\n<\/p>\n
Alice Cooper<\/a> reflected on the conversation that led him to realize he\u2019s a different person from the character he\u2019s portrayed for over five decades.<\/p>\n Once riddled with alcohol and drug issues, he\u2019s been clean for 43 years. But before that, as he told the Telegraph<\/em><\/a> in a new interview, he was losing control of his life \u2013 even as a relatively late starter who didn\u2019t start drinking until he was 20.<\/p>\n \u201c\u201cI was sort of the Dean Martin of rock and roll,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cI was never drunk. I was always on this golden buzz, and I knew how to keep that buzz going. The problem was it was constant. And pretty soon your body\u2019s going to say, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re in trouble here,\u2019 and that\u2019s what happened. I just started throwing up blood, and that\u2019s when you know that you\u2019re not in control.\u201d<\/p>\n But alcohol wasn\u2019t the drug that did most damage \u2013 he started using cocaine after he\u2019d been told it wasn\u2019t addictive if it was smoked. \u201cThis was at the very beginning of crack, and crack is the most addictive drug there is, by far,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was really the thing that almost killed me.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> How Alice Cooper Survived the \u201880s<\/a><\/p>\n His first visit to rehab kept him clean for a short time, but one sip of wine reactivated his alcoholic tendencies. In 1983 his wife told him to clean up or move out, and that\u2019s when he finally regained control.<\/p>\n Cooper recalled the light bulb moment that had helped, even though it took several years for him to act on it. \u201cThe psychiatrist had a great observation. He says, \u2018How much do you drink on stage?\u2019 And I go, \u2018I\u2019d never drink on the stage.\u2019 And he says, \u2018Well, if you\u2019re in the studio, how much do you drink?\u2019 I go, \u2018I don\u2019t drink in the studio.\u2019 And he said, \u2018So Alice isn\u2019t the problem. You are.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n That led him to the revelation: \u201cIt\u2019s not the monster \u2013 it\u2019s the doctor that\u2019s in trouble. And I never thought of it that way, because Alice was such an easy character to push all the blame onto.\u201d<\/p>\n The 78-year-old added: \u201c[P]eople say [they\u2019re] a carpenter or an engineer or whatever. Well, no, that\u2019s not who you are; that\u2019s what you do for a living. And I got to the point of understanding that Alice Cooper is what I did for a living; I wasn\u2019t him. And putting that into perspective, you get a much healthier view of who you are in your life.<\/p>\n \u201cI can play Alice now tongue in cheek, and have a great time\u2026 But being Alice Cooper is just something I do. It\u2019s not who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n He reflected how much had changed over the decades: \u201cIf you\u2019re in a touring band, nobody gets high, nobody ever drinks; because now it\u2019s a big business and you can\u2019t afford to have a guy that\u2019s doing that,\u201c he said. \u201cIn the \u201870s you didn\u2019t hire the guy unless he got high, so everybody was on the same level.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, almost everybody\u2019s a health freak. Mick Jagger\u2026<\/a> does a half an hour on the treadmill before a three-hour show. Come on! He\u2019s everybody\u2019s blueprint for lead singers. Nobody gets better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cI think stress kills more people than anything. And I have really unstressed my life\u2026 [A]ll the ducks seem to be in a row \u2013 but it took a while to get done.\u201d<\/p>\n Cooper\u2019s memoir, Devil on My Shoulder<\/em><\/a>, is published on Oct. 8.<\/p>\n You can’t kill Alice Cooper.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Ultimate Classic Rock Staff<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAlice Cooper Knows What Kills Most People<\/h3>\n
Alice Cooper Albums Ranked<\/h2>\n