“No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks” Alice Cooper scores their first major hit with the rebellious “School’s Out” in 1972
The song climbed to the No.1 UK singles charts on August 28, 1972
“No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks” Alice Cooper scores their first major hit with the rebellious “School’s Out” in 1972
“School’s Out” was released on April 26, 1972, as the first and lead single of Alice Cooper’s (band) 5th album of the same title, backed with “Gutter Cat”. The song, written by all members of the band, Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce, Glen Buxton (who created the song’s famous opening riff), Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith, became their first major hit single, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No.1 on the UK singles charts for three weeks starting on August 28, 1972. Alice Cooper has stated that the inspiration for the song, first came when he was asked “What’s the greatest three minutes of your life?” for which he replied: “There’s two times during the year. One is Christmas morning, when you’re just getting ready to open the presents. The greed factor is right there. The next one is the last three minutes of the last day of school when you’re sitting there and it’s like a slow fuse burning. I said, ‘If we can catch that three minute in a song, it’s going to be so big.'” Due to its lyrical content, at the time, some radio stations banned the song from their airwaves, stating that the song gave the students an impression of rebelliousness against childhood education. Teachers, parents, principals, counselors, and psychologists also shunned the song and demanded several radio stations ban the song from ever being played on the air. Despite that, “School’s Out” still climbed its way into the charts and remains one of Alice Cooper’s signature songs, a concert staple to this day.
Look back at Alice Cooper performing “School’s Out” in 1972
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