Artist Alice Cooper

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Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper’s Grand Guignol rock theatrics are not only distinctive, but influential: Would Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, or Bauhaus exist without albums like Killer and their accompanying visual-overload stage shows? Cooper took outrageousness to new heights in the ’70s, selling millions of records on the strength of his horror-movie persona and some well-written material. Now that Cooper’s a golfing restaurateur, it’s hard to imagine just how appalling his self-guillotining antics were to parents at the time, but his ultra-melodic hard rock (“School’s Out,” “I’m Eighteen”) holds up just fine. Not that most fans will care, but Cooper did put out a new record, Along Came A Spider, in 2008. Later this year, Cooper plans to release The Night Shift, a concept record where Cooper plays a disc jockey hosting a "really dark radio show."

Updated 06/28/2010