Most well-known as “The Godfather of Shock Rock,” singer and songwriter Alice Cooper made a name for himself with his trademark raspy voice and a stage show featuring electric chairs, fake blood, guillotines, deadly snakes and more.
His dark lyrics and gruesome image coupled with a bad-boy reputation would probably lend one to believe he’s the last person who’d become a Christian… But God.
Jesus got ahold of Alice Cooper, and his life has never been the same.
In an interview with pastor Greg Laurie, Cooper shared that though he may be a rock star, he’s also a Christian man who wants to help others, particularly youth, in the name of Jesus.
The singer started the Solid Rock teen center in 1995 to help troubled teens after seeing two teens exchange drugs in front of him.
I recently conducted a fairly lengthy interview with Rock Icon, Alice Cooper. In this short clip, Alice talks about how his faith in Jesus motivates him to help younger people. pic.twitter.com/b5Z3oQARgV
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) May 16, 2019
“I watched a couple of 16-year-old kids do a drug deal on the corner and I went, ‘How does that kid not know he might be a great guitar player? Or that other kid might be a drummer?'” Cooper asked himself. “And it just struck me right then: Why don’t we open that, give them that alternative to go there?”
So that’s exactly what he did.
“We’re all Christian guys,” Cooper said of the co-founders of Solid Rock. “And Lord told us to do it. So we just obeyed. That’s all.”
The painful reality of drug addiction hits close to home for the Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer who was delivered from the grips of cocaine and alcohol addiction through the power of Christ.
Here’s another clip from my interview with Rock legend, Alice Cooper. Alice hit rock bottom and was wasting away from drugs. His wife Sheryl had left him and Alice realized it was time to turn back to Christ. Little known fact about him, his father is a preacher! pic.twitter.com/ZcolPQDOct
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) May 20, 2019
“I knew that there had to come [to] a point where either I accepted Christ and started living that life, or if I died in this [sin], I was in a lot of trouble,” he said. “And that’s what really motivated me.”
Pastor Laurie posted various clips of Cooper’s interview on Twitter, giving viewers an insight into his faith journey.
“It’s a little intimidating to preach in front of Alice Cooper,” said Laurie just prior to the interview. “But here’s the thing a lot of people don’t know about him. He is a full follower of Jesus Christ and has been for many years. Alice was raised in a Christian home. In fact, his dad is a pastor. We all know that he went off track and got himself into a lot of trouble, in fact, almost destroyed his life through alcohol and drugs. But he made a recommitment to Christ. And he’s been walking with the Lord for many years now.”
I recently had the opportunity to meet the legendary Alice Cooper. What a nice guy!
He is a strong believer as well. I hope to interview him soon. Check out this video. pic.twitter.com/DL0cIRF24C
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) March 5, 2019
When he first got saved, the ‘shock rock’ singer admits he considered giving up his identity as ‘Alice Cooper,’ but a profound statement from his pastor made him change his mind.
“I went to my pastor and I said ‘I think I’ve gotta quit being Alice Cooper now,'” he recalled.
“Look where he put you,” his pastor replied. “What if you’re Alice Cooper, but you’re now following Christ, and you’re a rockstar but you don’t live the rockstar life. Your lifestyle is now your testimony.”
Laurie confirmed that Cooper’s platform is, in fact, unique and just as valuable for Kingdom purposes as that of a pastor.
“Today, you have your band the Hollywood Vampires, Joe Perry, and Johnny Depp, and you hang out with these guys, and you told me you gave a Bible to Marilyn Manson,” said Laurie. “They respect you because you’re you. You have this platform to reach people that a guy like me who’s a preacher, they’d never listen to a guy like me, but they’ll listen to a guy like you.”
If Alice Cooper is really a Christian, why does he still perform as “Alice Cooper?” In this video, he gives the answer. pic.twitter.com/nuHeZX3ms5
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) May 22, 2019
When asked if he was ashamed to say he believed in Jesus Christ, the rock star replied with a confident “no.”
“People talk about Alice being a rebel,” said Cooper. “There was never a rebel, more of a rebel than Jesus Christ. You want to talk about a rebel. He was the ultimate.”
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