It’s summertime and new music from the original Alice Cooper Band is roaring around the Valley.
It’s not merely 1974 in spirit – it’s real, and with a new video of arguably Arizona’s most famous rock and roll band to boot. On the heels of “Black Mamba,” the original band’s first new single in decades, comes the second single, “Wild Ones,” released Wednesday, off their forthcoming album, and with it a new video showing the guys working on the track in a Connecticut studio.
The record features the original band lineup of Alice, joined by Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith, with a special appearance by Glen Buxton. Buxton, who played lead guitar in the original lineup, died in 1997. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Buxton No. 90 on its list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”
Fans are taking it all in.
“I’m 25, and have been a huge Alice fan for years,” a commenter posted on the new video on YouTube. “Never thought in my lifetime there would be an album featuring the original band again, but here we are!! What a time to be alive.”
Said another, “There's something magical about the OG Cooper band.”
The new track comes from the band’s upcoming album “The Revenge Of Alice Cooper,” their first studio album together in 52 years, which will arrive on July 25. The album will include previously-unreleased contributions from Buxton and was produced by Bob Ezrin, who was in the producer’s chair for the original lineup’s biggest records – including the No. 1 album “Billion Dollar Babies” and “School’s Out” – and later worked with Alice on his solo career and hits like 1975’s “Welcome To My Nightmare.”
Formed at Cortez High School in Phoenix as the Earwigs in 1964 the band went through some lineup changes early.
A Warner Bros. publicity photo of the Alice Cooper band (Alice Cooper, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith) dated December 1973.
(Creative Commons)
The four surviving original members of Alice Cooper (Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith) at Wembley Arena in November 2017.
(Creative Commons)
The Phoenix garage band soon rebranded themselves as The Spiders, then The Nazz, and eventually as The Alice Cooper Band. Although lead singer Vince Furnier at that point hadn’t officially christened himself with the name, he became synonymous with it and later changed his name to Alice Cooper.
The Alice Cooper Band landed a Top 40 hit with “I'm Eighteen” in 1970, and the classic lineup split in 1974 after seven albums in six years, four of which went platinum.
Ushering in the glam rock genre, Alice Cooper were superstars who earned enshrinement into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Alice was ranked No. 20 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.”
While there’s no word yet of a tour with the original lineup, Alice Cooper himself will join heavy metal trailblazers Judas Priest, fronted by singer and Valley resident Rob Halford, for a co-headlining tour later this year.
The 22-city run will feature a show Wednesday, Oct. 22 at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix.
WATCH THE NEW ALICE COOPER BAND VIDEO HERE
Steve Stockmar
News Editor | Sun Life Magazine & Arts & Entertainment
YourValley.net
sstockmar@iniusa.org
Meet Steve
Steve Stockmar joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, and has been an Arizona journalist for almost 30 years. He serves as editor of Sun Life Magazine and contributes to West Valley communities where he focuses mostly on arts & culture, education, and profiles of neighbors making a difference.
Community: Every season Steve serves as a “buddy” with the Miracle League of Arizona in Scottsdale, has volunteered his time with Family Promise in Glendale, and previously served on the Ghostlight Theatre board in Sun City West.
Education: Graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a Journalism major and English minor.
Random Fact: Steve once won a 50-player live Texas Hold ’Em poker tournament.
Hobbies: Anguishing over his beloved Chicago Cubs and Bears; listening to Beatles and Grateful Dead music.
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here