Eighteen – Alice Cooper | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#21), 1971
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
If your band is known as “the worst band in LA,” then things can only get better. Or so Vincent Damon Furnier must have thought after leaving Arizona for fame and fortune with his band Alice Cooper.
Alice Cooper – the name – allegedly belonged to a witch in the 17th century, reincarnated in the person of Furnier. Or so the ouija board said. Always on the lookout for the weird, Frank Zappa signed the musically-challenged band to his own label.
AC’s fortunes dwindled further and the whole shebang moved to Alice’s hometown of Detroit for a spell. Recharged by a sympathetic producer in Bob Ezrin, Alice Cooper’s third album, Love It To Death, sounded commercial (and musical) enough to get airplay for the single Eighteen.
In addition, Eighteen’s lyrics cut to the heart and soul of every kid in America who was or once was 18.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Bob Ezrin
Lyrics Written by:
- Alice Cooper
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).