With a career that spans over 50 years, Alice Cooper made a name for himself with his incredible stage performances and raspy singing voice. In addition to his unique stage presence and one-of-a-kind vocal, the Godfather Of Shock Rock is also a talented songwriter who has written or co-wrote many successful songs during his music career.
Although Alice Cooper and Bob Dylan are worlds apart in terms of the music they make, it seems Dylan was aware of Cooper. The musician commented about Cooper’s songwriting in a 1978 interview, and hearing such a thing from one of the most celebrated songwriters was quite a surprise for the rocker.
What Did Bob Dylan Say About Alice Cooper?
On January 26, 1978, Bob Dylan joined Rolling Stone for an interview during which the interviewer asked him about the musicians he liked. Dylan said that though he’s not interested in many of them, Alice Cooper is an overlooked songwriter and then added that he likes Ry Cooder and Dave Mason as well.
Rolling Stone’s Jonathan Cott asked Bob Dylan the following:
“Now that we somehow got onto this subject, who else do you like right now? New Wave groups?”
As a response, Dylan said:
“No, I’m not interested in them. I think Alice Cooper is an overlooked songwriter. I like Ry Cooder. And I like Dave Mason’s version of something, which is on the jukebox right now.”
In an interview in 2010, The Belleville Intelligencer asked Cooper about Bob Dylan’s remark about him. Cooper said that knowing Dylan said such a thing about him came out as a surprise for him in response to this. He then said it’s a compliment that Dylan knows him and added that he must’ve listened to one of his ‘touching ballads’ like ‘Only Women Bleed.’
As reported by Ultimate Guitar, The Belleville Intelligencer told Alice Cooper the following:
“One of my favorite quotes about you is the famous Bob Dylan quote about you being an ‘overlooked songwriter.'”
Cooper then said:
“That was such a surprise to me. What a compliment that Bob Dylan even knows I’m alive. He must have listened to ‘Only Women Bleed’ or one of those songs that felt like a touching ballad. I had four ballads in a row that were hit, and maybe that was what that had to do with.”
You can listen to ‘Only Women Bleed’ below.
