Alice Cooper

Released: June 25, 1969

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

Producer: Herb Cohen Ian Underwood Frank Zappa Alice Cooper

I got my invitation to the annual levity ball
Seeing the location is within the mirrored room
Walking in my room I found I had nothing to find
I got into my evening wear and left my clothes behind
I sat down at the stairway seven hours at a time
Writing all of this poetry that I knew would never rhyme
The memory I know I must have had when I came in
Was of somewhere and places I'd never ever been
And then in came a cake all decorated in my name
With four paper brown candles are all spelling out this name
The clock was passing out from time to time
I saw it all at the beginning of the ending of my first levity ball

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.

more tracks from the album

Pretties for You

From the album

Pretties for You (1969)

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Pretties for You