Alice Cooper, the legendary shock-rock pioneer whose theatrical performances helped reshape the spectacle of rock music, revealed to Pastor Greg Laurie how close he came to becoming another casualty of the industry.
Behind the makeup, macabre stage productions and string of rock anthems was a man battling addiction, depression and physical collapse. At his lowest point, Cooper said doctors warned him he could be only a month away from joining the friends he had already lost.
Yet the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer insists treatment alone does not explain why he survived.
“The only cure I had was Jesus,” Cooper told Laurie.
Cooper grew up in church and described himself as a prodigal son who traveled as far from his Christian upbringing as possible. His band unexpectedly broke into the mainstream with “I’m Eighteen,” launching him into a world of fame, excess and escalating substance abuse.
“We were the band that wasn’t supposed to ever have a hit,” Cooper said.
Cooper eventually became part of the Hollywood Vampires, a celebrity drinking club that included Keith Moon, Harry Nilsson, Micky Dolenz and Bernie Taupin. The group gathered at the Rainbow Bar and Grill in Los Angeles, where drinking became a nightly competition.
Many of those involved eventually died.
“Half of them are dead,” Cooper said.
What began as drinking with friends gradually became a physical dependency. Alcohol was no longer recreational.
“It was not alcohol, it was medicine now,” Cooper said. “I didn’t even like the taste of it anymore, but I had to have it.”
His private condition continued deteriorating even as he toured and portrayed Alice Cooper before packed audiences. Cooper recalled standing backstage, looking at his costume and crying because of what he needed to consume to perform.
“It wasn’t fun like it used to be,” he said.
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However, Cooper rejected the idea that his sinister theatrical alter ego was responsible for his collapse.
“Alice wasn’t the problem,” Cooper said. “I was the problem.”
The crisis reached its breaking point when Cooper woke up and vomited blood. His wife, Sheryl, declared that the party was over, and Cooper entered treatment.
“When I went into the hospital, the doctor said, ‘Give you a month before you’re joining your buddies,’” Cooper recalled.
Despite being considered a classic alcoholic, Cooper said he left treatment without returning to alcohol or drugs. He credits that freedom to a supernatural work of God.
“People would say, ‘Well, you’re a cured alcoholic,’” Cooper said. “And I go, ‘No, I’m a healed alcoholic.’”
When Laurie asked him to explain the difference, Cooper answered, “God took it away from me.”
Cooper said even doctors eventually acknowledged that his recovery defied what they normally observed in patients with severe addiction.
“It’s a miracle,” he said.
Laurie noted that Cooper could have continued toward destruction and become another tragic rock ‘n’ roll story. Cooper agreed.
“I was as close as anybody ever came,” he said.
Cooper now believes God spared his life so his experiences could be used to help others. His past allows him to speak directly to young people battling addiction because he personally understands its false promises and devastating consequences.
“I almost died from everything that I did,” Cooper said. “I can speak from experience now.”
He warned that drugs offer temporary euphoria before altering a person’s emotional baseline. Normal life begins to feel depressing, while depression can descend into suicidal darkness.
“It’s the most unfulfilling thing there is, and yet Satan uses it pretty well because it’s a thrill,” Cooper said.
Returning to Christ did not require Cooper to abandon rock music. Instead, it transformed how he understood and used his platform.
“His plan was, ‘Now you’re a Christian, go be in a rock ‘n’ roll band, but follow Me,’” Cooper said.
He began incorporating themes of judgment, salvation and redemption into his music. Cooper said listeners have written to tell him his songs stopped them from committing suicide or helped lead them toward Christ.
His stage productions also portray a battle between good and evil. The Alice Cooper character plays the villain, faces destruction and ultimately returns redeemed.
More importantly, Cooper no longer allows fame or his stage identity to define him.
“First, I’m a child of God,” Cooper said. “Second of all, I’m in a rock band.”
When Laurie asked who Jesus Christ is to him, Cooper did not hesitate.
“He’s the core of everything,” Cooper said. “He’s life itself. He’s the light.”
Cooper ended his testimony with a direct message for anyone moving toward the same darkness that nearly destroyed him.
“If the Lord is knocking at your door, answer it,” he said. “It’s the best thing that you could ever do.”
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
