Alice Cooper
It is no secret that an American musician and vocalist Alice Cooper (whose real name is Vincent Damon Furnie) is one of the most popular and prominent figures in the ginormous world of pop music. He brought a lot of new things to the music genre he chose and became, according to music experts, a king of the so called shock-rock, being a model for numerous followers, who tried to copy not only his manner of performance but the musician's image.
The band Alice Cooper, named, obviously, after its lead singer, was formed at the beginning of the 70s. During three years, it became rather known thanks to the interest of a wide audience to a heavy music. In the period of art- and glam-rock booming, Alice Cooper made a lot of experiments, launching his solo career and adding new original soundings to the rock music. During the years of heavy metal rising, Alice Cooper took the direct part in its formation, contributing greatly to the development of the new music direction.
Alice Cooper is also wide-known for being one of the first singers, who introduced elements of classical horror into rock, and became the most famous representative of the above mentioned shock-rock. Shock-rock is not a separate direction in rock music but it characterizes a stage style designed to frighten and shock the audience. Alice Cooper's performances were more like theatrical productions than traditional rock concerts, and many aspects of his shows were borrowed (sometimes just copied) by other musicians. The modern public, that grew on Hollywood horror movies, has not reacted to such methods so furiously anymore, that's why shock-rock slowly lost its 'shocking' component but it became more ironic.
However, this tendency did not influence Alice Cooper's popularity. After releasing his first solo album with a typical title Welcome to My Nightmare, which became platinum, he is still keeping on working actively. Within 1975-2008, the musician presented his fans with 17 studio works, which were released every one-six years. In spite of the fact that sometimes Alice Cooper made his admirers nervous, making breaks in his work caused by problems in his private life and alcohol abuse, he again and again came back to the stage with a triumph.
There are only a few figures on the world music stage, who went on their stage activity and are the idols of millions of people during decades. Alice Cooper is the most striking example of how a singer may become a music legend while he is alive, shocking and grooving the audience of all countries and continents. Apart from this, he had several prominent roles in films and received the right to a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also, he earned a list of prizes and awards, which did not have a direct relation to his music activity, including an award for aid to people with drug dependence and a honorary title The Living Legend (2006).
Alice Cooper, speaking about the end of his career, pays attention to Mick Jagger (a lead singer of the band Rolling Stones). Pointing that Mick is six years older than he but is not going to finish his career, Alice states that he has a six-year leg-up in stock and is not planning to keep his fans out of the pleasure to watch him on the stage and enjoy his new albums.
