The one modern band Alice Cooper would love to join: “If they ever needed a really sick lead singer”
As rock frontmen go, few are more iconic than Alice Cooper, who is responsible for creating an entire archetype of the genre.
Due to the immense level of talent and stage prowess at his disposal, Cooper could turn a stage packed with any group of session musicians into a formidable band. While his work with the Alice Cooper Band, who finally reunited in 2025, remains the strongest of his career, there have been dozens of members in his solo band over the decades, and he made it work in each era.
Collaboration has also been a vital part of his career. Over the years, he’s seen how everyone from Paul McCartney and Brian Johnson works up close. One that stands out to Cooper appeared on the first album with his supergroup, the Hollywood Vampires, which saw Dave Grohl play the drums on a cover of Harry Nilsson.
The former Nirvana drummer is an artist that Cooper admires greatly, so much so that he’d happily replace him as Foo Fighters frontman if the opportunity arose. For his money, he believes the group are the tightest in the rock ‘n’ roll business. While he’s accomplished almost everything there is to do in music, during an interview with Atlanta’s Rock 100.5, he confessed his desire to be an honorary Foo Fighter.
“I think probably the Foo Fighters. Only because they’re exactly…when they do my songs, they do it exactly like the band,” he explained of his decision, when asked which band he would love to join.
Cooper then detailed the first-hand experience that landed him at his answer, recalling, “I mean, it’s amazing. I’ve done a bunch of things with the Foo Fighters, and a lot of their influence was Alice Cooper. The guys in the band, they said they learned how to play listening to our early albums.”
Cooper performed with Foo Fighters at the MK Bowl in Milton Keynes in 2011 and also during a special Halloween episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2017. For him, those memories are sacred, adding, “So when I go up on stage with the Foo Fighters, they nail my songs — they do ’em exactly the way they should be done. So I’d probably be in that band, if they ever needed a really sick lead singer.”
Cooper, who was speaking in early 2021 before the tragic death of Taylor Hawkins, also said that Foo Fighters have “the two best drummers” around. He then recalled being struck by Grohl when he first saw Nirvana perform, sharing, “The first time I saw Nirvana, I looked right past the first two guys, and I said, ‘Who’s this drummer?’ ‘Cause he was really good; he stuck out.'”
The rock icon also described Hawkins as “the Energiser bunny,” in reference to the endless energy that he’d inject into Foo Fighters shows.
Admittedly, Foo Fighters have made classic albums, such as The Colour and the Shape, but it’s the live environment where they truly strive. With a catalogue of hits amassed over 30 years, they can headline any festival or stage in the world and ensure everybody leaves the venue wearing a smile with a renewed faith in rock ‘n’ roll.
As much as Grohl is one of the best drummers of his generation, the Foo Fighters are his baby, and while Cooper is a rock legend, nobody else can front the group. Nevertheless, a one-off tribute to Cooper with Foo Fighters as his backing band would, undoubtedly, be a triumphant evening that would live long in the memory.
