Alice Cooper, the legendary shock rocker, recently revealed that his favorite singer of all time is none other than Paul McCartney. According to Cooper, he credits McCartney and The Beatles for inspiring his own career in music.
Cooper first discovered The Beatles in 1963 when they announced their arrival in America with their hit single “She Loves You.” Before that, Cooper had yet to establish his own music taste and exclusively listened to the songs his parents played in the house. However, The Beatles changed everything for him. He said in an interview with NME, “The first song by The Beatles I ever heard and it literally changed something in my brain. It inspired what Alice Cooper became.”
Cooper later became friends with John Lennon in the 1970s when they were both members of the drinking club Hollywood Vampires. Despite his friendship with Lennon, Cooper has always held McCartney in high regard, calling him “the greatest melodist in the world.”
McCartney’s influence on Cooper’s music can be heard in his own songs, particularly in the use of catchy melodies and pop sensibilities. Cooper’s music may be known for its shock value and theatricality, but at its core, it is still rooted in the rock and roll tradition established by The Beatles and other classic rock acts.
Cooper holds McCartney in the highest esteem, and in 2015, he had the privilege of collaborating with his musical idol in the recording studio. The legendary ex-Beatle graciously offered his assistance to The Hollywood Vampires, a band comprising Cooper, Johnny Depp, and Joe Perry, for their rendition of Badfinger’s ‘Come And Get It’, a song that McCartney composed for the band back in 1969.
“Paul’s a rocker man, you know. If he wasn’t in his band, he would be in a pub somewhere playing with a bunch of guys,” Cooper later discussed the recording session in an interview with NME. “He just loves to play. You’ll look back and you’ll go ‘Jesus, that guy’s a Beatle’, he wasn’t a Beatle, he was the Beatle, you know, and wrote more songs than anybody, and never has gone back on what he believes, on what he does. You know, he’s just one of the guys. He was just one of the guys in the band. So now when I see him I go, ‘Vampire’. He goes, ‘I’m a Vampire’. But John was a Vampire. John Lennon was one of our nightly guys. He was there every night.”
McCartney’s influence extends far beyond just Cooper’s music. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time and has influenced countless musicians throughout his career. From his early days with The Beatles to his solo work and collaborations with other artists, McCartney has consistently pushed the boundaries of what is possible in popular music.