Alice Cooper Pg. 2

  The 1970s (continued)

In 1971, Alice Cooper released Love It to Death, the band's first commercial success. Featuring "I'm Eighteen," the album captured the uncertainty, frustration, and rebellion of adolescence with remarkable honesty. Teenagers immediately connected with the song, turning it into Alice Cooper's first major hit. After years of struggling for recognition, the band suddenly found itself on the national stage.

Later that year, Killer established Alice Cooper as one of America's fastest-rising rock acts. Songs such as "Under My Wheels," "Be My Lover," and "Halo of Flies" demonstrated the band's growing confidence, while the accompanying concerts became increasingly elaborate. During one performance, Alice appeared to be executed in an electric chair. At another, he performed while wrapped in a live Burmese python. The shocking visuals generated enormous publicity, much of it from people who had never actually attended a concert.

Not everyone appreciated the act. Religious organizations, community leaders, and concerned parents frequently protested Alice Cooper performances, accusing the band of glorifying violence, horror, and the occult. Vincent often responded with humor, explaining that his concerts were no different than horror movies. Their purpose was to entertain audiences, not frighten them into believing what they saw was real. The controversy only made the band more popular.

Then, in 1972, School's Out transformed Alice Cooper into international stars. The title track became an anthem for generations of students celebrating the end of each school year. Its unforgettable chorus, combined with the band's explosive live performances, propelled the album to enormous commercial success. The original LP even included a pair of cardboard school desk legs that folded around the cover, reinforcing the band's commitment to theatrical presentation beyond the music itself.

By now, Vincent Furnier and Alice Cooper were becoming inseparable. Onstage, Alice Cooper was arrogant, sinister, unpredictable, and impossible to ignore. Offstage, Vincent was thoughtful, intelligent, soft-spoken, and known for his dry sense of humor. The contrast fascinated journalists, many of whom were surprised to discover that the man behind rock's most notorious villain was polite, articulate, and genuinely likable.

In 1973, Billion Dollar Babies elevated the band to the very top of the rock world. The album topped the charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom and produced classics including "No More Mr. Nice Guy," "Elected," and the title track. The accompanying Billion Dollar Babies Tour became one of the most elaborate stage productions rock audiences had ever witnessed, featuring giant props, choreographed executions, and Alice's now-famous guillotine illusion. Carefully engineered and extensively rehearsed, the effect became one of the defining images of his career.

Despite the success, cracks had begun to appear within the band. Years of relentless touring, recording, and constant pressure gradually strained relationships among the five original members. At the same time, Vincent's drinking became increasingly heavy. What had begun as part of the rock-and-roll lifestyle slowly developed into a serious addiction.

In 1974, the band released Muscle of Love. Although commercially successful, it failed to equal the extraordinary impact of Billion Dollar Babies. Creative differences and exhaustion continued to grow, and after nearly a decade together, the partnership that had begun in a Phoenix high school talent show was nearing its end.

In 1975, the original Alice Cooper band dissolved. Rather than retiring the name, Vincent legally changed his own name to Alice Cooper, allowing him to continue as a solo artist while honoring the identity he had helped create.

His first solo album, Welcome to My Nightmare, proved that the theatrical concept could thrive beyond the original lineup. Produced by Bob Ezrin, the album followed the nightmares of a character named Steven and became one of the defining concept albums of the decade. Songs including "Only Women Bleed," "Department of Youth," and the title track helped establish Alice as one of rock's most imaginative storytellers, while the accompanying tour raised the bar once again for theatrical concert productions.

Away from the spotlight, Alice's personal life entered a happier chapter. On March 20, 1976, he married dancer and choreographer Sheryl Goddard, whom he had met while she was performing in his stage production for Welcome to My Nightmare. Sheryl continued contributing to Alice's stage shows over the years, and their marriage would become one of the longest-lasting and most admired relationships in rock music.

Later in 1976, Alice released Alice Cooper Goes to Hell, a theatrical sequel of sorts to Welcome to My Nightmare. During the album's creation, he began working with lyricist Bernie Taupin, whose longtime partnership with Elton John had already produced some of rock's most celebrated songs. Taupin's dramatic storytelling proved an excellent match for Alice's theatrical imagination, beginning a collaboration that would continue on future projects.

In 1977, Alice released Lace and Whiskey, which blended hard rock with influences from film noir and classic Hollywood. The hit single "You and Me" showed a more melodic side of his songwriting, but behind the scenes his alcoholism continued to worsen. The pressures of constant touring, recording, and maintaining the Alice Cooper persona were taking an increasingly heavy toll.

Realizing he needed help, Alice voluntarily admitted himself to the Cornell Medical Center in New York later that year for treatment for alcoholism. Rather than hiding the experience, he drew inspiration from it.

Released in 1978, From the Inside reunited Alice with Bernie Taupin and transformed his experiences in rehabilitation into one of the most personal albums of his career. Inspired by many of the people he had met during treatment, the songs blended humor, empathy, and honesty in a way that few listeners expected from rock's master of horror theatrics.

Recovery, however, was not a straight path. Although treatment helped, maintaining sobriety remained a daily struggle. As the decade drew to a close, Alice continued battling addiction while balancing a successful solo career with a happy marriage that would provide the stability he desperately needed in the years ahead.

The 1970s transformed Vincent Furnier from the singer of an obscure Phoenix band into one of the world's most recognizable rock performers. He helped invent theatrical rock, redefined what audiences expected from a live concert, survived the breakup of his original band, launched a successful solo career, and began confronting the personal demons that threatened everything he had built. The challenges awaiting him in the next decade would prove even greater than those he had already overcome.

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