When I heard that KISS were among the nominees up for induction into this year's class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, I just about fell outta' my chair. I mean, KISS? I've got two words for you, Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: Alice Cooper.
Sure, KISS sold more records and enjoyed a longer run on top, but Alice Cooper provided the blueprint for not only Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter's act, but for the countless other theatrically based "shock-rock" bands that have come since — from Twisted Sister and Motley Crue, to Slipknot and Marilyn Manson. Most, if not all of these bands owe their very existence to Alice Cooper — a fact that many of them readily will admit to being true. At least, the smart ones will.
Beginning with the album Love It To Death, the original Alice Cooper band had a short, but phenomenal run as the biggest rock and roll act in the world in the early seventies, with a string of albums that also included Killer, Schools Out, and Billion Dollar Babies.
During this time, Alice Cooper also revolutionized the idea of rock and roll as theatre. Their elaborate stage shows revolved around the twisted, mascaraed Alice — a uni-sexual character straight out of your worst slasher-film nightmare, who ultimately paid for his crimes with onstage executions that included the electric chair, beheadings and hangings. Alice Cooper were universally reviled by parents, politicians, and the religious right as a result of these shows. Naturally, the fans loved them all the more for it.
After the breakup of the original band, Alice himself enjoyed sporadic success as a solo artist with albums like Welcome To My Nightmare — but with successors like KISS taking the greasepaint and the rock theatre a step further — things were never quite the same again.
It's high time the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame rightfully recognize the band who paved the way for KISS and others like them. Michael Bruce, Neal Smith, Dennis Dunaway, the late Glenn Buxton, and of course Alice Cooper himself. Members of the Academy (or whatever you call yourselves), I submit to you the original Alice Cooper Band.
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