Neal Smith (drummer)
| Neal Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 23, 1947 Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, hard rock, heavy metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Drums, percussion, guitar, vocals |
| Associated acts | Alice Cooper |
| Website | www.nealsmithrocks.com |
| Notable instruments | |
| Premier Drums | |
Neal Smith (born September 23, 1947) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock group Alice Cooper from 1967 to 1974. He performed on the group's early albums Pretties for You and Easy Action, the breakout album Love It to Death and the subsequent successful albums Killer, School's Out, and Billion Dollar Babies. His last album with Alice Cooper was Muscle of Love. In 2011, Smith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in the "Performer" category, as a member of the original Alice Cooper band.
Smith graduated in 1965 from Camelback High School in Phoenix, while the rest of his band members graduated from Cortez High School. Smith talks about his high school in the song "Alma Mater" sung by Alice Cooper. It has been stated by Alice Cooper and Bob Ezrin, producer of the band, that Smith would frequently call the drummer of The Who, Keith Moon, and ask him how many drums he had. It was a priority of Smith's to always have one more drum than Moon. Alice Cooper confirmed this in an interview included in the video compilation "Prime Cuts." Neal Smith's drum part on the title track of the number one album in the U.S and UK Billion Dollar Babies, is considered one of the most original and dynamic amongst musicians and fans of the group.
Billion Dollar Babies was also the name of the band founded by former Alice Cooper group musicians Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith along with Bob Dolin and Mike Marconi after they split from Alice Cooper in 1974. This band was embroiled in a legal suit over the usage of the name. They only released one album, 1977's Battle Axe, before disbanding.
...
Wikipedia