ABSTRACT
The band formed as the Earwigs in 1965; comprised of lead guitarist Glen Buxton, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, drummer Neal Smith, and Furnier (aka Cooper), they moved from Phoenix to Los Angeles, releasing a couple of singles as the Spiders on the Santa Cruz label in 1967. A couple of name changes later, they settled on Alice Cooper (allegedly a 17th-century witch), and signed with Frank Zappa’s Straight Records. Following the release of two rather mediocre postpsychedelic LPs-Pretties for You (Straight 1051; 1969), and Easy Action (Straight 1061; 1970)—Alice Cooper moved on to Warner Brothers. Assisted by producer Bob Ezrin and exhibiting markedly improved songwriting skills, the band produced a string of protometal masterpieces leavened with adolescent-punk attitude: Love It to Death (Warner Bros. 1881; 1971; #35), Killer (Warner Bros. 2567; 1971; #21), School’s Out (Warner Bros. 7596; 1972; #2), Billion Dollar Babies (Warner Bros. 2685; 1973; #1), and Muscle of Love (Warner Bros. 2748; 1973; #10).
