Who I Am: The Godfather of Shock Rock

Top hat, black eye make-up, a snake round the neck: you know the look. Here's a short guide to me and the band behind it, for new listeners and old ones.

Where did it start?

I was born Vincent Furnier in Detroit in 1948 and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1964 my school friends at Cortez High and I formed a band for a talent show. We were the Earwigs, then the Spiders, then Nazz, and in 1968 we became Alice Cooper. The original five were me on vocals, Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce on guitars, Dennis Dunaway on bass and Neal Smith on drums.

Which records made the name?

• Love It to Death (1971): home of "I'm Eighteen", the breakthrough.
• School's Out (1972): the title song went Top 10 in the US and No. 1 in the UK.
• Billion Dollar Babies (1973): No. 1 in the US and the UK.
• Welcome to My Nightmare (1975): my first solo album.
• Trash (1989): with "Poison", a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

Why "shock rock"?

Because the show was theatre. Over the years the stage held an electric chair, a boa constrictor, gallows and a guillotine. That's why I'm called the Godfather of Shock Rock.

What has happened lately?

The original band joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. I released Road in 2023, and in July 2025 Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith returned for The Revenge of Alice Cooper, with recordings by the late Glen Buxton.

Want to wear a piece of that story? Shop the Alice Cooper collection.