Alice Cooper
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Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier; February 4, 1948) is an American singer and songwriter. With a career spanning more than five decades, Cooper is known for his raspy singing voice and theatrical stage shows that feature numerous props and illusions. He is considered by music journalists and peers to be "The Godfather of Shock Rock". He has drawn from horror films, vaudeville, and garage rock to pioneer a macabre and theatrical brand of rock designed to shock audiences. Originating in Phoenix, Arizona in 1964, Alice Cooper was originally a band consisting of Furnier, guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith. The band released seven studio albums from 1969 to 1973, achieving hit singles such as "I'm Eighteen" (1971), "School's Out" (1972), and "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (1973). Following the group disbanding in 1975, Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper and began a solo career with the concept album Welcome to My Nightmare (1975). His hit singles as a solo artist include "Only Women Bleed" (1975), "You and Me" (1977), and "Poison" (1989). Over the course of his career, Cooper has released 30 studio albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide. Cooper has experimented with various musical styles, mainly hard rock, glam rock, heavy metal, and glam metal, as well as new wave, art rock, and industrial rock. He helped shape the sound and look of heavy metal, and he has been described as the artist who "first introduced horror imagery to rock'n'roll, and whose stagecraft and showmanship have permanently transformed the genre". Cooper is also known for his wit offstage, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide calling him the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer". The original Alice Cooper band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Aside from his recording career, Cooper is also a film actor, a golfing celebrity, a restaurateur, and, since 2004, a radio disc jockey with his classic rock show Alice's Attic. He is also known for his philanthropic work, particularly through his Solid Rock Foundation, which provides free music, art, and vocational programs for at-risk youth in Phoenix, Arizona.