Alice Cooper Says Crack Cocaine “Almost Killed” Him Back in the Day

Alice Cooper has opened up about a time in his life around the late ’70s and early ’80s in which he used crack cocaine, declaring, “That was really the thing that almost killed me.”

The legendary shock rocker’s new memoir, Devil on My Shoulder, is set to arrive on October 6th (pre-order here), and in both the book and a new interview with The Telegraph, Cooper discussed the impact that crack had on his life.

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Cooper recalled his introduction to crack, which came shortly after he had spent time in rehab for alcohol abuse. In his interview The Telegraph, Cooper remembered someone telling him, “If you smoke it, it’s not addictive,” adding, “This was at the very beginning of crack, and crack is the most addictive drug there is, by far. That was really the thing that almost killed me.”

He went on to say that his crack use almost destroyed his marriage to his wife Sheryl, with whom he’s still married to this day, remarking, “We were almost in [divorce] court, and I said, ‘This is wrong,’ and she said, ‘Yeah, I know.’”

In the book, as excerpted by The Telegraph, Cooper also mentions his experience with crack, writing, “A guy in LA whose name I can’t remember (or won’t divulge, at least) told me about this amazing new thing. They didn’t call it freebase or crack back then. ‘It’s called base,’ he said. ‘You don’t sniff it, you smoke it, and it’s not addictive. We’re saved!’ Yeah, right. It’s only the most addictive thing on the planet. I’d never smoked cigarettes, hardly ever smoked marijuana, but I went all in.”

Fast forward to today, and Alice Cooper has been sober for more than 40 years. At 78 years old, he remains a touring machine, with a fall North American tour kicking off next month, as well as a handful of collaborative “Welcome to Our Nightmare” shows with magician Criss Angel in Las Vegas. Pick up tickets here.