Contrary to his stage persona, rock star Alice Cooper is actually a devout Christian who came from a family of pastors, deep roots of faith that helped him beat his struggle with alcoholism.
Speaking to Page Six, Cooper shared the story about his problem with alcohol, causing his wife to file for divorce in November 1983. They reconciled, however, the year after.
He said that no one realized the extent of his drinking since he would regularly perform in his shows and was not an aggressive drunk person.
"But internally my pancreas and liver were being destroyed. I woke up one morning and I threw up blood and that's how I kind of knew it was over. My wife grabbed my ear and said, 'Hey, the party's over,'" he explained.
He then went to a rehab facility and recovered fully.
The singer pointed out that it was the power of God that helped him stay sober, not needing the support of organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
"I never went to AA. Everyone said, 'Oh you have such great willpower,' I said, 'No, God has great willpower. He took it from me.' My dad was a pastor, my grandad was a pastor, Sheryl's (his wife's) dad was a pastor. I had such strong prayer for me. Even the doctor said, 'This is an absolute miracle.' I said, 'Why?' They said, 'Well, you should be hiding bottles all over the house and you should be sneaking drugs.' I said, 'I have absolutely no desire for that at all,'" he revealed.
Cooper is a devoted family man. He and his wife, Sheryl Goddard, have been married since 1976. They have three children together, including Sonora, Calico and Dashiell.
"My grandparents were married 76 years, my parents were married over 50 years, my wife's parents were married over 50 years," he shared.
"To me when you got married, that was it. I always tell people don't marry the person you love, marry the person you're in love with, that means you would never do anything to hurt that person. I still whisk her off to a cheap motel every once in a while," Cooper added.
He revealed that his father understood the character he plays on stage and actually "loved rock and roll" too.
Before the lockdowns, the singer was doing 200 shows annually. Further, he disclosed that even after 50 years of touring, he still loves to perform his songs "School's Out" and "Welcome to My Nightmare," even "looking forward to playing them."
During this pandemic, he keeps himself busy by playing golf six times weekly.
For his latest project, the rock star partnered with Cooper Tire for "Driven to Perform" garage band contest, declaring South of Eden band from Ohio as the winner. As grand prize, the band performed as an opening act for Evanescence's livestream concert held May 13. Cooper hosted the event, which was free and open to the public. It was accessible via DrivenToPerformConcert.com, but has since ended.
Born Vincent Damon Furnier on Feb. 4, 1948, he legally changed his name to Alice Cooper in 1975. He was nicknamed "the godfather of shock rock" for his style of heavy metal music performance. He released a number of albums, appeared in some horror films and wrote songs. In 2011, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Cooper's fans will be glad to know that he will have a Fall Tour, the tickets for which will be available starting Friday, May 21. The tour will feature the release of his new album "Detroit Stories." Visit his website for more details.
