45 years ago (7-29-72) "School's Out" becomes the 1st Top 10 Pop Hit for Alice Cooper - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

simmytbone · 05-27-2017, 04:14 AM

Hey guys,

45 years ago this summer, Alice Cooper better known as "The Godfather of Shock Rock" and his band scored their 1st Top 10 Hit on the Pop Chart and his only #1 single in the UK

The song was called "School's Out"

This was Alice and his band 5th consecutive Top 100 Pop Hit, but this was also his 2nd American Top 40 Pop Hit, his 1st since 1970's "I'm Eighteen"

"School's Out" became a Top 10 Hit and it was one of the best song in the summer of '72

Cooper has said he was inspired to write the song when answering the question, "What's the greatest three minutes of your life?". Cooper said: "There's two times during the year. One is Christmas morning, when you're just getting ready to open the presents. The greed factor is right there. The next one is the last three minutes of the last day of school when you're sitting there and it's like a slow fuse burning. I said, 'If we can catch that three minutes in a song, it's going to be so big.'"

Cooper has also said it was inspired by a line from a Bowery Boys movie. On his radio show, "Nights with Alice Cooper", he joked that the main riff of the song was inspired by a song by Miles Davis. Cooper said that guitarist Glen Buxton created the song's opening riff.

The lyrics of "School's Out" indicate that not only is the school year ended for summer vacation, but ended forever, and that the school itself has been blown up. It incorporates the childhood rhyme, "No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks" into its lyrics. It also featured children contributing some of the vocals. "Innocence" in the lyric "...and we got no innocence" is frequently changed in concert to "intelligence" and sometimes replaced with "etiquette." The song appropriately ends with a school bell sound that fades out.

Later performances saw Alice Cooper incorporate parts of the first verse in "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2", a song by Pink Floyd (also about school, and produced by Bob Ezrin) into "School's Out."

"School's Out" was also used in the series finale of the short-lived NBC Comedy Series Mr. Robinson Starring Comedian Craig Robinson and Peri Gilpin of TV's Frasier Fame

"School's Out" was also the name of his LP which became a #2 Hit on the Pop Album Chart and the band's Biggest Selling LP EVER

Alice Cooper would have 2 more Top 10 Hits on the Pop Chart as a Solo Artist

In 1977, he hit the Top 10 with "You and Me" and in 1989, he would score another Top 10 Hit with "Poison"

and now, here it is:

"The Godfather of Shock Rock" Alice Cooper and his band and "School's Out"

Check it out!

ABlairican Pie · 05-28-2017, 04:55 PM

A lot of people don't know that Alice Cooper was in fact the name of his band in which he was the frontman, before that band broke up and he went solo in 1975 with "Welcome To My Nightmare".

Interesting thing about producer Bob Ezrin, he seemed to have much success with introducing children's choirs into the songs of some of rock's biggest names of the time such as Cooper, KISS, and Pink Floyd.

Foggy · 06-01-2017, 02:04 PM

My daughter drives a school bus -- On The last day of school--guess what she played on her bus over and over and over again........

Bonniegirl · 06-01-2017, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foggy

My daughter drives a school bus -- On The last day of school--guess what she played on her bus over and over and over again........

Very cool!!

Torgo · 06-01-2017, 02:46 PM

Love Alice Cooper. He was my first concert way back in the 80's, put on a great show. Not so much a fan of his music from the mid-to late 80's on, though I do like the album Raise Your Fist and Yell .
Probably my favorite album from him is From The Inside.

I'm even a fan of his starring role in the cheesy 80's Spanish horror flick Monster Dog, despite the fact his speaking voice was dubbed by someone else. You do get to hear 2 obscure Cooper songs See Me In The Mirror and Identiy Crisis.

Bonniegirl · 06-01-2017, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torgo

Love Alice Cooper. He was my first concert way back in the 80's, put on a great show. Not so much a fan of his music from the mid-to late 80's on, though I do like the album Raise Your Fist and Yell .
Probably my favorite album from him is From The Inside.

I'm even a fan of his starring role in the cheesy 80's Spanish horror flick Monster Dog, despite the fact his speaking voice was dubbed by someone else. You do get to hear 2 obscure Cooper songs See Me In The Mirror and Identiy Crisis.

I like Alice Cooper too! I had the Billion Dollar babies album!

Torgo · 06-01-2017, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

I like Alice Cooper too! I had the Billion Dollar babies album!

Great album!

Foggy · 06-01-2017, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foggy

My daughter drives a school bus -- On The last day of school--guess what she played on her bus over and over and over again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Very cool!!

What was even cooler - some of the High Schoolers' were singing it word-for- word

ABlairican Pie · 06-01-2017, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torgo

Love Alice Cooper. He was my first concert way back in the 80's, put on a great show. Not so much a fan of his music from the mid-to late 80's on, though I do like the album Raise Your Fist and Yell .
Probably my favorite album from him is From The Inside.

I'm even a fan of his starring role in the cheesy 80's Spanish horror flick Monster Dog, despite the fact his speaking voice was dubbed by someone else. You do get to hear 2 obscure Cooper songs See Me In The Mirror and Identiy Crisis.

Somehow beginning in the late 70's through the mid-80's, he went through this bizarre career slump. I remember when he attempted to go punk around 1980 with his "Flush the Fashion" album where he cut his hair for the cover and put out a new wave song called "We're All Clones" that was nothing like anything he had done before, but this was what everyone of the 70's was starting to do, get caught up in the "modern" trend, with mixed results. His next few albums remained invisible until his 1986 comeback album "Constrictor" and then "Raise Your Fist And Yell". By then The Coop was finally back and never left!!!!

Torgo · 06-01-2017, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABlairican Pie

Somehow beginning in the late 70's through the mid-80's, he went through this bizarre career slump. I remember when he attempted to go punk around 1980 with his "Flush the Fashion" album where he cut his hair for the cover and put out a new wave song called "We're All Clones" that was nothing like anything he had done before, but this was what everyone of the 70's was starting to do, get caught up in the "modern" trend, with mixed results. His next few albums remained invisible until his 1986 comeback album "Constrictor" and then "Raise Your Fist And Yell". By then The Coop was finally back and never left!!!!

I like Flush Your Fashion, I like his early 80's stuff. Constrictor, not so much. Though Teenage Frankenstein made for a fun stage show, the song itself is corn. Same as his theme song for Jason Lives. Trash had some decent songs though.

AB · 06-01-2017, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torgo

Love Alice Cooper. He was my first concert way back in the 80's, put on a great show. Not so much a fan of his music from the mid-to late 80's on, though I do like the album Raise Your Fist and Yell .
Probably my favorite album from him is From The Inside.

I'm even a fan of his starring role in the cheesy 80's Spanish horror flick Monster Dog, despite the fact his speaking voice was dubbed by someone else. You do get to hear 2 obscure Cooper songs See Me In The Mirror and Identiy Crisis.

We rented Monster Dog on vhs back in the 80's, I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

Torgo · 06-01-2017, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AB

We rented Monster Dog on vhs back in the 80's, I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

It's now on Blu Ray. Who woulda thunk it.

But yeah, that's how I first saw it too, then I eventually bought the VHS. Not the greatest movie, but has great atmosphere, plus hearing the two Cooper songs, and two Alan Parson Projects songs, kinda added to the film.

ABlairican Pie · 06-02-2017, 03:40 PM

I saw Alice Cooper in both 1979 during his "Madhouse Rock" Tour behind his "From the Insde" album documenting his stay at an asylum for alcohol addiction. It was amazing!!! But at the same time, he was moving away from his classic macabre schtick to more campy Hollywood entertainment stage performances. It would take him several years before he returned to form. I went through a total Alice Cooper phase where to me, "theatricality = rock credibility". Something I had picked up from KISS a few years before.

I also saw Alice Cooper in 1997 at the Universal Ampitheater and that was really awesome as well!!

05-27-2017, 04:14 AM	#1
simmytbone Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 17, 2009 Posts: 1,513	45 years ago (7-29-72) "School's Out" becomes the 1st Top 10 Pop Hit for Alice Cooper Hey guys, 45 years ago this summer, Alice Cooper better known as "The Godfather of Shock Rock" and his band scored their 1st Top 10 Hit on the Pop Chart and his only #1 single in the UK The song was called "School's Out" This was Alice and his band 5th consecutive Top 100 Pop Hit, but this was also his 2nd American Top 40 Pop Hit, his 1st since 1970's "I'm Eighteen" "School's Out" became a Top 10 Hit and it was one of the best song in the summer of '72 Cooper has said he was inspired to write the song when answering the question, "What's the greatest three minutes of your life?". Cooper said: "There's two times during the year. One is Christmas morning, when you're just getting ready to open the presents. The greed factor is right there. The next one is the last three minutes of the last day of school when you're sitting there and it's like a slow fuse burning. I said, 'If we can catch that three minutes in a song, it's going to be so big.'" Cooper has also said it was inspired by a line from a Bowery Boys movie. On his radio show, "Nights with Alice Cooper", he joked that the main riff of the song was inspired by a song by Miles Davis. Cooper said that guitarist Glen Buxton created the song's opening riff. The lyrics of "School's Out" indicate that not only is the school year ended for summer vacation, but ended forever, and that the school itself has been blown up. It incorporates the childhood rhyme, "No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks" into its lyrics. It also featured children contributing some of the vocals. "Innocence" in the lyric "...and we got no innocence" is frequently changed in concert to "intelligence" and sometimes replaced with "etiquette." The song appropriately ends with a school bell sound that fades out. Later performances saw Alice Cooper incorporate parts of the first verse in "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2", a song by Pink Floyd (also about school, and produced by Bob Ezrin) into "School's Out." "School's Out" was also used in the series finale of the short-lived NBC Comedy Series Mr. Robinson Starring Comedian Craig Robinson and Peri Gilpin of TV's Frasier Fame "School's Out" was also the name of his LP which became a #2 Hit on the Pop Album Chart and the band's Biggest Selling LP EVER Alice Cooper would have 2 more Top 10 Hits on the Pop Chart as a Solo Artist In 1977, he hit the Top 10 with "You and Me" and in 1989, he would score another Top 10 Hit with "Poison" and now, here it is: "The Godfather of Shock Rock" Alice Cooper and his band and "School's Out" Check it out!
	__________________ Lisa Marie Varon, Lisa Moretti, Jazz, Lilian Garcia & Dawn Marie The Fab 5-Underrated, but AWESOME in my book Atlanta Falcons: RISE UP Last edited by Zoneboy; 05-27-2017 at 10:50 AM.

06-01-2017, 02:46 PM	#5
Torgo Omaha & Fritz Forum Star Join Date: Mar 06, 2004 Location: Oregon Posts: 19,025	Love Alice Cooper. He was my first concert way back in the 80's, put on a great show. Not so much a fan of his music from the mid-to late 80's on, though I do like the album Raise Your Fist and Yell . Probably my favorite album from him is From The Inside. I'm even a fan of his starring role in the cheesy 80's Spanish horror flick Monster Dog, despite the fact his speaking voice was dubbed by someone else. You do get to hear 2 obscure Cooper songs See Me In The Mirror and Identiy Crisis.
	__________________ "I'm going to go do something productive. I'm gonna go watch television." - Ray Peterson, The 'burbs "I am the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and Fries." - Stephen King "There's nothing wrong with G-rated movies, as long as there's lots of sex and violence." - Elvira

05-28-2017, 04:55 PM	#2
ABlairican Pie Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Dec 12, 2001 Location: Living where cats reign more Supreme than a pizza. Posts: 31,620	A lot of people don't know that Alice Cooper was in fact the name of his band in which he was the frontman, before that band broke up and he went solo in 1975 with "Welcome To My Nightmare". Interesting thing about producer Bob Ezrin, he seemed to have much success with introducing children's choirs into the songs of some of rock's biggest names of the time such as Cooper, KISS, and Pink Floyd.
	__________________ Release the kitties. --Nathan Explosion

06-01-2017, 02:04 PM	#3
Foggy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 20, 2014 Posts: 3,423	My daughter drives a school bus -- On The last day of school--guess what she played on her bus over and over and over again........

06-02-2017, 03:40 PM	#13
ABlairican Pie Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Dec 12, 2001 Location: Living where cats reign more Supreme than a pizza. Posts: 31,620	I saw Alice Cooper in both 1979 during his "Madhouse Rock" Tour behind his "From the Insde" album documenting his stay at an asylum for alcohol addiction. It was amazing!!! But at the same time, he was moving away from his classic macabre schtick to more campy Hollywood entertainment stage performances. It would take him several years before he returned to form. I went through a total Alice Cooper phase where to me, "theatricality = rock credibility". Something I had picked up from KISS a few years before. I also saw Alice Cooper in 1997 at the Universal Ampitheater and that was really awesome as well!!