Tag: Vincent Furnier

I grew up with this band as they were played on AM radio, and we had a few singles. What I just realized recently is how pop this all sounds. For all the guillotines, snakes, and fake blood of Cooper’s stage show, this song could have sat alongside power pop songs of the era. That is a compliment.

It took me a long time to figure out that Alice Cooper was a band, not the lead singer (well, until they broke up). The change from the band name to the singer’s name occurred in 1975 when the original band broke up, and the lead singer, Vincent Furnier, legally changed his name to Alice Cooper so he could continue with that name. The band, originally called The Earwigs and then The Spiders, decided to change their name to Alice Cooper in 1968. They wanted a name that was wholesome-sounding, a contrast to their horror-themed image. For publicity, the band said it came from an Ouija board and Alice was a witch from long ago. 

By 1973, Alice Cooper wasn’t just a band; they were a phenomenon. The name Alice had gone from a person to a brand, from a weird underground theater act to global headlines. I would say Alice Cooper and Ziggy Stardust were the big theater kind of acts until KISS came along later. 

Cooper wrote this song with Michael Bruce, who was a member of the original Alice Cooper. Bruce played guitar, keyboards, and contributed vocals as a band member. He was also the group’s chief songwriter and wrote or co-wrote many of their most-recognized songs, including School’s Out, Under My Wheels, I’m Eighteen, Ballad of Dwight Fry, Be My Lover, Desperado, and Billion Dollar Babies.

This song was an answer to nervous mothers and everyone else who was scared of his influence. He was basically saying he was going to keep doing what he was doing. Funny thing is, now Alice Cooper is one of the most grounded rock stars of them all. I saw him open up for the Rolling Stones in 2006, and he was great! With the little bit of makeup he was using, he looked like he walked out of 1973. 

This was the third single from Billion Dollar Babies, the sixth studio album by Alice Cooper. This was the band’s most commercially successful album. It topped the album charts in both the United States and the UK, and also made the Top 10 in Australia, Austria, and Canada. Bob Ezrin was the producer who produced many of Alice Cooper’s albums. Alice called Ezrin our George Martin. 

The song peaked at #15 on the Billboard 100 and #10 in the UK in 1973

No More Mr. Nice Guy

I used to be such a sweet, sweet thing
‘Til they got a hold of me.
I opened doors for little old ladies,
I helped the blind to see.
I got no friends ’cause they read the papers.
They can’t be seen with me and I’m gettin’ real shot down
And I’m feeling mean.

[Chorus]
No more Mister Nice Guy,
No more Mister Clean,
No more Mister Nice Guy,
They say he’s sick, he’s obscene.

I got no friends ’cause they read the papers.
They can’t be seen with me and I’m feelin’ real shot down
And I’m gettin’ mean.

No more Mister Nice Guy,
No more Mister Clean,
No more Mister Nice Guy,
They say he’s sick, he’s obscene.

My dog bit me on the leg today.
My cat clawed my eyes.
Ma’s been thrown out of the social circle,
And dad has to hide.
I went to church incognito.
When everybody rose, the Reverend Smith,
He recognized me,
And punched me in the nose, he said.

No more Mister Nice Guy,
No more Mister Clean,
No more Mister Nice Guy,
He said you’re sick, you’re obscene.

No more Mister Nice Guy,
No more Mister Clean,
No more Mister Nice Guy,
He said you’re sick, you’re obscene.