Legendary Shock Rocker Reveals His Crack Cocaine Addiction ‘Almost Killed’ Him

Legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper was quite the hellion in his younger years. While he’s been sober for many decades now, there was actually a time when his crack cocaine addiction “almost killed” him.

Cooper has a new memoir on the way, titled Devil on My Shoulder. The book is set for release on Oct. 6, 2026. In the book, he recalls his life in the late 70s and early 80s when his crack addiction was at its worst. Notably, he’s stint with the drug came after he’d already been to rehab for alcohol abuse.

Speaking with The Telegraph about this portion of the book, Cooper recalled someone telling him: “If you smoke it, it’s not addictive.” He went on to explain, “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.”

The Rock Icon got addicted to crack cocaine after getting treatment for alcohol abuse

Cooper also confessed that his crack addiction almost ruined his marriage to his wife Sheryl. Ultimately, they weathered the storm of his substance abuse, remaining together to this day. However, Cooper admitted, “We were almost in [divorce] court, and I said, ‘This is wrong,’ and she said, ‘Yeah, I know.’”

The Telegraph also included an excerpt from Cooper’s book, wherein he recalled his experience with crack cocaine.

“A guy in LA whose name I can’t remember (or won’t divulge, at least) told me about this amazing new thing,” he remembered. “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.”

Today, at 78, Cooper has been sober for over four decades. He continues to make music and tour. In October, he’ll kick off a 2026 North American tour. See below for all those dates.