“I’m Eighteen” is a classic rock anthem by Alice Cooper (Detroit born Vincent Damon Furnier). Released in 1970, this song resonated with millions of young people who could relate to the lyrics that explore the confusions and struggles of adolescence. It was the band's first top-forty success and convinced Warner Bros. that Alice Cooper had the commercial potential to release an album. The song and its B-side feature on the band's first major-label album Love It to Death (1971).
Alice Cooper co-wrote the song with the band’s guitarist, Michael Bruce. The inspiration behind “I’m Eighteen” stems from their personal experiences and observations of young people grappling with the challenges of growing up.
The Alice Cooper band formed in the mid-1960s and adopted its name in 1968, because it sounded innocuous and wholesome, in contrast to the band's image of villain-like characters in black clothes, with heavy theatrical makeup mage and a raw sound.
The group's first two albums, Pretties for You (1969) and Easy Action (1970), appeared on Frank Zappa's Straight Records label, and failed to find an audience. Once the band relocated from LA to Detroit it found itself in the midst of a music scene with the hard-driving rock of the MC5, the stage-diving Iggy Pop with the Stooges, and the theatricality of George Clinton's Parliament and Funkadelic. The Alice Cooper band incorporated these influences into a tight hard-rock sound coupled with an outrageous, theatrical live show.
“Eighteen” peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 and #7 in Canada in 1971.
Most of the band’s support was in the Midwest, and they often toured with Detroit groups like the Stooges, the MC5, and Bob Seger. They were usually very low on the bill, but when this song came out, their popularity began to blossom.
Neal Smith (drummer in the Alice Cooper Band) said: “The first show we did after they started playing ‘I’m Eighteen’ was the Detroit Auto Show. It was the big teen event of the year. It was the very first time we played a song where the crowd went crazy. That’s what we were trying for the whole time!”
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