acid. It just 00:09:51.570 --> 00:09:53.409 wasn't working for them. So the band decided 00:09:53.409 --> 00:09:56.070 to relocate to Pontiac, Michigan, around 1970. 00:09:56.529 --> 00:09:58.730 Yeah. And this move was absolutely crucial for 00:09:58.730 --> 00:10:00.730 their survival. They left that psychedelic kind 00:10:00.730 --> 00:10:03.690 of kind of plated L .A. scene and landed squarely 00:10:03.690 --> 00:10:05.580 in the proto punk heart. land, Detroit. Their 00:10:05.580 --> 00:10:07.820 act resonated there. Perfectly. Their violent, 00:10:07.860 --> 00:10:09.980 aggressive, beer -fueled kind of anti -peace 00:10:09.980 --> 00:10:12.500 love act, it clicked. Detroit crowds, they were 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:14.480 used to the primal energy of the Stooges, the 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:16.960 MC5. Right. They immediately embraced Alice Cooper's 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:19.159 bizarre act. It just made sense there. Was that 00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:21.639 famous statement, we wanted to see what was next, 00:10:21.779 --> 00:10:24.139 we drove a stake through the heart of the love 00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:26.980 generation, was that truly descriptive of their 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:29.200 music or was it mainly just brilliant marketing? 00:10:29.419 --> 00:10:31.620 A way to separate themselves from the fading 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:33.899 hippie thing? You know, I think it was both and 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:36.100 that's probably why it works so powerfully. Their 00:10:36.100 --> 00:10:39.379 early music was aggressive, it was loud. But 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:43.059 the Stage Act was also a calculated, almost satirical 00:10:43.059 --> 00:10:45.519 rejection of the peace movement. They were into 00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:49.139 fun, sex, death, and money when everyone else 00:10:49.139 --> 00:10:50.879 was still, you know, talking about love and flowers. 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:54.480 That contrarian stance made them seem... Dangerous 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:57.500 and fresh. A necessary counterpoint to the counterculture, 00:10:57.539 --> 00:10:59.600 maybe. Yeah, that makes sense. And their ascent 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:01.600 really got formalized when they teamed up with 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:04.879 producer Bob Ezrin in the autumn of 1970. He 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:07.139 seems absolutely pivotal. Oh, Ezrin's impact 00:11:07.139 --> 00:11:09.360 cannot be overstated. He helped them structure 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:12.440 their sound, focus the chaos, love it to death, 00:11:12.539 --> 00:11:14.720 which was their final album under the Zappa contract. 00:11:14.940 --> 00:11:18.179 It yielded their first major success. The single, 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:21.419 I'm 18, packed the Billboard Hot 100. The breakthrough. 00:11:21.740 --> 00:11:24.610 Yeah. And when Warner Bros. bought their contract. 00:11:24.870 --> 00:11:27.509 They aggressively promoted that album, launching 00:11:27.509 --> 00:11:30.389 them into mainstream success. And Ezrin's commitment 00:11:30.389 --> 00:11:32.629 was long term. He ended up producing, what, 11 00:11:32.629 --> 00:11:35.629 total Alice Cooper albums. He shaped the narrative 00:11:35.629 --> 00:11:37.590 structure of the shows as much as the music. 00:11:37.789 --> 00:11:41.490 So by 1971, the stage show had fully formalized 00:11:41.490 --> 00:11:44.480 into this. this morality -based theatrical event. 00:11:44.580 --> 00:11:46.940 They were sporting those tight, sequined, color 00:11:46.940 --> 00:11:49.519 -contrasting, glam rock costumes. Courtesy of 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:51.279 fashion designer Cindy Dunaway, yeah. Right. 00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:54.059 And escalating the theatrics into a full narrative, 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:57.320 that androgynous persona was now, like, fully 00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:00.259 weaponized as a threat to societal norms. The 00:12:00.259 --> 00:12:02.840 music basically became the soundtrack to a full 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:05.100 -blown production. After the killer album in 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:07.460 71, the stage show incorporated genuine special 00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:10.399 effects, choreography, you had the famous mock 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:13.600 fights, the use of a live boa constrictor, the 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:16.700 gruesome chopping of bloody baby dolls with an 00:12:16.700 --> 00:12:19.740 axe, and it all culminated in that iconic staged 00:12:19.740 --> 00:12:22.039 execution either by electric chair or hanging. 00:12:22.419 --> 00:12:24.720 The shows were becoming truly cinematic in their 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:28.409 scope and detail. And then 1972, the anthem, 00:12:28.529 --> 00:12:30.090 the one that's still played on classic rock radio 00:12:30.090 --> 00:12:32.610 every single day, School's Out. Huge. Yeah. Absolutely 00:12:32.610 --> 00:12:36.049 huge. That single went to number one in the UK, 00:12:36.309 --> 00:12:39.330 top 10 in the US, secured them global success, 00:12:39.590 --> 00:12:41.909 cemented their place in rock history, period. 00:12:42.129 --> 00:12:44.149 And the commercial success was matched by massive 00:12:44.149 --> 00:12:47.470 controversy, right? Which Cooper brilliantly 00:12:47.470 --> 00:12:51.039 leveraged perfectly. Oh, yeah. In the UK. You 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:53.600 had the Christian morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse. 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:56.480 She successfully petitioned the BBC to ban the 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:58.960 video. Right. And this is the moment where Cooper's 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:01.980 genius as a publicist just shines. He didn't 00:13:01.980 --> 00:13:04.279 fight her. He sent her a large bouquet of flowers 00:13:04.279 --> 00:13:06.320 thanking her for the priceless publicity she 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:08.519 generated. He just understood that outrage was 00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:11.100 currency. Incredible. That genius for promotion 00:13:11.100 --> 00:13:13.100 carried them straight to their commercial peak 00:13:13.100 --> 00:13:16.059 in 1973 with Billion Dollar Babies, number one 00:13:16.059 --> 00:13:18.240 in both the U .S. and the U .K. Yep. And that 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:20.360 album featured the hit Elected, which... which 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:22.899 interestingly provided one of the very earliest 00:13:22.899 --> 00:13:26.039 examples of an MTV style high production storyline 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:28.659 promo video years ahead of the curve. They were 00:13:28.659 --> 00:13:31.720 really innovators. Absolutely. And the subsequent 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:34.460 mega tour was legendary. It broke box office 00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:36.480 records previously held by the Rolling Stones. 00:13:36.659 --> 00:13:38.639 And this is where the special effects reached 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:41.279 their ultimate peak of complexity. Like what? 00:13:41.690 --> 00:13:43.389 Well, the sources confirmed that the apparatus, 00:13:43.750 --> 00:13:46.190 the guillotine, the whole dental psychosis scene 00:13:46.190 --> 00:13:48.730 with giant dancing teeth, it was designed and 00:13:48.730 --> 00:13:50.950 built by the professional stage magician James 00:13:50.950 --> 00:13:54.690 Randi. The amazing Randi. Seriously. The very 00:13:54.690 --> 00:13:57.450 same. Sometimes he even appeared on stage playing 00:13:57.450 --> 00:14:00.220 the executioner role. This level of technical 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:02.879 complexity really proved they were serious theatrical 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:06.019 artists, not just, you know, loud musicians making 00:14:06.019 --> 00:14:08.360 a racket. But that relentless schedule, the grinding 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:10.399 nature of it all, it took its toll, didn't it? 00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:13.399 Muscle of Love in 73 was the final studio album 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:15.519 from that original classic lineup. Yeah, the 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:18.379 grueling nature of the tour. It's chronicled. 00:14:18.730 --> 00:14:20.950 Pretty unflatteringly, actually, in Bob Green's 00:14:20.950 --> 00:14:23.769 book, Billion Dollar Baby, it documents a group 00:14:23.769 --> 00:14:26.250 just plagued by total disharmony, exhaustion. 00:14:26.570 --> 00:14:28.929 Burnout. Total burnout. They agreed to what they 00:14:28.929 --> 00:14:32.009 publicly framed as a temporary hiatus in 1974. 00:14:32.710 --> 00:14:36.470 However, Vincent Frenier used this time to launch 00:14:36.470 --> 00:14:39.570 his solo career in 1975 with a concept album. 00:14:39.899 --> 00:14:43.279 Welcome to my nightmare. Ah, the split. And here's 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:46.179 the truly crucial legal and identity step to 00:14:46.179 --> 00:14:49.100 avoid any protracted legal complications over 00:14:49.100 --> 00:14:52.179 the band name. Furnier legally changed his name 00:14:52.179 --> 00:14:55.440 to Alice Cooper. Wow. The persona had officially... 00:14:55.690 --> 00:14:58.450 Legally Become the Man. Yeah. Hashtag Tag 5E. 00:14:58.529 --> 00:15:00.669 The Solo Journey, Nightmares, and the Blackout 00:15:00.669 --> 00:15:02.710 albums. So the solo career kicked off with a 00:15:02.710 --> 00:15:04.909 huge splash, right? Welcome to My Nightmare in 00:15:04.909 --> 00:15:08.309 1975. A detailed concept album based on the nightmares 00:15:08.309 --> 00:15:10.590 of this character named Steven. It was a massive 00:15:10.590 --> 00:15:12.629 undertaking. Huge. It featured the great horror 00:15:12.629 --> 00:15:14.990 movie star Vincent Price doing narration. Incredible. 00:15:14.990 --> 00:15:17.289 Plus Lou Reed's backing band providing the musical 00:15:17.289 --> 00:15:19.509 foundation. It was a major production. And the 00:15:19.509 --> 00:15:22.470 resulting stage show, the TV special, The Nightmare. 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:25.259 They set a new standard for rock theatricals, 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:27.279 didn't they? Absolutely. It was full concept 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:30.919 rock. It culminated in scenes like the decapitation 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:33.139 of an eight -foot -tall furry cyclops on stage. 00:15:33.820 --> 00:15:36.460 Cooper was now focused on crafting a single, 00:15:36.539 --> 00:15:39.799 cohesive, grand narrative performance. It was 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:42.779 far beyond the initial garage rock mayhem. Yet 00:15:42.779 --> 00:15:44.759 while he was expanding this artistic vision, 00:15:44.980 --> 00:15:48.200 the sources reveal his offstage life was... Well, 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:51.440 spiraling pretty rapidly in the 1970s. This was 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:54.200 the era he co -founded that legendary, maybe 00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:57.299 infamous, celebrity drinking club at the Rainbow 00:15:57.299 --> 00:15:59.659 Bar and Grill in West Hollywood. Ah, yes, the 00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:01.539 Hollywood Vampires. That's the one. And this 00:16:01.539 --> 00:16:04.259 brings us to the really serious and dark core 00:16:04.259 --> 00:16:07.539 of this period. The descent into severe, genuinely 00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:09.779 life -threatening alcoholism. Yeah. By 1977, 00:16:10.100 --> 00:16:12.159 the addiction was just overwhelming. The quantities 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:14.200 mentioned are staggering. Yeah. The sheer volume 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:16.899 of alcohol he was consuming daily. The sources 00:16:16.899 --> 00:16:19.419 mention rumors of up to two cases of Budweiser 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:21.460 and a bottle of Seagram's seven -crown whiskey 00:16:21.460 --> 00:16:24.500 every day. That's unsustainable, just physically. 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:26.679 Totally unsustainable. It was a crisis of existence, 00:16:26.820 --> 00:16:29.179 really. So he recognized the danger. He checked 00:16:29.179 --> 00:16:32.590 himself into a sanitarium. He did. And the amazing 00:16:32.590 --> 00:16:35.389 twist here is that this profoundly difficult 00:16:35.389 --> 00:16:38.929 experience became the direct inspiration for 00:16:38.929 --> 00:16:41.750 his 1978 album, From the Inside. Right, the one 00:16:41.750 --> 00:16:43.470 he co -wrote with Bernie Taupin. Elton John's 00:16:43.470 --> 00:16:46.370 famous lyricist, yeah. And the subsequent tour 00:16:46.370 --> 00:16:48.610 was based entirely inside the setting of an asylum. 00:16:48.950 --> 00:16:51.610 He turned his trauma into art again. But the 00:16:51.610 --> 00:16:54.129 struggle wasn't over, was it? No, not at all. 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:57.559 What's so artistically fascinating, and I guess 00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:00.759 personally tragic, about this era is how the 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:02.980 lines between the persona and the man just completely 00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:05.680 collapsed under the pressure of addiction. His 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.519 behavior wasn't really satire anymore. It was 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:10.059 genuine self -destruction. And this instability 00:17:10.059 --> 00:17:12.460 led directly into the era known as the Blackout 00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:15.039 albums in the early 1980s. And this wasn't just 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:17.460 like a tough creative period. Cooper himself 00:17:17.460 --> 00:17:19.380 later confessed he literally cannot remember 00:17:19.380 --> 00:17:21.839 recording these records because of a severe cocaine 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:24.119 addiction at the time. A whole decade lost to 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:26.660 memory. It's chilling. The sources list these 00:17:26.660 --> 00:17:28.819 albums as Flesh to Fashion in 80s, Special Forces 00:17:28.819 --> 00:17:31.799 in 81, Zipper Catch a Skin in 82, and Data in 00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:34.720 83. And the music reflected the chaos. Completely. 00:17:35.099 --> 00:17:37.559 Flush the Fashion, in particular, profoundly 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:41.019 baffled longtime fans. They expected stadium 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:43.799 hard rock, right? Instead, they got this edgy, 00:17:43.819 --> 00:17:48.039 minimalist, synth -heavy new wave sound. Jagged. 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:50.680 Disconnected. A total curveball. Huge curveball. 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:53.720 Though it did produce the U .S. Top 40 hit. Clones, 00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:56.720 for all. But yeah, the musical pivot was definitely 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:59.140 driven by instability. And the personal crisis, 00:17:59.380 --> 00:18:02.460 it came to a head by mid -1983 after Deda. Yeah, 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:05.339 he was hospitalized again, this time with a severe 00:18:05.339 --> 00:18:08.400 diagnosis, alcoholism and cirrhosis of the liver. 00:18:09.130 --> 00:18:11.210 The doctors were deeply concerned about his survival. 00:18:11.410 --> 00:18:13.769 This sounds like rock bottom. It really does. 00:18:14.009 --> 00:18:16.569 But his recovery story is genuinely one of the 00:18:16.569 --> 00:18:19.130 most powerful narratives in rock history. He 00:18:19.130 --> 00:18:20.950 credits his commitment to his Christian faith 00:18:20.950 --> 00:18:23.289 for a recovery that doctors actually labeled 00:18:23.289 --> 00:18:25.609 miraculous. Wow. He stated that his addiction 00:18:25.609 --> 00:18:28.170 was literally taken away by Jesus Christ. And 00:18:28.170 --> 00:18:31.029 this commitment, it proved utterly durable. He 00:18:31.029 --> 00:18:33.309 has remained completely sober ever since. That's 00:18:33.309 --> 00:18:35.450 incredible. This transformation, this newfound 00:18:35.450 --> 00:18:37.549 stability, it allowed the artist to return to 00:18:37.549 --> 00:18:40.410 his craft. but now with a solid foundation. Which 00:18:40.410 --> 00:18:43.650 fueled a major mid-'80s revival, right? He signed 00:18:43.650 --> 00:18:46.130 with MCA Records. Yep, released Constrictor in 00:18:46.130 --> 00:18:48.470 86. That included the theme song, He's Back, 00:18:48.650 --> 00:18:51.410 The Man Behind the Mask, for the movie Friday 00:18:51.410 --> 00:18:55.589 the 13th, Part 6. Jason Lives. Couldn't be better. 00:18:55.730 --> 00:18:57.690 And that was followed by Raise Your Fist and 00:18:57.690 --> 00:19:02.309 Yell in 87. And the tours, The Nightmare Returns, 00:19:02.309 --> 00:19:04.809 they went back to being controversial. Oh, yeah. 00:19:05.230 --> 00:19:07.549 Big time. They were heavily influenced by the 00:19:07.549 --> 00:19:09.950 contemporary slasher horror film movement, which 00:19:09.950 --> 00:19:12.369 caused massive controversy, especially in Europe. 00:19:12.670 --> 00:19:15.970 The show included really realistic mock violence, 00:19:16.190 --> 00:19:19.410 lots of gore, which led to a British Labour MP, 00:19:19.569 --> 00:19:21.710 David Blunkett, calling for the show to be banned 00:19:21.710 --> 00:19:24.329 outright in Britain. He said Cooper's behavior 00:19:24.329 --> 00:19:26.690 goes beyond the bounds of entertainment. Vintage 00:19:26.690 --> 00:19:29.690 Cooper. Still provoking genuine moral outrage 00:19:29.690 --> 00:19:32.670 even then. Absolutely. And interestingly, the 00:19:32.670 --> 00:19:35.329 German government actually successfully pressured 00:19:35.329 --> 00:19:37.789 the promoters to remove some of the gorier segments 00:19:37.789 --> 00:19:39.849 of the show there. But the danger wasn't all 00:19:39.849 --> 00:19:41.869 manufactured, was it? There was that accident 00:19:41.869 --> 00:19:44.829 in 88. Right. A near fatal accident. During a 00:19:44.829 --> 00:19:46.490 rehearsal of his signature hanging execution 00:19:46.490 --> 00:19:49.490 sequence, a safety rope broke. He was nearly 00:19:49.490 --> 00:19:52.390 asphyxiated for real. Terrifying. A horrifying 00:19:52.390 --> 00:19:54.670 reminder of the real risks involved in that level 00:19:54.670 --> 00:19:57.390 of theatricality. Definitely. His biggest commercial 00:19:57.390 --> 00:20:00.410 comeback, though, arguably arrived in 1989 when 00:20:00.410 --> 00:20:02.750 he signed with Epic Records. The album Trash, 00:20:02.829 --> 00:20:07.029 produced by the hitmaker Desmond Child. Oh, Desmond 00:20:07.029 --> 00:20:10.329 Child knew his way around a hit. He certainly 00:20:10.329 --> 00:20:13.150 did. That partnership led to the global smash 00:20:13.150 --> 00:20:15.829 hit Poison, number two in the UK, number seven 00:20:15.829 --> 00:20:17.950 in the US. It absolutely cemented his return 00:20:17.950 --> 00:20:20.460 to the mainstream. Alice was back. So moving 00:20:20.460 --> 00:20:22.920 into the 1990s, Cooper's role seemed to shift 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:25.220 a bit, didn't it? From being purely a shock artist 00:20:25.220 --> 00:20:27.859 to maybe more of a clever cultural satirist. 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:30.299 I think that's right. The 1991 Career Chronicle 00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:32.900 video, Prime Cuts, catching this perfectly. It 00:20:32.900 --> 00:20:35.680 features producer Bob Ezrin summing up the enduring 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:39.099 persona. He says, he is the psycho killer in 00:20:39.099 --> 00:20:41.599 all of us. He's the perpetrator. He's the victim. 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:44.000 It showed a recognition that he was using this 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:47.539 high concept horror to explore deeper moral themes. 00:20:47.950 --> 00:20:50.910 And nothing crystallized the public's understanding 00:20:50.910 --> 00:20:54.349 of that dual nature, the terrifying artist versus 00:20:54.349 --> 00:20:57.470 the witty intellectual better than his iconic 00:20:57.470 --> 00:21:00.250 cameo in Wayne's World in 1992. Oh, that scene 00:21:00.250 --> 00:21:02.470 is just a masterpiece of cultural recognition, 00:21:02.670 --> 00:21:05.210 isn't it? Totally. The main characters, Wayne 00:21:05.210 --> 00:21:07.410 and Garth, they watch him perform the violent 00:21:07.410 --> 00:21:11.069 Feed My Frankenstein, totally in awe. And they 00:21:11.069 --> 00:21:14.029 meet him backstage and he's this calm, highly 00:21:14.029 --> 00:21:16.869 articulate intellectual. Who proceeds to discuss 00:21:16.869 --> 00:21:19.180 Milwaukee. walkie history in depth. Yeah. And 00:21:19.180 --> 00:21:21.259 their reaction, kneeling down, chanting, we're 00:21:21.259 --> 00:21:24.000 not worthy, we're not worthy. It instantly became 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.500 this massive pop culture moment. It did because 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:28.880 it highlighted the absurdity of the caricature 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:31.640 compared to the genuine articulate man behind 00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:33.940 it. It sort of allowed the audience to enjoy 00:21:33.940 --> 00:21:36.059 the shock, knowing the intellect was firmly in 00:21:36.059 --> 00:21:38.339 control. So let's unpack the artistry a bit more. 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:39.940 His foundational influences, they're actually 00:21:39.940 --> 00:21:42.740 broader than many people probably realize. Oh, 00:21:42.759 --> 00:21:45.079 yeah. He cites a profound debt. to the British 00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:47.359 invasion bands. You know, the Yardbirds, the 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:50.460 Beatles, the Who, the Rolling Stones. He often 00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:52.900 told interviewers that contemporary rock artists 00:21:52.900 --> 00:21:56.220 had forgotten to listen to the Beatles. But the 00:21:56.220 --> 00:21:58.539 truly defining influence on the shock component 00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:01.650 specifically. That was Arthur Brown. I am the 00:22:01.650 --> 00:22:04.369 god of hellfire. That's the one. Cooper saw Brown 00:22:04.369 --> 00:22:07.829 perform his 1968 song, Fire, wearing black and 00:22:07.829 --> 00:22:10.369 white corpse paint and famously a burning headpiece. 00:22:10.670 --> 00:22:13.049 Cooper described the moment as being like all 00:22:13.049 --> 00:22:15.730 my Halloweens came at once. He realized right 00:22:15.730 --> 00:22:19.910 then that theatricality, costume, fire, it could 00:22:19.910 --> 00:22:22.569 elevate the entire rock experience beyond just 00:22:22.569 --> 00:22:24.890 the music. And the list of unlikely celebrity 00:22:24.890 --> 00:22:28.210 fans is incredible too. Gricho Marx, Make West. 00:22:28.430 --> 00:22:30.880 Yeah. Both reportedly saw his early shows, and 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:33.140 they viewed them not as rock concerts, but as 00:22:33.140 --> 00:22:36.400 a modern, high -concept vaudeville review. They 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:38.559 recognized the sheer showmanship involved. That's 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:40.420 amazing recognition. And then, of course, the 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:42.440 pivotal connection to the surrealist art world, 00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:45.529 Salvador Dali. Right. Dali was a fan. a huge 00:22:45.529 --> 00:22:49.630 fan. He attended a show in 1973 and was so captivated, 00:22:49.690 --> 00:22:52.450 he immediately described it as surrealist. Dali 00:22:52.450 --> 00:22:54.869 was so taken by the visual chaos that he created 00:22:54.869 --> 00:22:58.269 a hologram of Cooper's brain titled First Cylindric 00:22:58.269 --> 00:23:00.730 Chromal Hologram Portrait of Alice Cooper's Brain. 00:23:00.849 --> 00:23:03.609 A hologram of his brain, only Dali. Exactly. 00:23:03.769 --> 00:23:06.049 And for the band, remember, these were art students 00:23:06.049 --> 00:23:08.349 originally, having their work validated by the 00:23:08.349 --> 00:23:11.309 master of surrealism himself. That was the ultimate 00:23:11.309 --> 00:23:13.710 critical approval. Proof that they had successfully 00:23:13.710 --> 00:23:16.769 merged high art and low culture. Even Bob Dylan 00:23:16.769 --> 00:23:18.809 apparently called him an overlooked songwriter. 00:23:18.910 --> 00:23:21.940 High praise indeed. And his activity, it never 00:23:21.940 --> 00:23:24.160 really waned in the 2000s and beyond, did it? 00:23:24.279 --> 00:23:26.880 Not at all. We saw a return to heavier, more 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:29.380 industrial rock with albums like Brutal Planet 00:23:29.380 --> 00:23:32.579 in 2000 and Dragontown in 2001, which surprisingly 00:23:32.579 --> 00:23:35.220 perhaps explored themes directly connected to 00:23:35.220 --> 00:23:37.480 his born -again Christian faith. That's a fascinating 00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:40.059 turn. Yeah. He also co -founded the supergroup 00:23:40.059 --> 00:23:42.680 Hollywood Vampires in 2015 with Johnny Depp and 00:23:42.680 --> 00:23:46.220 Joe Perry. Still rockin'. And his career longevity 00:23:46.220 --> 00:23:49.119 keeps delivering these wonderful cultural moments. 00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:52.180 Like in 2018, he got rave reviews for playing 00:23:52.180 --> 00:23:55.359 Herod in NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar live in 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:58.039 concert. Yeah, people loved his magnificently 00:23:58.039 --> 00:24:00.500 scenery -chewing performance. And we absolutely 00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:02.559 have to mention the ultimate full -circle moment 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:06.420 just announced. April 2025, the original Alice 00:24:06.420 --> 00:24:08.740 Cooper band members, Bruce, Dunaway, and Smith, 00:24:08.900 --> 00:24:11.240 they reunited for the revenge of Alice Cooper. 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:14.339 their first full band studio album in over 50 00:24:14.339 --> 00:24:17.839 years. Incredible. After everything. Wow. So 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:20.660 circling back to the man behind the makeup, his 00:24:20.660 --> 00:24:22.859 personal stability seems really centered on his 00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:25.180 marriage to Cheryl Goddard. Absolutely. She was 00:24:25.180 --> 00:24:26.960 a ballerina instructor and choreographer in his 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:31.000 show from 75 to 82. They married in 1976. And 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:33.140 despite a brief divorce filing back in 1983, 00:24:33.660 --> 00:24:35.700 during his absolute deepest addiction struggles, 00:24:35.859 --> 00:24:37.720 they reconciled. Still together today. That's 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:40.019 rare in rock and roll. It really is. They built 00:24:40.019 --> 00:24:42.809 a deep partnership. Cooper has often stated that 00:24:42.809 --> 00:24:44.990 they have a life pact, clarifying some recent 00:24:44.990 --> 00:24:47.410 headlines about a death pact. But maybe more 00:24:47.410 --> 00:24:49.710 significantly, his hard -won sobriety has made 00:24:49.710 --> 00:24:51.829 him a mentor figure. Right, helping other musicians. 00:24:52.109 --> 00:24:54.609 Yeah, he actively counsels other musicians grappling 00:24:54.609 --> 00:24:58.190 with addiction. Notably, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, 00:24:58.269 --> 00:25:01.130 who actually calls Cooper his godfather. Cooper 00:25:01.130 --> 00:25:03.470 received the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for this 00:25:03.470 --> 00:25:06.029 crucial work back in 2008. That's fantastic. 00:25:06.150 --> 00:25:08.390 And replacing that severe alcohol addiction we 00:25:08.390 --> 00:25:11.319 mentioned earlier. Golf. Golf. The sources confirm 00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:13.799 it. He credits the sport as a critical element 00:25:13.799 --> 00:25:17.019 in maintaining his sobriety and structure. Plays 00:25:17.019 --> 00:25:19.359 six days a week. Apparently maintains a surprising 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:22.359 handicap of four. A handicap of four. That's 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:25.000 serious golf. Very serious. He even authored 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:27.700 the autobiography Alice Cooper, Golf Monster. 00:25:28.190 --> 00:25:30.549 Amazing. This discipline and stability, though, 00:25:30.609 --> 00:25:32.470 it raises an important question about the character 00:25:32.470 --> 00:25:34.890 versus the man, doesn't it? Particularly concerning 00:25:34.890 --> 00:25:37.470 his longstanding philosophy that politics should 00:25:37.470 --> 00:25:39.769 never be mixed with rock music. Yeah, he has 00:25:39.769 --> 00:25:43.309 consistently described himself as extremely nonpolitical 00:25:43.309 --> 00:25:46.190 and a moderate. And he's historically been quite 00:25:46.190 --> 00:25:48.430 vocal in criticizing musicians who use their 00:25:48.430 --> 00:25:50.930 platforms for political campaigning. Yeah. I 00:25:50.930 --> 00:25:53.170 remember in 2004, he called musicians campaigning 00:25:53.170 --> 00:25:56.170 for Democrat John Kerry treason against rock 00:25:56.170 --> 00:25:59.539 and roll. He did. He suggested that if he hadn't 00:25:59.539 --> 00:26:01.700 already been a Bush supporter, he would have 00:26:01.700 --> 00:26:04.220 switched his allegiance simply based on who was 00:26:04.220 --> 00:26:07.880 campaigning for Kerry. A strong statement. Very 00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:10.220 strong. And we have to report impartially on 00:26:10.220 --> 00:26:12.960 his more recent public commentary, just drawing 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:15.339 from the source material we have, even when it 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:19.160 seems to, well, maybe contradict his stated nonpolitical 00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:22.980 philosophy. Right. In 2023, he made remarks in 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:25.420 an interview concerning the transgender community 00:26:25.420 --> 00:26:29.220 calling gender affirming care a fad, which subsequently 00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:31.200 resulted in the loss of a cosmetics branding 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:34.180 deal for him. OK. And furthermore, in a 2025 00:26:34.180 --> 00:26:36.839 interview, he expressed specific support for 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:39.259 Donald Trump. Yes. The sources quote him claiming 00:26:39.259 --> 00:26:41.940 that America had gotten so woke under the Biden 00:26:41.940 --> 00:26:44.119 administration that the pendulum swung back. 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:46.920 And he explicitly finished that thought by saying 00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:49.460 that in a major confrontation. you don't want 00:26:49.460 --> 00:26:51.680 a poodle, you want a pit bull, direct quote. 00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:54.579 So these recent public stances, regardless of 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:57.319 your personal view on them, they clearly show 00:26:57.319 --> 00:26:59.599 his willingness now to speak out on social and 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:02.700 political topics, even while maybe still maintaining 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:04.619 that official position that rock and politics 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:06.839 should remain separate. It just adds another 00:27:06.839 --> 00:27:09.440 layer of complexity, doesn't it? To a man who, 00:27:09.559 --> 00:27:12.500 despite maybe his best efforts to be just an 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:14.740 entertainer, finds himself continually drawn 00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:17.220 into the wider cultural discourse. It certainly 00:27:17.220 --> 00:27:19.519 does. He remains a fascinating figure. Hashtag 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:21.599 tag take six. Outro and provocative thought. 00:27:21.819 --> 00:27:25.720 Wow. What an extensive and truly complex journey 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:27.960 we've covered today. We tracked him all the way 00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:31.059 from a Detroit shock artist who literally leveraged 00:27:31.059 --> 00:27:33.259 a chicken accident into a career through that 00:27:33.259 --> 00:27:36.079 incredibly dangerous day. decade of severe addiction 00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:39.859 to his current role as, well, a sober, dedicated 00:27:39.859 --> 00:27:43.079 family man, a world class golfer and a mentor 00:27:43.079 --> 00:27:45.619 to struggling musicians. It really is the ultimate 00:27:45.619 --> 00:27:48.440 paradox, isn't it? A man who maintains this terrifying, 00:27:48.700 --> 00:27:51.519 satirical persona while living a remarkably disciplined 00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:54.519 and frankly, constructive life off stage. Absolutely. 00:27:54.660 --> 00:27:57.140 What stands out most profoundly, I think, from 00:27:57.140 --> 00:28:00.500 this deep dive is Cooper's unparalleled ability 00:28:00.500 --> 00:28:03.380 to synthesize high and low culture just masterfully. 00:28:03.500 --> 00:28:06.069 Yeah, he married vaudeville with horror. put 00:28:06.069 --> 00:28:09.410 surrealist art directly into glam rock, and somehow 00:28:09.410 --> 00:28:13.009 utilized his evangelical roots to craft this 00:28:13.009 --> 00:28:16.509 enduring anti -heroic stage presence. The character 00:28:16.509 --> 00:28:18.950 of Alice Cooper remains this masterful construction, 00:28:19.269 --> 00:28:22.190 a monster designed by an intellectual who is 00:28:22.190 --> 00:28:25.150 always, always fully in command of his craft. 00:28:25.410 --> 00:28:27.309 And he literally had to become his character, 00:28:27.390 --> 00:28:29.430 didn't he? Legally changing his name to Alice 00:28:29.430 --> 00:28:31.789 Cooper just to survive professionally. Precisely. 00:28:32.190 --> 00:28:34.250 Which brings us to the final provocative thought 00:28:34.250 --> 00:28:36.730 for you, our listener, to chew on. Okay, let's 00:28:36.730 --> 00:28:38.470 hear it. Given that Vincent Furnier, the man, 00:28:38.549 --> 00:28:40.950 explicitly credits Jesus Christ for his miraculous 00:28:40.950 --> 00:28:43.309 sobriety and gall for his physical and mental 00:28:43.309 --> 00:28:45.690 balance, does the character of Alice Cooper now 00:28:45.690 --> 00:28:49.109 function less as that wild rock villain exploiting 00:28:49.109 --> 00:28:51.789 the audience's dark side? And more as? And more 00:28:51.789 --> 00:28:55.109 as a highly stylized, maybe even satirical cautionary 00:28:55.109 --> 00:28:58.250 tale. Perhaps even a self -critique of the very 00:28:58.250 --> 00:29:01.910 destructive excesses that he the man, so successfully 00:29:01.910 --> 00:29:05.569 overcame. Is Alice now warning us about the nightmare 00:29:05.569 --> 00:29:08.029 he survived? That's a fascinating way to look 00:29:08.029 --> 00:29:10.309 at it. The monster as a warning. Lots to think 00:29:10.309 --> 00:29:11.730 about there. Thank you for joining us on the 00:29:11.730 --> 00:29:12.170 Deep Dive.