text: love it to death love it to death is the third album by the american rock band alice cooper , released in march 1971 . it was the band 's first commercially successful album , and is considered to be where the band first consolidated its aggressive hard - rocking sound . the album 's best - known track , " i 'm eighteen " , was released as a single to test the band 's commercial viability before the album was recorded . formed in the mid - 1960s , the band took the name alice cooper in 1968 and became known for its outrageous theatrical live shows . the loose , psychedelic freak rock of the first two albums failed to find an audience . the band moved to detroit in 1970 and was influenced by the aggressive hard rock scene there . a young bob ezrin was enlisted as producer , and he encouraged the band to tighten its songwriting over two months of rehearsing ten to twelve hours a day . the single " i 'm eighteen " achieved top - forty success soon after , peaking at number 21 . this convinced warner bros. that alice cooper had the commercial potential to release an album . after its release in march 1971 , love it to death reached number 35 on the billboard 200 albums chart and has since been certified platinum . the album 's second single , " caught in a dream " , charted at number 94 . the original album cover featured cooper posed with his thumb protruding so it appeared to be his penis ; warner bros. soon replaced it with a censored version . the love it to death tour featured an elaborate shock rock live show : during " ballad of dwight fry " — about an inmate in an insane asylum — cooper would be dragged offstage and return in a straitjacket , and the show climaxed with cooper 's mock execution in a prop electric chair during " black juju " . ezrin and the coopers continued to work together for a string of hit albums until the band 's breakup in 1974 . the album has come to be seen as a foundational influence on hard rock , punk , and heavy metal ; several tracks have become live alice cooper standards and are frequently covered by other bands . background detroit - born vocalist vincent furnier co - formed the earwigs in the mid - 1960s in phoenix , arizona , with guitarist glen buxton , guitarist and keyboardist michael bruce , bassist dennis dunaway , and drummer neal smith . the band released a few singles in 1967 after a name change to the spiders . in 1968 the band adopted the name alice cooper — a name furnier later adopted as his own — and presented a story that it came from a 17th - century witch whose name they learned from a session with a board . at some point buxton painted circles under his eyes with cigarette ashes , and soon the rest followed with ghoulish black makeup and outlandish clothes . the band moved to los angeles and became known for its provocative , theatrical shock rock stage show . in an incident during a performance at the toronto rock and roll revival in 1969 , cooper threw a live chicken into the audience , who tore it to shreds . the group 's first two albums , for you ( 1969 ) and easy action ( 1970 ) , appeared on frank zappa 's straight records label , and failed to find an audience . the band relocated to detroit and found itself in the midst of a music scene populated 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 live show . while at the strawberry fields festival in canada in april 1970 , band manager shep gordon contacted producer jack richardson , who had produced hit singles for the guess who . richardson was uninterested in producing the alice cooper band himself , and sent nineteen - year - old bob ezrin in his place . cooper recalled the young junior producer as " a nineteen - year - old jewish hippie " who reacted to meeting the outlandish band " as if he had just opened a surprise package and found a box full of maggots " . ezrin initially turned down working with the band , but changed his mind when he saw them perform at max 's kansas city in new york city the following october . ezrin was impressed with the band 's audience - participation rock - theater performance and the cult - like devotion of the band 's fans , who dressed up and knew the lyrics and actions to the music , which ezrin compared to the later cult following of the rocky horror picture show . ezrin returned to toronto to convince richardson to take on the band ; richardson did not want to work directly with such a group but agreed on condition that ezrin took the lead . recording and production the band and ezrin did pre - production for the album in pontiac , michigan , in november and december 1970 , and recorded at the rca mid - american recording center in chicago in december . richardson and ezrin produced the album for richardson 's nimbus 9 productions , with richardson as executive producer . ezrin , with his classical and folk background , attempted to have the band tighten the loosely structured songs . the band resisted at first but came to see things ezrin 's way , and ten to twelve hours a day of rehearsal resulted in a tight set of hard rock songs with little of the psychedelic freak - rock aesthetic of the first two albums . according to cooper , ezrin " ironed the songs out note by note , giving them coloring , personality " . ezrin rearranged " i 'm eighteen " from an eight - minute jam piece called " i wish i was 18 again " to a taut three - minute rocker . both buxton and bruce used gibson sg guitars and tended to double up , playing similar parts with subtle differences in phrasing and tone . dunaway often played a moving counter - melody bass part , rather than following the typical rock strategy of holding to the chord 's root . zappa had sold straight records to warner bros. in 1970 for $ 50 , 000 . that november the group released a single of " i 'm eighteen " backed with " is it my body " ; and warner bros. agreed to allow the group to proceed with an album if the single sold well . the band posed as fans and made hundreds of calls to radio stations to request the song , and gordon is said to have paid others a dollar per radio request . soon the song was on the airwaves across the us — even on mainstream am radio — and peaked at number 21 on the charts . the success of the single convinced warner to contract richardson to produce love it to death — one of the first times an american producer assigned a canadian to produce an album . ezrin was intent on developing a cohesive sound for the album , and his earnestness was a source of humor for the band . at a time when the beatles had a reputation that made them seem beyond criticism , the alice cooper band intended " second coming " as a jab at the recently released track " the long and winding road " with phil spector 's elaborate production — the hyperbolic acclaim it received struck the band as if it were the second coming of a master composer on the order of beethoven — as well as ezrin 's attempts to bring such production values to alice cooper 's music . ezrin did not realize the joke was largely at his expense . when recording the " i wanna get out of here " sequence of " ballad of dwight fry " , ezrin had cooper lie on the floor surrounded by a cage of metal chairs . " black juju " was the only track recorded live in the studio . " i 'm eighteen " was a sixteen - track recording at 15 ips ; other tracks were recorded at 30 ips . music and lyrics a dark , aggressive song whose lumbering , distorted guitar riff is in e minor , " i 'm eighteen " was the band 's first hit . in raspy vocals against arpeggiated guitar backing , the lyrics describe the existential anguish of being at the cusp of adulthood , decrying in each verse being " in the middle " of something , such as " life " or " doubt " . the chorus switches to a series of power chords building from a , the vocals proclaiming : " i 'm eighteen / and i don 't know what i want ... i gotta get out of this place / i 'll go runnin ' in outer space " . the song turns around at the conclusion with an embrace of those things that had caused such anguish : " i 'm eighteen and i like it ! " " i 'm eighteen " comes between two straight - ahead rockers : " long way to go " and album opener " caught in a dream " . both follow simple hard - rock formulas , trading heavy riffing with guitar fills and solos . the album title derives from lyrics in " long way to go " . " caught in a dream " was the album 's second single and features irreverent , tongue - in - cheek lyrics such as " i need everything the world owes me / i tell that to myself and i agree " . the first side closes with " black juju " by bassist dunaway , a lengthy track in the vein of the doors , and pink floyd 's " interstellar overdrive " — both bands alice cooper earlier had opened for — with an organ part derived from pink floyd 's " set the controls for the heart of the sun " . the band named the song after a stray dog in pontiac . " is it my body " , the b - side to the " i 'm eighteen " single , opens the second side of the album . the verses pose the questions : " what have i got ? / that makes you want to love me ? / is it my body ? " — and declare in the chorus : " have you got the time to find out / who i really am ? " " hallowed be my name " follows with lyrics such as " screaming at mothers / the bible " . " second coming " continues on the theme of religion : " ... have no other gods before me / i 'm the light / the devil 's getting smarter all the time " the track developed from one of cooper 's lyrical fragments — " time is getting closer / i read it on a poster " — and is set to a delicate piano by ezrin . " the ballad of dwight fry " is a dramatic piece about the inmate of a mental asylum . it opens with a young girl 's voice asking if her " daddy " will " ever come home " , against a childlike piano backdrop . the song shifts to acoustic guitar and cooper singing presumably in the persona of the girl 's father , at first in a wavering almost - whisper . his voice builds with his persona 's increasing instability , eventually shouting in the heavy , guitar - backed chorus : " see my only mind explode / since i 've gone away " . after the second chorus there is a softer , creepy keyboard break by buxton , and when the vocals reappear they repeat " i wanna get out of here " , at first tentative and imploring , before climaxing in the character 's total mental breakdown and a return to the chorus . the song 's main character is named for dwight frye , an actor hollywood media dubbed " the man with the thousand - watt stare " who portrayed , the lunatic slave of the titular vampire in the 1931 film dracula starring bela lugosi . the album closes with a cover of " sun arise " by australian entertainer rolf harris . the upbeat pop song had been a show - opener for the band throughout 1970 , and contrasts with the darkness of the rest of the album . release and reception " i 'm eighteen " was the band 's first top 40 in the us , a success that led to a recording deal with warner bros. records . it spent eight weeks on the us charts , peaking at number 21 . in canada it broke the top ten , peaking at number 7 . love it to death was released on march 8 , 1971 ; a british release of the album followed in june on the straight label . love it to death was the first of the band 's albums on which the members received individual credit for songs ; previously the band as a whole was credited with all material . though the original sleeve stated that the album was a straight release , straight had already been purchased by warner bros and the album bore warner disc labels . the album reached number 35 on the us album charts , number 28 in britain , and number 34 in canada . the riaa certified the album gold on november 6 , 1972 , and platinum on july 30 , 2001 . alice cooper was the first band on warner music canada 's roster to sell more than 100 , 000 copies each of four albums in canada . in 1973 the band was awarded platinum albums in canada for love it to death , killer , school 's out , and billion dollar babies . the album first appeared on cd in october 1990 . the original cover shows the long - haired band members in dresses and makeup , and cooper holding a cape around himself with his thumb sticking out to give the illusion of an exposed penis . this led warner bros. to censor it — first that december by covering it with white strips , then by having the photo touched up with paint in pressings beginning in 1972 . both front and back cover photos were taken by roger , credited as " " . the gatefold features a close - up photo by dave griffith of cooper 's eyes heavily made - up with spidery eyelashes ; in his pupils appear photos of the other band members . " caught in a dream " was released as a single backed with " hallowed be my name " on april 27 , 1971 ; it peaked in the us at number 94 . the group supported the album with extensive touring . " ballad of dwight fry " was a dramatized set piece in the live show , featuring an actress dressed as a nurse who dragged cooper offstage and brought him back on straitjacketed in time for the second verse 's " ' don 't come very easy / in a strait white vest " . at the song 's climax , cooper would break free of the straitjacket and hurl it into the audience . the love it to death tour of 1971 featured an electric chair in the earliest staged executions of the singer . these executions were to become an attraction of the band 's shows , which became progressively more flamboyant ; the shows in the billion dollar babies tour of 1973 concluded with cooper 's execution by prop guillotine . the love it to death tour grossed so much the band bought a forty - two room mansion from ann - margret in greenwich , connecticut , which was to be its home base for the next few years . the album garnered mixed reviews . billboard called the album " artfully absurd third - generation rock " and the group " the first stars of future rock " . john mendelsohn gave the album a favorable review in rolling stone , writing that it " represents at least a modest oasis in the desert of dreary blue - aloofness served up in concert by most american rock - and - rollers . " however , referring to " black juju " he also said that " the one bummer on this album is so loud a bummer that it may threaten to neutralize the ingratiating effect " of the other tracks . robert christgau rated it b − , stating that he " never would have figured this theatre type to come up with it " and calling " i 'm eighteen " " as archetypal a hard rock single as you 're liable to hear in this flaccid year , or maybe ever " . the band saw its popularity rise over the next several albums . killer followed in november 1971 and reached number 21 on the us charts , and the band finally topped those charts in 1973 with its sixth album , billion dollar babies . unreleased demos of love it to death have circulated among fans ; highlights include outtakes of " ballad of dwight fry " with alternate lyrics , and early versions of " you drive me nervous " , which did not have an official release until it appeared on killer . legacy love it to death is seen as one of the foundational albums of the heavy metal sound , along with contemporary releases by black sabbath , led zeppelin , deep purple , and others . a review in british magazine melody maker called it " an album for the punk and crowd " a few years before punk rock became a phenomenon . pioneer punk band the ramones found inspiration in alice cooper 's music and love it to death in particular . vocalist joey ramone based the group 's first song , " i don 't care " , on the chords of the main riff to " i 'm eighteen " . john lydon wrote the song " seventeen " on the sex pistols album never mind the bollocks in response to " i 'm eighteen " , and is said to have auditioned for the sex pistols by miming to an alice cooper song — most frequently reported as " i 'm eighteen " . love it to death inspired pat smear to pick up the guitar at age twelve ; he went on to co - found the germs , tour as second guitarist for nirvana , and play rhythm guitar for the foo fighters . hit parader included love it to death in its heavy metal hall of fame in 1982 , and placed the album twenty - first on its list of " top 100 metal albums " in 1989 . in 2003 it was ranked # 452 on rolling stone 's 500 greatest albums of all time . greg prato of allmusic called love it to death " an incredibly consistent listen from beginning to end " and " the release when everything began to come together for the band " . to pete prown and harvey newquist , the groups 's theatrical arrangements help its two guitarists " [ transcend ] the all - too - common clichés " in their the simple hard - rock riffing and soloing " that were part and parcel of early seventies rock " . the band was pleased with the collaboration with ezrin , and he remained their producer until cooper 's first solo album , welcome to my nightmare in 1975 . love it to death launched ezrin 's own production career , which went on to include prominent albums such as aerosmith 's get your wings ( 1974 ) , kiss 's destroyer ( 1976 ) , and pink floyd 's the wall ( 1979 ) . songs from love it to death continued to be frequent requests long after cooper went solo . in response , when writing material for his 1989 album trash , cooper and producer desmond child spent time listening to love it to death and the band 's 1974 greatest hits album to " find that vibe and match it to " a style appropriate to the 1990s . thrash metal band anthrax included a cover of " i 'm eighteen " on its debut album fistful of metal in 1984 . alternative metal band the melvins covered " second coming " and " ballad of dwight fry " on their album in 1992 . the song " dreamin ' " on the 1998 kiss album psycho circus bears such a resemblance to " i 'm eighteen " that a month after the album 's release cooper 's publisher filed a plagiarism suit , settled out of court in cooper 's favor . swedish death metal band entombed released an ep in 1999 entitled black juju that included a cover of " black juju " . alternative rock band sonic youth recorded covers of " ballad of dwight fry " , " hallowed be my name " ( as " hallowed be thy name " ) , and " is it my body " — the latter of which is bassist kim gordon 's favorite of her own vocal performances . gordon used the song 's title for a 1993 essay on the artist mike kelley , in which she described the coopers as " anti - hippie [ s ] reveling in the aesthetics of the ugly " . the essay appeared in 2014 in a collection by gordon also titled is it my body ? track listing personnel the band members and recording personnel for love it to death : alice cooper band alice cooper – vocals , harmonica glen buxton – lead guitar michael bruce – rhythm guitar , keyboards , backing vocals dennis dunaway – bass guitar , backing vocals neal smith – drums , backing vocals additional musicians bob ezrin – keyboards on " caught in a dream " , " long way to go " , " hallowed be my name " , " second coming " , and " ballad of dwight fry " ( credited as " toronto bob ezrin " ) technical personnel jack richardson and bob ezrin – producers jack richardson – executive producer brian christian – session engineer randy kring – mastering engineer bill conners – recording technician