How Alice Cooper Helped Change Punk Rock Forever

The influence of Cooper’s 1971 album “Love It To Death” influenced the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, the Germs and others.

Rob Fenn

Click on the audio player to listen. CultureShift airs weekdays at 12 p.m. 

If you were born and raised here, you’ve definitely heard Alice Cooper’s signature snarl on your radio. 

Growing up in Michigan, it’s easy to take a track like Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” for granted — especially since homegrown acts such as Cooper and Bob Seger get some of their biggest airplay on metro Detroit stations.

Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” is from his 1971 album, Love It to Death. Love It was Cooper’s third record and was a milestone album for the genre of metal and punk rock particularly.

WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper looks back at the seminal “I’m Eighteen” and how Alice Cooper influenced a generation of young punks in the United States and overseas.

Alice Cooper’s new live album A Paranormal Evening at the Olympia Paris is out Friday, August 31st. 

Author

  • Ryan Patrick Hooper
    Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host and producer of CultureShift on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. Hooper has covered stories for the New York Times, NPR, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, SPIN and Paste magazine.