ALICE COOPER, HOLY MAN CONFIDENTIAL:
THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS ago, Alice Cooper awoke throwing up blood. “Everything that could go wrong was shutting down inside of me,” the legendary rocker (inset) recalled to Confidential. “I was drinking with Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix and trying to keep up with Keith Moon and they all died at 27.”
Cooper says he realized he was going to have to either quit drinking or die. After exiting a hospital where doctors diagnosed him as a “classic alcoholic,” he never had the desire to drink again.
The “School’s Out” singer credits his recovery to God.
“My wife and I are both Christian,” the 70-year-old performer explains. “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.”
“There’s nothing in Christianity that says I can’t be a rock star,” he continued. “People have a very warped view of Christianity. They think it’s all very precise and we never do wrong and we’re praying all day and we’re right-wing. It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with a one-on-one relationship with Jesus Christ.”
The “Welcome to My Nightmare” performer has been married since 1976, says he has never been unfaithful, does Bible study daily and goes to church every Sunday. He also proudly says that his three kids have never had any trouble with drugs or alcohol.
Cooper — who delighted fans in the 1970s with his macabrely theatrical show — will be introduced to a new generation of fans on Sunday, when NBC airs a live version of the classic “Jesus Christ Superstar” starring John Legend.
Cooper will be reprising the role of King Herod, which he first tackled in 2000 when “Superstar” writers Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice asked him to record “King Herod’s Song” as part of a London cast recording.
His inspiration for the performance is “Harry Potter” actor Alan Rickman.
“When I first heard about it, I thought Alan Rickman — that condescending sort of arrogant character, and I kind of fashioned what I would do after what I thought Alan Rickman would do if he were alive,” he chuckles.