Iconic shock-rock legend Alice Cooper shocks the book-selling world this week as his new memoir, Devil On My Shoulder (published by Ebury/Penguin/Random House) topped the UK’s prestigious Sunday Times non-fiction bestseller list this week at #1 after entering the list at #7 last week.
Published by Da Capo/Grand Central/Hachette in the U.S. and Canada, it also hit equally-prestigious best-seller lists in the U.S. and Canada, entering the NY Times non-fiction best-seller at #4, the Toronto Globe & Mail non-fiction best-seller list at #9, and Publishers Weekly’s non-fiction bestseller list at #3.
Book business trade publication The Kirkus Review wrote:
”The godfather of shock rock gives readers a look behind the black curtain. It’s the clash between the two characters—self-aware, regular-guy Vince and his sinister, egotistical alter ego, Alice, who chimes in now and then in a different font—that gives this memoir its tension, as well as it’s juice. Readers can expect the customary rock-star rehab story, but Cooper opts for a careful consideration of his lyrics and stagecraft rather than the traditional celebrity memoir’s score settling. Mr. Nice Guy takes a hard-earned victory lap in this well-told tale.”
Publishers Weekly wrote:
”Veteran shock rocker Cooper gives fans an extraordinarily detailed account of his six-decade career. At age 78, Cooper sets the record as straight as he can remember, complete with sarcastic asides from an alter ego (”Methinks he doth protest too much,” this shoulder devil quips after Cooper tries to play up the difficulty of his fairly idyllic Phoenix childhood). A lover of comic books, horror movies, baseball, and music, Cooper found inspiration listening to the Beatles, Chuck Berry, and other 20th-century influences. Gradually, he and his friends learned to play instruments, combining their fringe interests with their music to create the outlandish, horror-inspired aesthetics of the band Alice Cooper (initially called the Earwigs) by the time the author was 16. As he goes deep on the group’s albums and tours, Cooper puts to rest the infamous ”chicken incident”—no, he never bit the head off a chicken—and comes across as surprisingly humble, funny, and personable.”
Devil On My Shoulder is available wherever books are sold, both at traditional brick + mortar retail stores and all the usual online outlets.
