Alice Cooper

Songwriter: Neal Smith Dennis Dunaway Alice Cooper Glen Buxton Michael Bruce

Producer: Bob Ezrin

Please clean the plate, dear
The Lord up there can see ya
Don't you know people are starving in Korea?
Alcohol and razor blades and poisons and needles
Kindergarten people - they use 'em, they need 'em
The over-indulgent machines were their children
There wasn't a way down on Earth there to cool 'em
'Cause they look just like humans at Kresges and Woolworths
But decadent brains were at work to destroy
Brats in battalions were ruling the streets
Sayin' generation landslide close the gap between 'em

And I laugh to myself at the men and the ladies
Who never conceived of us billion dollar babies
Lada da da da

Militant mothers hiding in the basement
Using pots and pans as their shields and their helmets
Molotov milk bottles thrown from pink high chairs
As Mothers' Lib burned birth certificate papers

And I laugh to myself at the men and the ladies
Who never conceived of us billion dollar babies
Lada da da da

Alice Cooper is the stage name and ‘fun villain’ character of Vincent Furnier. Cooper became the target of parents and ministers for his dark lyrics and gory theatrical performances that earned him the title Godfather of Shock Rock. Despite once claiming the name was conjured from a ouija board that told him he’s the reincarnation of a 17th century witch, Cooper laughs the topic off with flippant answers like “It was either a Scrabble board or a bowl of alphabet soup” and “I didn’t want a name like Iron Butterfly or Black Sabbath. I wanted it to be something your aunt might be called.”

The band Alice Cooper was originally signed by Frank Zappa to his own record label. Their first notoriety came when Cooper tossed a wayward chicken (possibly arranged by long-time manager Shep Gordon) into the crowd, who then tore it apart at the 1969 Toronto Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival Festival. Newspapers claimed he’d bit the bird’s head off and drank its blood. Zappa advised them to not deny the story and Cooper used it as inspiration to make his character darker.

The band’s teaming with producer Bob Ezrin for their third album Love It To Death led to their US breakthrough with a top 30 hit “I’m Eighteen” in early 1971. By then, the band was already infamous for their stage show, which had escalated into simulated torture and executions. That same year, Killer was released with its two singles “Under My Wheels” and “Be My Lover” finding moderate US success, and both albums being certified gold the following year.

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Billion Dollar Babies

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Billion Dollar Babies (1973)

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Billion Dollar Babies