WCSX Classic Cuts
Alice Cooper: “Billion Dollar Babies”
The Hook: He wanted to hear folkie Donovan sing hard rock.
Album: Billion Dollar Babies
Year: 1973
Writers: Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce, Neal Smith and Reggie Vinson
Stats: The fourth single off the album of the same name, it peaked at number-57 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Background: Having reached number-two with their previous album, School’s Out, Alice Cooper and his band headed to Morgan Studios in London to try to top it. The result was Billion Dollar Babies, Alice’s only number-one album, in both the U.S. and the U.K. He recalls that many of the stars who hung around those sessions actually played on the album uncredited, except for his unlikely duet partner on the title track.
Alice Cooper on how Donovan ended up as his duetting with him on “Billion Dollar Babies.” OC:…enjoyed himself. :29
“Donovan, the only one who really got credit on Billion Dollar Babies, was certainly not the only one on that album. One session we had Harry Nilsson, Ric Grech, Marc Bolan, Keith Moon — all those people were on that album, They didn’t get credit on it, though. Donovan, though, was in the other studio and I went over there. And I think I was a little drunk and he was a little drunk. And I said, ‘I want to hear you sing a hard rock song. I want to hear you sing something really tough.’ I said, ‘Come on in here. Sing these lyrics.’ They were really vicious lyrics. And he just fell right into it and I think he really enjoyed himself.”