Neal Smith (born September 23, 1947) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock group

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

from 1967 to 1974. He performed on the group's early albums ''

Pretties for You ''Pretties for You'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Alice Cooper, released on June 25, 1969, by Straight Records. At this time, the name "Alice Cooper" referred to the band and not its lead singer Vincent Furnier. The album has a ...

'' and ''

Easy Action ''Easy Action'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Alice Cooper, released by Straight Records in March 1970. The title comes from a line from one of the band's favorite films, the musical ''West Side Story''. As with ''Pretties ...

'', their breakout album ''

Love It to Death ''Love It to Death'' is the third studio album by American rock band Alice Cooper, released on March 9, 1971. It was the band's first commercially successful album and the first album that consolidated the band's aggressive hard-rocking sound, ...

'' and the subsequent successful albums ''

Killer A killer is someone or something that kills, such as a murderer or a serial killer. Killer may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Killer (''Home and Away''), a character from ''Home and Away'' * Killer Kane, ...

'', '' School's Out'', and ''

Billion Dollar Babies ''Billion Dollar Babies'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Alice Cooper, released on February 25, 1973, by Warner Bros. Records. The album became the best selling Alice Cooper record at the time of its release, hit number one on th ...

''. The last new studio album with the five original Alice Cooper group members participating in new music was ''

Muscle of Love ''Muscle of Love'' is the seventh and final studio album by rock band Alice Cooper. It was released in late 1973, the band played its last concert a few months later. Background Cooper stated in an interview at the time of recording that the albu ...

'' in 1973. The original group's ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' studio album was released in 1974. In 2018 (fifty years after the original group debuted its new group name Alice Cooper in 1968), a live performance album '' Live from the Astroturf'' recorded in 2015 was released, featuring four of the original group members performing eight of their hit songs, with long-time Alice Cooper solo band guitarist and friend

Ryan Roxie Ryan Roxie (born Ryan Rosowicz, December 1, 1965) is an American guitarist, singer/songwriter best known as a solo artist and for playing guitar with Alice Cooper, Casablanca, Gilby Clarke, and Slash's Snakepit. Roxie is the primary founder o ...

interplaying lead guitar parts with original group rhythm guitarist Michael Bruce, on behalf of original group lead guitarist

Glen Buxton Glen Edward Buxton (November 10, 1947 – October 19, 1997) was an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist for the rock band Alice Cooper. In 2003, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him number 90 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guita ...

, who died in 1997 of pneumonia three weeks before his 50th birthday. In 2011, Smith was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

, in the "Performer" category, as a member of the original Alice Cooper group.

Music career

Smith graduated in 1965 from

Camelback High School Camelback High School is part of the Phoenix Union High School District. The campus is located at 4612 North 28th Street, northeast of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Camelback's enrollment is just over 2,000 students, over 75 percent o ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, while three of his Alice Cooper band members graduated from

Cortez High School Cortez High School is located in Phoenix, Arizona at 8828 N 31st Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85051. It is part of the Glendale Union High School District. The mascot is the Colt and the school colors are primarily black and white with red used as an alter ...

and one from North High School. Smith talks about his high school in the song "Alma Mater" sung by Alice Cooper. Neal Smith's drum part on the title track of ''

'' 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 Dennis Dunaway (born December 9, 1946, in Cottage Grove, Oregon) is an American musician, best known as the original bass guitarist for the rock band Alice Cooper (1962–1975, 1999, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021). He co-wrote some of the ...

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 released only one album, 1977's ''Battle Axe'', before disbanding. Smith has been selling real estate in New England since the early 1980s. He is also still active in music, and performed with Alice Cooper during a show in 1998. In 1999, he released his first solo album, ''Platinum God'', recorded in 1975. He is also currently the drummer/percussionist and songwriter for Bouchard, Dunaway & Smith (BDS), composed of Smith, former

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...

bassist

Joe Bouchard Joseph J. Bouchard (; born November 9, 1948) is an American musician. He was the bassist and one of the lead singers of the hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult during their most successful period. He is the younger brother of original Blue Öyster ...

, and original Alice Cooper bassist

. The band has co-written songs with Ian Hunter. BDS has released two albums: 2001's ''Back From Hell'', and 2003's ''BDS Live In Paris''. Smith has also released two albums under the group name Cinematik, with guitarist Robert Mitchell and bassist Peter Catucci, produced by

Rob Fraboni Robert Alan Fraboni (born 23 April 1951) is an American, California-born record producer and audio engineer, well known for his work with Bob Dylan, The Band, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Tim Hardin, The Beach Boys, Joe Cocker, and Bonnie Ra ...

. Cinematik has a loose, jam-laden world-beat sound, as opposed to BDS's more classic-rock sound. Smith has also recorded with

Buck Dharma Donald Roeser (born November 12, 1947), known by his stage name Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and ...

('' Flat Out'', 1982),

Plasmatics The Plasmatics were an American punk rock, hardcore punk and heavy metal band formed by Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams in New York City in 1977. They were a controversial group known for chaotic, destructive live shows and outrageous theat ...

(''

Beyond the Valley of 1984 ''Beyond the Valley of 1984'' is the second album by punk-metal band The Plasmatics. After the success of their first album and tour, the band began recording their follow-up album, ''Beyond the Valley of 1984''. After the amount of time and mon ...

'', 1981), and Deadringer (''Electrocution of the Heart'', 1989). Neal played on Bruce Cameron's CD ''

Midnight Daydream ''Midnight Daydream'' is the only studio album by Bruce Cameron, released in 1999. Track listing #"Midnight Daydream" – 6:42 #"Doctor Please" – 4:52 #"Mind Gardens" – 5:24 #"Miles Away" – 3:29 #"Born to Lose" – 5:32 #"I Want to Be Lat ...

'' along with an all-star cast of

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...

Buddy Miles George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–197 ...

Billy Cox William Cox (born October 18, 1941) is an American bassist, best known for performing with Jimi Hendrix. Cox is the only surviving musician to have regularly played with Hendrix: first with the experimental group that backed Hendrix at Woodstoc ...

Mitch Mitchell John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 194612 November 2008)In his book about the Experience, Mitchell states he celebrated his 21st birthday while on tour on 9 July 1967, which makes his birth year 1946.Mitchell's obituaries in ''Billboard' ''T ...

, Harvy Dalton Arnold and

Ken Hensley Kenneth William David Hensley (24 August 1945 – 4 November 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s. He wrote or co-wrote the majority of Uriah ...

. Neal Smith also has an

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...

project called Killsmith. Killsmith's sophomore release underway makes Neal Smith set to be the first member of the original Alice Cooper Group to have a project of original material released after the group's induction to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. On July 1, 2010 when talking about the newly retitled album, ''

Welcome 2 My Nightmare ''Welcome 2 My Nightmare'' (also known as ''Welcome to My Nightmare 2'') is the nineteenth solo album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released in September 2011. Peaking at No. 22 in the ''Billboard'' 200 it is Cooper's highest-charting al ...

'', Alice Cooper said in a Radio Metal interview: "We’ll put some of the original people on it and add some new people, I’m very happy with working with Bob (Ezrin) again." Musicians who appeared on the album included

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

, Steven Hunter and

Dick Wagner Richard Allen Wagner (December 14, 1942 – July 30, 2014) was an American rock guitarist, songwriter and author best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and Kiss. He also fronted his own Michigan-based bands, the Frost and the Bos ...

. Smith, Dennis Dunaway and Michael Bruce played on 3 songs on ''Welcome 2 My Nightmare''. Smith co-wrote the song "I'll Bite Your Face Off" from the album. In 2015, Smith played drums on the Hollywood Vampires cover of "School's Out / Another Brick in the Wall part 2" on the album '' Hollywood Vampires''. He featured on two tracks on Cooper's 2021 album

Detroit Stories ''Detroit Stories'' is the twenty-first solo and twenty-eighth overall studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper. The album was released on February 26, 2021, by earMUSIC. It crowned Billboard's Top Album Sales chart (dated March 3, 20 ...

Personal

Neal Smith's sister, Cindy, married Alice Cooper bassist Dennis Dunaway. She often performed in the band's stage shows.Walker, Michael
What You Want Is in the Limo: On the Road With Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, and the Who in 1973, the Year the Sixties Died and the Modern Rock Star Was Born
Random House LLC, 2013.

Discography

;Solo * ''Platinum God'' (1999) * ''Cinematik'' (2001) * ''Cinematik: One Full Moon Away'' (2002) * ''Killsmith: Sexual Savior'' (2008) * ''Killsmith Two'' (2011) * ''Killsmith & The Greenfire Empire'' (2014) ;With

* ''

'' (1969) * ''

'' (1970) * ''

'' (1971) * ''

'' (1971) * '' School's Out'' (1972) * ''

'' (1973) * ''

'' (1973) * ''1969 Live at the Whisky A Go-Go'' (1992) * ''

'' (2011) * ''

Paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...

'' (2017) * ''

'' (2021) ;With Billion Dollar Babies * ''Battle Axe'' (1977) ;With

* ''

'' (1981) ;With

* '' Flat Out'' (1982) ;With Deadringer * ''Electrocution of the Heart'' (1989) ;With

Ant-Bee Ant-Bee (stage-name for Billy James) is an American experimental musician and writer. In his musical work, he is a psychedelic era revivalist, working with members of The Mothers of Invention; the original members of the Alice Cooper (band), Alic ...

* ''

Lunar Muzik ''Lunar Muzik'' is the third studio album by Ant-Bee, released in 1997 by Divine Records. Track listing Personnel Adapted from ''Lunar Muzik'' liner notes. ;Musicians *Daevid Allen (Father Gong) – guitar, engineering *Harvey Bai ...

'' (1997) ;With Bruce Cameron * ''

'' (1999) ;With Bouchard, Dunaway & Smith * ''Back From Hell'' (2001) * ''BDS Live in Paris'' (2003) ;With Hollywood Vampires * '' Hollywood Vampires'' (2015)

References

External links

Neal Smith – RockNRealtorOutsight Radio Hours interviews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Neal Alice Cooper (band) members American heavy metal drummers American rock drummers Musicians from Akron, Ohio 1947 births Living people 20th-century American drummers American male drummers