Customer Reviews

Billion Dollar Baby

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Who would have thought that one of the definitive descriptions of life on the road with a major American rock band would have been penned by Bob Greene, a reporter with almost no background in "music journalism"? It's even more ironic when you realize that this book on Alice Cooper in its heyday - a band that pushed the envelope of public taste by inventing and popularizing many elements of theatrical shock-rock that were recycled by many other metal and punk bands - was authored by the same Bob Greene who later made a name for himself writing "family values" columns and books about his kids. But then, when you read the book and get to know Alice and friends, maybe it's not that far off. Far from being constantly hard-partying, underage-girl-shagging, hotel-destroying miscreants like the Led Zeppelin portrayed in "Hammer of the Gods," the Alice Cooper band, and especially Alice himself, were a pretty well-behaved lot. Only two of the band members (plus several members of the road crew) mess around with groupies, and one of those two is with his beautiful model wife more often than not. The only major hotel destruction occurs as a way of blowing off steam at the conclusion of the tour. And Alice himself is portrayed as a quiet, constantly beer-drinking, non-drug-using, family guy who loves TV and golf, doesn't fool around on his girlfriend, and likes Nixon of all people. Of course, if you have followed Alice Cooper's career to the present day, you know that he's a great celebrity golfer, leans towards conservative politics and was an alcoholic for some years, but apparently back when this book was written, he was widely perceived as being the actual baby-killing debauched maniac he portrayed on stage.

Most of this book involves Greene recounting, in a dry, reporterly style, recording some vocals for an upcoming album and then going on tour with the original Alice Cooper band. The book has been widely criticized because Greene portrayed the band members mostly as being disgruntled with the amount of attention Alice the frontman was getting (except for Glen Buxton who is portrayed as a barely functional waste case), and Alice as being unhappy and seemingly trapped in his role as perverse freak. Evidence does suggest that Greene played up the rift in the band to some extent, and Alice certainly gets the bulk of the page space in the book as well compared to the members of the band. On the other hand, band life is one of those "three sides to every story" deals, and Greene's side may well be one of the three. For another perspective, fans can read band member Mike Bruce's book. In any event, a great deal of Greene's book barely involves the band, and rather consists of Greene's interviews with and observations about others including the band's manager, the tour manager and his comely assistant, the road crew, the magician/ stunt guy, Alice's bodyguard, recording engineers, band wives, and various random groupies. The inclusiveness and the fact that Greene allows people to speak in their own words by including long direct interview quotes gives the book a documentary, "you-are-there" feel. The feeling of a documentary, rather than a feature or mood piece, is enhanced by the fact that Greene doesn't analyze, critique or otherwise wax poetic over the music of the band, unlike a Lester Bangs or similar "rock journalist".

This book is a great time capsule of what touring with a band was like in the 70s and likely still is, to some extent, today. It's interesting that at this time the Alice Cooper band was considered a major U.S. concert draw with an album headed for Number One, and Alice had appeared on the covers of general circulation U.S. magazines, yet they still had to play B-grade markets like Toledo, Ohio (where they are very nearly forced back onto the stage after a life-threatening riot breaks out) and Utica, NY in the middle of winter. While on the road, the band runs into situations that are funny to read about now, but probably weren't so funny at the time. For example, the limos carrying the band to a show get stuck in a dead end lane with no turnaround in the parking lot of the venue, blocked in by arriving fans, minutes before the band is due onstage. In another episode, the band is scheduled to fly to Florida early for some time in the sun before an outdoor show, only to find (when their much-delayed flight finally arrives) that a cold snap is happening and they all need long underwear just to be outside. And so it goes.

I first read this book in the late 70s because the local library had a copy and I read pretty much every book on rock out of sheer boredom then. I was not an Alice Cooper fan although I thought some of his hit songs were pretty good. The book is very well-written, fast-paced and an engaging read. Years later when I saw the "Spinal Tap" movie, this book was one that immediately came to mind, even though the band was not English. I highly recommend the book for anybody interested in 70s rock or the mechanics of touring.

Ah, the days of glam rock. The depraved and decadent 1970's. If you began your teens, as I did, during the time the events in this book took place (1973-1974) then it will especially hit home as a statement of cultural influence on adolescents. I still have my original paperback copy I'd bought in the ninth grade in fall 1975, turning page after jaw-dropping page telling of exhausting tours, sleazy pubescent groupies and nasty roadies, and now, from an adult's perspective it's a fascinating re-read.
Vincent Furnier, an affable, beer-drinking guy who was nothing like his monsterously wicked stage alter-ego Alice Cooper, used intelligent insight to put a "handle" on what would have been just any other band of rock musicians -- let's REALLY get the kids' attention! Scary stuff on stage, a leering ghoul personifying the decay of a violent, corrupt society, an overlay of raunchy rock brought the fans running. The only thing is, it backfired. Vince/Alice was smart enough to be understandably distressed at the near-riots, the danger, the overwrought, fanatical youth who worshipped him. He steered away from the trouble of drugs and underaged girls chasing him, but some in his entourage did not, for all his cautioning his bandmates against these problems.
Bob Greene takes the reader right into the vortex of this seedy state of affairs, the mind-numbing blur of bus tours, hotel rooms, bar and backstage antics. For me, the most brilliant and heart-rending section of the book was near the end, when the band was in Utica. A painfully homely teenage girl, dolled up to resemble the glitter groupies who followed and usually succeeded in getting the attention of those bands, struggles to break into the inner circle of the entourage and get near her idol. She is so painfully and vituperatively humiliated by the roadies that it makes a reader wince in sympathy (and recognition of some classmates' behavior toward others in those bad-old-junior-high-days). The fact that Bob Greene decribed her with compassionate pity rather than ridiculing contempt makes this book a stand-out in cultural empathy. Sure,the pages are starting to loosen in my 35 year old copy, with its lilac-tinted cover of Alice's lurid visage, but it's a keeper, expecially in seeing how expensive this out-of-print colume is going for!

Being an Alice fan since about 1969, I read the book back in 1976 when I was 21. I had the chance to meet Alice in 1971 at a club here in Buffalo before he was well known. I saw the band 5 times, 2 of them during the tour described in the bookl Toronoto and Buffalo dates. I found it both amusing and appalling, the inside view of the rock world from the eyes of Bob Greene. It seemed to be going a little to Bob's head, he mentioned doing his own lp sevaral times in the book. Reading quotes from each band member and road crew was interesting though, seeing how ruthless the business is and how it corrupts otherwise moral folks. As successful as the band was, they seemed to feel they were short-changed because all the recognition went to Alice, and they (the back-up) felt they were pushed aside. Much unhappiness resulted.
I knew much of their music by heart, so I found myself at home with much of the accounts. Of course in the decades that followed my reading of the book, my outlook on life has changed I do not hold this business in such high esteem as many who have read the book will attest.

i'm not a fan of greene,but this is just an incredible book from the tour that he tagged along on,with the alice cooper band,just before their breakup.fighting within the band,concert riots,groupies,stranded in snowstorms.....this has everything a concert tour can offer.this is one of those books where you feel like you are right there with them.not worth paying big bucks for,i found mine in the garbage(!).once i started reading i couldn't put it down.