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Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier,
February 4, 1948), is a heavy metal singer and musician. Alice Cooper was
originally just the name of Furnier's band. Furnier officially changed his
own name to Alice Cooper for a successful solo career.
Furnier, of French ancestry, born in Detroit and heavily influenced
by The Beatles, formed a number of rock bands in the 1960s, including the
Earwigs, The Spiders, and The Nazz. Furnier, upon learning that Todd
Rundgren also had a band called the Nazz, changed the band's name to Alice
Cooper, which at that time included guitarist Mike Bruce, guitarist Glen
Buxton, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith. After moving to
California in 1968, the band enlisted Shep Gordon as their manager, and the
band was soon signed to Frank Zappa's label, Straight Records - releasing
two competent but outlandish albums, Pretties For You and Easy Action, to a
frosty public and critical reception.
Although the band incorporated theatrics in their stage act from the
outset, a chance case of press misreporting an unfortunate, unrehearsed
stage routine involving Alice and a live chicken led to the band changing
tack - capitalising on tabloid sensationalism and creating a new sub-genre,
shock rock.
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