Billion dollar baby: A provocative young journalist chronicles his adventures on tour as a performing member of The Alice Cooper Rock-and-Roll Band [Hardcover]

Bob Greene (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 364 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum; 1st edition (1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689106165
• ISBN-13: 978-0689106163
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,841,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A back stage glimpse at rock & roll life in the 70's., September 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Billion dollar baby: A provocative young journalist chronicles his adventures on tour as a performing member of The Alice Cooper Rock-and-Roll Band (Hardcover)

Bob Greene's open-eyed account of the excesses of life as a temporary member of the Alice Cooper road show in 1973-74. Not only do we see the stresses taking their toll on a band just passing their peak, but we also get a fairly nostalgic look at Nixon-era America. Not as much a "Fan" book as it is a nice study of the commercialism and marketing techniques that used to stir teen appeal and parental angst.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A succinct document of a briliant band's demise, August 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Billion dollar baby: A provocative young journalist chronicles his adventures on tour as a performing member of The Alice Cooper Rock-and-Roll Band (Hardcover)

The 70s were the days when the Coop was the deal and few could pretend to be more, although some tried. The band wrote, Alice writhed and croaked and all was right with rebellion. Greene tagged along on this tour in late 1973, an ill-fated jaunt that was mercifully short, done to promote the band's swan song, ''Muscle of Love.'' He caught the band in full demise, rife with infighting and animosity towards Alice as he emerged as the Bob Hope of Pop, with his priorities all screwed up - It's the music, Stupid. Most telling are the mini-portraits of each band member that Greene manages to pull together. Bassist Dennis Dunaway as the reticent, family man; the late Glen Buxton as an enigmatic, already haggard young guitarist - and most amazing, Michael Bruce and his tremendous talent all pulled together tightly as the one who brings everybody together. Chances are that readers will be either Cooper fans or Greene fans. Both will be satisfied, but in his ego-less style, Greene extracts himself from the equation and makes this a wonderful sojourn into early 70s decadence.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GOSSIP KILLS, March 13, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Billion dollar baby: A provocative young journalist chronicles his adventures on tour as a performing member of The Alice Cooper Rock-and-Roll Band (Hardcover)

Columnist Bob Greene goes on the Alice Cooper band's Muscle of Love Christmas Tour in 1973. He is also present for the recording of the Muscle of Love album. He plays the part of Santa Claus in the show and is beaten up by the band at the end of the show each night. Most of the people on the tour know that Greene will be writing about the tour but I don't think anybody quite knew how deeply Greene was going to analyze what he saw and heard. Alice was getting tired of being Alice. He had his eyes set on a Hollywood film career and would eventually move to Beverly Hills right next door to Groucho Marx. Golf, beer and TV were his addictions. Shep Gordon (manager)and Alice began making all the decisons while the band was reduced to back up musicians but even then their power was limited. Glen Buxton (guitar) had become dysfunctional and didn't even play on the Muscle of Love album although his pictures were on the album. On tour his amp was often turned down except during 18 and School's Out but even then sometimes he flaked. He was drunk and belligerent at group interviews and Alice felt uncomfortable practicing with Glen hence their live harmonies were very sloppy because they didn't practice enough. Guitarist Mike Bruce suggested to Shep that they permanently replace Glen with Mick Mashbir the backup guitar player on stage and on the albums but Shep said no. This made functioning as a group very difficult. The band talked about each other behind each others backs and Bob Green printed these comments. Everyone was taking him into their confidence. He never took notes or had a tape recorder so everyone was speaking their mind. Alice was a raging alchoholic at this time. He threw up blood every morning. In any other line of work he would be dysfunctional and be fired but fortunately or unfortunately the demented character he developed allowed him to be totally drunk on stage and get away with it. He was a physical wreck but he did this all to himself. Mike, Neal and Dennis were on all the same tours and were perfectly healthy. You can't blame the work load. The alcoholism surely tainted his view of his situation making him depressed and perhaps colored his view of his fellow band mates.

Eventually Alice goes solo and tries to make it in Hollywood but never plays anything more than a warlock or psychotic homeless person. He does manage to change his public image so most feel he was just acting but loses much ground in the Rock n' Roll world. Welcome to my NIghtmare was fairly big but I felt rode the wave the band had already created. His stock has since plummeted and he is only a small act today playing state fairs and casino parking lots while reunited bands like Aerosmith, Kiss and Fleetwood Mac play arenas and stadiums like the Alice Cooper band used to do. Alice finally gives up dreams of making it in Hollywood and tries hard to get his audience back. He can still sing but the using of close to a hundred different musicians over the past 20 or so years has made his sound...we'll... I've felt he has never matched the power of the original band although he has had some moments.

I read this book when I was 15 when it first came out and it was hard for me to see. My boyish hero bubble burst. I never did get to see these guys live. I saw the solo Alice and it just wasn't the same.
If you can find this book it is a fascinating read. Many insights into human behavior. I felt Green was objective. Drummer Neal Smith hates Bob Green to this day feeling this book destroyed the band. Even Bassist Dennis Dunaway feels thing were taken out of context. Alice has the name legally now even though it was originally the name of the band. He and Shep can now run the show without the band raising objections.