Alice Cooper was born Vincent Furnier in 1948 in Detroit, Michigan. “Billion Dollar Babies” was released in 1973. I was going to post “Eighteen” which is perhaps better known but it was the heavier sound, in particular, the drumming of Neal Smith
and bass of Dennis Dunaway
as well as the dual guitars of Glenn Buxton
and Michael Bruce
that convinced me to post this song instead.
One of the coolest sounding drum intros ever. Always wondered how he came up with that. A friend who knows much more about music than I do, told me that “machine gun” effect is actually the bass. He’s picking very rapidly as he slides down the neck. Whatever, it sounds awesome.
Alice Cooper was years ahead of pretty much everything. Experimenting with elaborate stage shows and “theatrical” production. “Extreme” hard rock (especially for it’s time). Sexual lyrics and themes. Mock executions. Snakes. And of course the name “Alice.”
From all I’ve read, the 60’s and 70’s was an era when anyone gay, lesbian, or transgender had to live “closeted” lives much of the time. Doing research for this post I discovered that “Alice” is considered by many today to be one of the first LGBTQ Ally’s.
Here is an “excerpt” of an interview with him from 1974:
Quote:
SPEC: Would you admit it if you were homosexual?
Alice: Of course, and I wouldn’t just admit it, as if it were something you’re supposed to conceal. I’d just be it. I’d be natural about it, and I don’t see where it would be very much different for me, except I’d be making it with men instead of women.
SPEC: Aren’t you even just a little bit bisexual?
Alice: You mean do I mostly like girls, but do I like boys sometimes? No, I only like girls, but if I could have chosen my own sexuality, I think I might have chosen to be bisexual.
SPEC: Do you really mean that?
Alice: Sure—I think in the future everyone will be bisexual. And everything would be so much simpler then—you’d just make love with anyone you liked, and it wouldn’t matter what sex they were, and maybe it also wouldn’t matter what color they were, or what age, or anything, except that you liked them.
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The album cover was a green “snakeskin” wallet with pictures of the band as well as a “Billion Dollar” bill folded inside. This one happens to be signed by Alice himself. Pretty cool. You don’t get
that with Spotify…