(Credits: Far Out / Linda McCartney)
Sun 18 January 2026 15:40, UK
For all of his shock rock bona fides, Alice Cooper kept most of his influences to old-school rock and rollers. While theatricality was a major part of Cooper’s stage persona, his songwriting had its basis in the classic songs of the 1960s, the same ones that convinced Cooper to begin playing music. No band could possibly compete with the magnitude of The Beatles, and Cooper learned some important lessons from the Fab Four.
“When you think of great songwriting, nobody was better. McCartney and Lennon just did such great songs,” Cooper wrote in a feature for Louder Sound. “When I think of The Beatles, I always think of early Beatles. Take any song, and it’s like the perfect three-minute song, and I think anyone in the world would love to have written any one of them. ‘She Loves You’ is a good rock song.”
Beginning in the 1970s, Cooper became a member of the infamous Los Angeles drinking club “The Hollywood Vampires”. Cooper dubbed himself “president” of the club, which also included Keith Moon, Harry Nilsson, and Mickey Dolenz. Ringo Starr was a member of the club, and John Lennon was considered to be as well whenever he was in town. For Cooper, it was a dream to connect with Lennon.
Lennon’s compliment lands like a punchline, but it carries the kind of weight you only feel when you have spent your life measuring yourself against the impossible. Cooper could laugh it off because he understood the hierarchy. If you are anywhere near The Beatles’ gravitational pull, even praise comes with a little needle attached, and Lennon was never one to separate affection from mischief.
Still, the story says more about Lennon than it does about ego. He did not treat Cooper like a novelty, or showmanship masquerading as songs. He heard the intent, the satire, and the nerve of releasing something like ‘Elected’ in the middle of a real political circus, then championed it the only way he knew how, by dragging other people into the room and insisting they listen. For Cooper, that was the real endorsement, not the quip about McCartney, but the fact Lennon heard the record as a record, and wanted it to travel.
“In the prime of Alice Cooper, we were getting all this publicity, and I think John understood and really did like the idea that we were so controversial, that we were banned and that we couldn’t care less what Mary Whitehouse said,” Cooper said. “And he liked the songs.”
During one of their hangouts, Lennon picked out one particular single from the Alice Cooper band as a personal favourite. ‘Elected’ from the band’s 1972 album Billion Dollar Babies was released to coincide with the 1972 presidential election cycle. In it, Cooper proclaims his desire to be elected president, poking fun at the race between Richard Nixon and George McGovern.
“When ‘Elected’ came out, that to [Lennon] was like a great poke in the eye to all politics,” Cooper wrote. “He came to listen to the record at the office in New York, and he kept bringing people in, like, ‘You’ve gotta hear this record!’ One time, he’s walking out, and I’m walking in. ‘Hey John, how are you doing?’ ‘Hey, Alice! Great record.’ Then he says: ‘Paul would have done it better.’ And I went: ‘Well, of course he would – he’s Paul McCartney!’ The fact that he loved the record was a big deal.”
Check out ‘Elected’ down below.
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