Editing Alice Cooper (section)

===Alice Cooper band in 1970s: 1970–1975===
[[File:Alice Cooper.jpg|thumb|left|Cooper performing in 1972]]
Despite the publicity from the chicken incident, the band's second studio album, ''[[Easy Action]]'', produced by [[David Briggs (record producer)|David Briggs]] and released in June 1970, fared even worse than its predecessor, entirely failing to chart within the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Top 200. Around this time, fed up with Californians' indifference to their act, they relocated to [[Pontiac, Michigan]], where their bizarre stage act was much better received by [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern]] crowds accustomed to the [[proto-punk]] styles of local bands such as [[the Stooges]] and [[the MC5]]. Despite this, Cooper still managed to receive a cream [[pieing|pie in the face]] when performing at the [[Midsummer Rock|Cincinnati Pop Festival]]. Michigan would remain their steady home base until 1972. "L.A. just didn't get it," Cooper stated. "They were all on the wrong drug for us. They were on acid and we were basically drinking beer. We fit much more in Detroit than we did anywhere else."<ref name="metrotimes">{{cite news |url=http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=5479 |date=October 8, 2003 |title=Alice doesn't live here anymore. But he can't forget the Motor City. |first=Serene |last=Dominic |work=[[Metro Times]] |access-date=July 15, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912153257/http://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/alice-doesnt-live-here-anymore/Content?oid=2177177 |archive-date=September 12, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Alice Cooper appeared at the [[Woodstock]]-esque [[Strawberry Fields (Canadian festival)|Strawberry Fields Festival]] near [[Toronto]], Ontario, in August 1970. The band's mix of glam and increasingly violent stage theatrics stood out in stark contrast to the bearded, denim-clad hippie bands of the time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roctober.com/roctober/behindthemusic3.html |title=Behind the Music Episode Guide, Part 3 |website=Roctober.com |access-date=April 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215152956/http://www.roctober.com/roctober/behindthemusic3.html |archive-date=February 15, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> As Cooper himself stated: "We were into fun, sex, death and money when everybody was into peace and love. We wanted to see what was next. It turned out we were next, and we drove a stake through the heart of the Love Generation".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Death Proclamation of Generation X: A Self-Fulfilling Prophesy of Goth, Grunge and Heroin |first=Maxim W. |last=Furek |publisher=i-Universe |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-595-46319-0 |page=62}}</ref>

In autumn 1970, the Alice Cooper group teamed with producer [[Bob Ezrin]] for the recording of their third studio album, ''[[Love It to Death]]''. This was the final album in their Straight Records contract and the band's last chance to create a hit. That first success came with the single "[[I'm Eighteen]]", released in November 1970, which reached number 21 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] in early 1971. Not long after the album's release in January 1971, [[Warner Records|Warner Bros. Records]] purchased Alice Cooper's contract from Straight and re-issued the album, giving the group a higher level of promotion.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lydon |first1=Michael |title=Me, Alice |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/23/archives/me-alice-starmaking-machinery.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 23, 1976 |access-date=December 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207043403/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/23/archives/me-alice-starmaking-machinery.html |archive-date=December 7, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Love It to Death'' proved to be their breakthrough studio album, reaching number 35 on the U.S. [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album charts. It would be the first of 11<ref group=fn>[[Bob Ezrin#Partial discography|See the Alice Cooper entry under ''List of albums produced by Ezrin'' at Ezrin's Wikipedia page]]</ref> Alice Cooper group and solo albums produced by Ezrin, who is widely seen as being pivotal in helping to create and develop the band's definitive sound.<ref name="Ezrin">{{cite web |url=http://emusician.com/em_spotlight/bob_ezrin_interview/ |title=Bob Ezrin: I Was A Teenage Record Producer |website=Emusician.com |date=October 13, 2011 |access-date=April 8, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015080854/http://emusician.com/em_spotlight/bob_ezrin_interview/ |archive-date=October 15, 2011 }}</ref>

The group's 1971 tour featured a stage show involving mock fights and gothic torture modes being imposed on Cooper, climaxing in a staged execution by [[electric chair]], with the band sporting tight, sequined, color-contrasting [[glam rock]]-style costumes made by prominent rock-fashion designer Cindy Dunaway (sister of band member Neal Smith, and wife of band member Dennis Dunaway). Cooper's androgynous stage role had developed to present a [[villain]]ous side, portraying a potential threat to modern society. The success of the band's single and album, and their tour of 1971, which included their first tour of Europe (audience members reportedly included [[Elton John]] and a pre-[[The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars|Ziggy Stardust]] [[David Bowie]]), provided enough encouragement for Warner Bros. to offer the band a new multi-album contract.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}

Their follow-up studio album ''[[Killer (Alice Cooper album)|Killer]]'', released in November 1971, continued the commercial success of ''Love It to Death'' and included further single success with "[[Under My Wheels]]", "[[Be My Lover (Alice Cooper song)|Be My Lover]]" in early 1972, and "[[Halo of Flies (song)|Halo of Flies]]", which became a Top 10 hit in the Netherlands in 1973. Thematically, ''Killer'' expanded on the villainous side of Cooper's androgynous stage role, with its music becoming the soundtrack to the group's morality-based stage show, which by then featured a [[boa constrictor]] hugging Cooper on stage, the murderous axe chopping of bloodied baby dolls, and execution by hanging at the [[gallows]]. In January 1972, Cooper was again asked about his peculiar name, and told talk show hostess [[Dinah Shore]] that he took the name from a "[[Mayberry R.F.D.|Mayberry RFD]]" character.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}

The summer of 1972 saw the release of the single "[[School's Out (song)|School's Out]]". It went Top 10 in the U.S. and to number 1 in the UK, and remains a staple on [[classic rock]] radio to this day. The studio album ''[[School's Out (album)|School's Out]]'' reached No. 2 on the US charts and sold over a million copies. The band relocated to their new mansion in [[Greenwich, Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/misc/mansion.php |title=The Cooper Mansion |work=SickthingsUK |date=October 13, 1971 |access-date=April 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219173134/http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/misc/mansion.php |archive-date=February 19, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> With Cooper's on stage androgynous persona completely replaced with brattiness and [[machismo]], the band solidified their success with subsequent tours in the United States and Europe, and won over devoted fans in droves while at the same time horrifying parents and outraging the social establishment.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}} In the United Kingdom, [[Mary Whitehouse]], a Christian morality campaigner, persuaded the [[BBC]] to ban the video for "School's Out",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017pn6z |title=Mark Lawson Talks to ... Alice Cooper |work=[[BBC Four]] |date=November 22, 2011 |access-date=February 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227191836/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017pn6z |archive-date=December 27, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> although Whitehouse's campaign did not prevent the single also reaching number one in the UK. Cooper sent her a bunch of flowers in gratitude for the publicity.<ref>{{cite news |first=Martin |last=Fletcher |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/ban-this-filth-letters-from-the-mary-whitehouse-archive-edited-by-ben-thompson-8297791.html |title=Ban This Filth!: Letters from the Mary Whitehouse Archive, edited by Ben Thompson |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |date=November 10, 2012 |access-date=August 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621195522/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/ban-this-filth-letters-from-the-mary-whitehouse-archive-edited-by-ben-thompson-8297791.html |archive-date=June 21, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Meanwhile, [[Labour Party (UK)|British Labour]] Member of Parliament [[Leo Abse]] petitioned Home Secretary [[Reginald Maudling]] to have the group banned altogether from performing in the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alicecooperechive.com/articles/feature/alis/011019 |title=Loads More Mr Nice Guy |work=Alice Cooper eChive |date=October 19, 2001 |access-date=April 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225051652/http://www.alicecooperechive.com/articles/feature/alis/011019 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Alice Cooper group 1973.JPG|thumb|The group in 1973]]
In February 1973, ''[[Billion Dollar Babies]]'' was released worldwide and became the band's most commercially successful studio album, reaching No. 1 in both the US and UK. "[[Elected (song)|Elected]]", a late-1972 Top 10 UK hit from the album, which inspired one of the first [[MTV]]-style story-line promo videos ever made for a song (three years before [[Queen (band)|Queen]]'s promotional video for "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]"), was followed by two more UK Top 10 singles, "[[Hello Hooray]]" and "[[No More Mr. Nice Guy (song)|No More Mr. Nice Guy]]", the latter of which was the last UK single from the album; it reached No. 25 in the US.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Alice Cooper – Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/278585/alice-cooper/chart |magazine=Billboard |access-date=December 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401062538/https://www.billboard.com/artist/278585/alice-cooper/chart |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The title track, featuring guest vocals by [[Donovan]], was also a US hit single. Around this time Glen Buxton left Alice Cooper briefly because of waning health.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garcia |first1=Gilbert |title=Unsung Guitar Hero |url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/unsung-guitar-hero-6422632 |website=Phoenix New Times |date=October 30, 1997 |access-date=December 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207050326/https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/unsung-guitar-hero-6422632 |archive-date=December 7, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

With a string of successful [[concept album]]s and several hit singles, the band continued their grueling schedule and toured the United States again. Continued attempts by politicians and pressure groups to ban their shocking act only served to fuel the legend of Alice Cooper further and generate even greater public interest.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}} Their 1973 US tour broke box office records previously set by [[the Rolling Stones]] and raised rock theatrics to new heights; the multi-level stage show by then featured numerous special effects, including Billion Dollar Bills, decapitated baby dolls and mannequins, a dental psychosis scene complete with dancing teeth, and the ultimate execution prop and highlight of the show: the [[guillotine]]. The guillotine and other stage effects were designed for the band by magician [[James Randi]], who appeared on stage during some of the shows as [[executioner]]. In 2012 at [[Dragon Con]], Randi and Cooper discussed their working relationship during this period.<ref>{{cite web|title=James Randi and Alice Cooper – Dragon*Con 2012|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKpig-0_mOw|website=[[YouTube]]| date=February 20, 2013 |access-date=February 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227174424/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKpig-0_mOw&gl=US&hl=en&has_verified=1&bpctr=9999999999|archive-date=February 27, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The Alice Cooper group had now reached its peak and it was among the most visible and successful acts in the industry. Beneath the surface, however, the repetitive schedule of recording and touring had begun to take its toll on the band.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}

''[[Muscle of Love]]'', released at the end of 1973, was to be the last studio album from the classic lineup, and marked Alice Cooper's last UK Top 20 single of the 1970s with "[[Teenage Lament '74]]". An unsolicited theme song was recorded for the [[James Bond (film series)|James Bond]] spy film ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man with the Golden Gun]]'' (1974),<ref>{{Cite web |title=The best Bond themes that never made it |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200218-the-best-james-bond-themes-that-never-made-it-to-the-screen |access-date=November 25, 2023 |website=www.bbc.com|date=February 18, 2020 }}</ref> but a different song of the same name by [[Lulu (singer)|Lulu]] was chosen instead. By 1974, the ''Muscle of Love'' album still had not matched the top-charting success of its predecessor, and the band began to have constant disagreements. For various reasons, the members agreed to take what was expected to be a temporary hiatus. "Everyone decided they needed a rest from one another", said manager Shep Gordon at the time. "A lot of pressure had built up, but it's nothing that can't be dealt with. Everybody still gets together and talks." Journalist Bob Greene spent several weeks on the road with the band during the Muscle of Love Christmas Tour in 1973. His book ''Billion Dollar Baby'', released in November 1974, painted a less-than-flattering picture of the band, showing a group in total disharmony.<ref name="news.google.ca">{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gD8dAAAAIBAJ&pg=3132,2262079&dq=dennis-dunaway+billion-dollar-babies&hl=en |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115174817/http://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=gD8dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=26YEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3132,2262079&dq=dennis-dunaway+billion-dollar-babies&hl=en |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 15, 2013 |title=Billion Dollar Babies |work=[[Google News]]}}</ref> Cooper later wrote an autobiography with [[Steven Gaines]] called ''Me, Alice'' (1976) which gave Cooper's version of that era of his career, among other things.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chalmers |first1=Robert |title=Alice Cooper: Is it time for rock's oldest shocker to give up the gore? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/alice-cooper-is-it-time-for-rocks-oldest-shocker-to-give-up-the-gore-1729127.html |website=[[The Independent]] |date=October 22, 2011 |access-date=December 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206175115/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/alice-cooper-is-it-time-for-rocks-oldest-shocker-to-give-up-the-gore-1729127.html |archive-date=December 6, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Lair Of The Hollywood Vampires.png|thumb|In the 1970s, Cooper founded a celebrity drinking club, [[the Hollywood Vampires]], headquartered at the [[Rainbow Bar and Grill]] in [[West Hollywood, California]]]]
During this time, Cooper relocated back to Los Angeles and started appearing regularly on television shows such as ''[[Hollywood Squares|The Hollywood Squares]]'', and Warner Bros. released the ''[[Greatest Hits (Alice Cooper album)|Greatest Hits]]'' compilation album. It featured classic-style artwork and reached the US Top 10, performing better than ''Muscle of Love''. However, the band's 1974 feature film ''[[Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper]]'' (consisting mainly of 1973 concert footage with 'comedic' sketches woven throughout to a faint storyline), released on a minor [[Movie theater|cinematic]] run mostly to [[drive-in theater]]s, saw little box office success. On March 5, 1974, Cooper appeared on episode 3 of ''[[The Snoop Sisters]]'' playing a [[Satanism|Satanic]] cult singer. The final shows by Alice Cooper as a group were in Brazil in March and April 1974, including the record indoor attendance estimated as high as 158,000 fans in São Paulo on March 30, at the Anhembi Exposition Hall at the start of the first ever South American rock tour.<ref>{{cite web |title=Billion Dollar Babies Band Live Album Due |url=https://bestclassicbands.com/billion-dollar-babies-reissue-12-5-17/ |website=Best Classic Bands |date=June 9, 2015 |access-date=December 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207155709/https://bestclassicbands.com/billion-dollar-babies-reissue-12-5-17/ |archive-date=December 7, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>