Rock music is usually associated with sex, drugs, booze, and a wild lifestyle; many musicians stick to this stereotype. However, some of them surprise fans with the stark difference between their stage persona and real life. A perfect example is found in one Vincent Damon Furnier aka “Alice Cooper.”
The Detroit-born rocker is known for shows featuring guillotines, electric chairs, and plenty of fake blood. It’s no wonder he’s been nicknamed the Godfather of Shock Rock.
However, the onstage persona is the farthest thing from Alice Cooper’s real life as Vince Furnier. On that “stage,” Furnier lives as a devout Christian, sober for decades, and faithful to his wife, dancer Sheryl Goddard. But it wasn’t always that idyllic.
Cooper and Goddard met in the mid-’70s when Sheryl performed with the musician. In 1976, the couple married, but a few years later, they faced a significant obstacle. Because of Cooper’s drinking problems, Goddard moved out and filed for divorce. This was a wake-up call for the singer, who promised to stay sober. The couple reconciled in mid-1984.
In an interview for the New York Daily News, Cooper stated: “My wife and I are both Christians. My father was a pastor, my grandfather was an evangelist. (…) I grew up in the church, went as far away as I could from it – almost died – and then came back to the church.” His beliefs extend to his charity work. Cooper founded the Solid Rock Teen Centers to help kids in communities around the country. He also plays charity golf tournaments (he credits golf for helping him get sober and tries to play as often as 6 days a week). And he’s been quietly observed serving food at a homeless shelter.
Cooper later clarified his comments: “What I was meaning was that because we’re almost always together, at home and on the road, that if something did happen to either of us, we’d most likely be together at the time. But neither of us has a suicide pact. We have a life pact. And, besides, I’m booked through 2028, so…”
Cooper’s recipe for his happy, long-term marriage is simple: no cheating, and regular dates with each other. He’s among several legends who’ve proven they can still rock as hard as ever, even if they’re now often in bed by 11 pm. For example, Keith Richards and Patti Hansen have been together since 1983, Ringo and Barbara Bach since 1981.
Alice Cooper is a prime example of a rock star devoted to his passion, but never swallowed by it. A few pythons and (fake) severed heads aside, what’s not to love?
For a singer like Alice Cooper, some of the best performances come from attitude. It’s impossible to put together a show that consists of boa constrictors, guillotines, and simulated infanticide onstage and say that it’s all about the music, but Cooper still knew that if there wasn’t a good song at the centre of everything, it would all fall apart. While he still keeps his voice in great shape in his twilight years, Cooper thought it all circled back to how Paul McCartney sang in The Beatles.
Then again, every member of the Fab Four had their own unique approach to vocals when they stepped up to the microphone. John Lennon always got his way through with brute force half the time, and George Harrison had a real conviction in his voice that showed through his best songs like ‘Something’ and ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. And for as much as people clown on Ringo Starr, his greatest strength is the pure charm spilling out of every vocal he laid down.
It’s not like Cooper didn’t have an affinity for all of The Beatles in one way or another, even becoming a drinking pal with Lennon and Starr as a member of the Hollywood Vampires in the 1970s. Though Lennon also placed in Cooper’s selection of greatest singers submitted to Rolling Stone, there was no competition in terms of what McCartney could do with his voice.
First, let’s get one thing crystal clear: McCartney may be one of the most eclectic members of the group. For all the jokes that have come his way about him only making granny music throughout his career, not many people can morph their voices into different shapes and still manage to sing all of them really well.
It’s easy to judge it by the ballads he’s most known for, like ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Eleanor Rigby’, but that storyteller approach also has a flipside when he breaks out the screaming chops. Remember, this is a musician who listed Little Richard as one of his greatest inspirations throughout his early career, and hearing him sing his version of ‘Long Tall Sally’ or working his way through ‘Helter Skelter’ would be difficult even by the standard of most metal singers.
Even after the group broke up, McCartney still found ways to flex his vocal chops to keep everything interesting. There would still be ballads galore like ‘My Love’, but there would be strange fever dreams like ‘Temporary Secretary’, blistering hard rock like ‘Letting Go’ and ‘Junior’s Farm’ and, yes, even the old-timey music as well on tracks like ‘You Gave Me the Answer’.
