Screamin' Jay Hawkins was one of the first to incorporate horror props into his stage show, but there have been many others who have followed in his footsteps and put their own stamp on the genre. The person who can generally be credited with bringing shock rock to the mainstream and amping it up to a whole new level is Alice Cooper.
Cooper (a.k.a. Vincent Furnier) began playing in bands as a teenager in the mid-60s, but in the late 60s he had the genius realization that there were far too many rock heroes out there and far too few rock villains. Thus, the snake-wielding, blood-spewing Alice Cooper that we now know and love was born. With a couple dozen albums under his belt, his career has now spanned four decades and is still going strong. In fact, in addition to recording and touring, he has now branched out into other business areas, such as owning a restaurant (Cooperstown in Phoenix) and radio dj-ing (Nights with Alice Cooper, syndicated across the country and around the world).
So who better to kick off the last weekend before Halloween than the master of horror rock shows? And how better to do it than with some of the most adorable monsters around, The Muppets? This is just how loved Alice Cooper is - he was doing his scary schtick on The Muppet Show back in 1978! Turns out Jim Henson booked him in order to counter The Muppets' image, which he felt was getting too wholesome. At the time, Cooper's song "School's Out" was banned in many high schools across the country, but that didn't stop Cooper and The Muppets from taking it on.
That gem wasn't the only song they did together, however, and while today's featured song, "Welcome to my Nightmare," is spookier than "School's Out," it's no less classic. Move over Count von Count; here comes something scarier...
Not enough Alice Cooper/Muppet action for you? Then check out this tender ballad:
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