COOL
ALICE
COOPER
TRIVIA
One of the first
deejays to play
Alice Cooper’s
first big hit, “I’m
Eighteen,” was a
young jock in
Missouri named
Rush Limbaugh.
Alice Cooper was
introduced to
Shep Gordon, who
would become
his one and only
manager, by Jimi
Hendrix. Cooper
and Gordon have
worked together
from day one without a contract, on a
handshake alone.
Their first record
deal was with
Frank Zappa.
the original shock
rocker, Alice cooper
is still performing
after five decades.
Alice Cooper is
addicted to televisions and TV show
trivia. At one time,
he had 27 TVs in
his house.
Perhaps his “imitation” principle
applies more to golf? After all, Cooper rose from hacker to scratch golfer
to serious Pro Am competitor and today is known as one of the best celebrity golfers around with a “
comfortable” five handicap. PGA pro Johnny
Miller was the first one to prompt
Cooper to seriously pursue golf, and
that’s who he says he imitated.
“I studied Johnny’s moves, where
he placed his hands, how his left
hand did something different than
mine. I mimicked him, and developed this really good swing. Find
someone whose swing you like and
watch it, imitate it.”
It’s what he did in his early rock
‘n’ roll career, too. Seeing Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones for the
first time opened up a whole new
world for Cooper, who was 16 at
the time, performing with high
school buddies in a band called the
Spiders and using his given name,
Vincent Furnier.
“Jagger was the first to break away
from the band and move around the
stage to become the focal point,” he
says. “After seeing Mick, I realized
I didn’t have to just stand there in
front of the microphone like a lump
and just sing. I could walk around on
stage, dance, point at the pretty girls
in the audience. From there I crafted my own style.”
When it comes to speaking, however, Cooper
is not suggesting we “imitate others” and try to
be someone else or try to be someone you’re not.
He doesn’t mean copy or steal someone’s content
or story. He means listen and watch. “I learn new
things every time,” he says.
Instantly, I thought of NSA—and wondered
where I would be if I hadn’t joined and been able
to listen and watch other speakers. And I was reminded that when you listen and watch other
speakers and perhaps even study them, you get so
much more than information or a handy-dandy tip.
Often, you get insight, perhaps inspiration, and either one or both leads to more impact—for your
audience and for your career.
WORDS THAT ROCK HIS WORLD
if Alice cooper were a professional
speaker (he isn’t and doesn’t want to
be), his one sheet might feature only
three testimonials—compliments
that he will always cherish:
3. tiger Woods: When a journalist asked him to rate celebrity golfers, Woods
said he wouldn’t give Alice cooper “two a side.” this means that Woods
would not give cooper the extra two-shot handicap on the front nine and
the back nine because if he did, cooper would beat him.
