ALICE COOPER: 'I've Always Felt That I Had To Prove Myself'

link textCBS Mornings has shared an "extended" interview Alice Cooper gave to Anthony Mason about the evolution of the unforgettable character the legendary rocker created, which he details in his new autobiography, "Devil On My Shoulder". Regarding the inspiration for his androgynous stage character with heavy mascara and a theatrical stage show based on imagery from horror movies, Alice, who was born Vincent Damon Furnier, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think I honestly wanted Alice to be my favorite rock star, and so he still is. He looks exactly what I want my rock star to look like. He sings like that. He sings about the things I want him to sing about. So I always create Alice to be, 'Oh, man, if I was in the audience… 'Oh, he's got a cane. He's got a top hat. And he never talks to the audience because that would be below him.' He's sort of this arrogant villain, condescending villain. And at the end, I let them in on it. Then I go, 'Well, well, well, look who we have here.' And then he starts talking to them. And they go, 'Oh.' [Laughs] But I've never let Alice talk to the audience. It's because then he's human, then he's one of them, and they don't want him to be one of them. They don't want him to be [Jon] Bon Jovi. They don't want him to be Paul McCartney. They want him to be this other thing that exists somewhere over in here."

On the topic of Alice's live show and how it evolved from the early days, Cooper said: "We were very versatile about finding things that worked. In the very beginning, we couldn't afford props. If I could find a mop backstage, it could be a girl. It could be something I ride on. It could be a weapon. It could be anything. So we learned guerrilla theater first. Then the more money we got, the more produced it became. Anybody that understands this one, and you might, you might get this one, 'Hellzapoppin'' [the signature film from the signature Broadway and stage show of the comedy team of John 'Ole'] Olsen and [Harold 'Chic'] Johnson, was our bible. The absurdity of it, only attach that to rock and roll, and throw a little horror into it. And then if you're gonna do the hanging, really do it right. Make it look really real. And the more the parents hated that, the better we were. The kids loved everything the parents hated. And the more that we could tap in to that, the better."

Alice also talked about what keeps him motivated to still perform at a high level at close to 80 years old. He said: "I think, and I say this a lot of times, and people don't get it — a lot of it comes from fear. You're up in front of 20,000 people. You better deliver. Right now, they're expecting Alice Cooper to be an old man, 78-year-old man, walking up there. And I remember some lady was telling this other lady, 'Well, he probably sits down most the show.' And then they saw the show, and I'm, like, [all over the stage]... I've always felt that I had to prove myself.

Asked where he thinks that comes from, Alice said: "I don't know. But it's a good agent to have, because I never, ever phone it in. It's, like I have to do it full out, 100%. And I always said, 'If I can't look like Alice, if I can't perform like Alice, if I weigh 100 pounds more, Alice is gone. Somebody else should play Alice. My daughter, Calico, should play Alice.'"

Regarding whether he would ever sell the Alice Cooper intellectual property rights, the way KISS did nearly three years ago, Alice said: "No, I don't think so. We don't need the money. [Laughs] But KISS are good friends. They're really good friends. When they came out, everybody wanted there to be a big [feud]... And [David] Bowie too. 'Oh, Alice and Bowie hate each other.' And we did not. We were friends. I loved the fact that he took the idea that there was finally a band that could do this outrageous theatrics and have hit records at the same time. That never happened before. We were the first band that did that. And then I think Bowie went, 'Okay, I wanna do that.' In fact, he used to tell the SPIDERS FROM MARS, he'd say, 'Come. I want you to see Alice. This is what we need to do.' And then he took it into outer space, and he created his character. So I'm not threatened by that. If he would've worn makeup and did what I did, I'd go, 'What are you doing?'"

"Devil On My Shoulder" will arrive in the U.S. on October 6 via Grand Central Publishing's recently launched Da Capo imprint.

No stranger to doing things his own way, Alice Cooper has cast a long shadow over rock music with an unrivaled live show and timeless anthems like "School's Out", "No Mr. Nice Guy" and "Poison". Selling over 50 million albums worldwide, he earned a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2003, and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducted him as part of its class of 2011. Boasting one of the most influential catalogues in history, Rolling Stone cited 1971's platinum-certified "Love It To Death" among the "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time", while other platinum releases spanned the seminal "Killer" (1971),"School's Out" (1972),the Billboard 200 No. 1 "Billion Dollar Babies" (1973),"Welcome To My Nightmare" (1975) and "Trash" (1989),to name a few. The latter even graced Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums Of All Time."

He's so embedded in generations of popular culture that he not only made a cult-classic appearance in "Wayne's World" during 1992, but he also starred alongside John Legend and Sara Bareilles in NBC's 2018 production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert" — and also memorably appeared on both "The Muppets" and "That 70s Show!" as well as in Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows" film. Beyond hundreds of syncs, everyone from Etta James, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, MEGADETH and THE FLAMING LIPS has covered his tunes. THE BEASTIE BOYS, DISTURBED, and countless others have sampled him. His collaborators have notably included the late Vincent Price, AEROSMITH, GUNS N' ROSES and Jon Bon Jovi, to name just a few. Plus, he co-founded HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES alongside AEROSMITH's Joe Perry and Johnny Depp. Most recently, 2025's "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper" reunited the surviving members of the original ALICE COOPER band to widespread critical acclaim. After thousands upon thousands of gigs and easily a million miles traveled, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee continues ever onwards into rock 'n' roll folklore.