Marking
its 50th anniversary today is the sixth studio album from the Alice
Cooper band, Billion Dollar Babies, which was released on February 25th,
1973. It was the most popular LP from the band up to that point,
hitting the number one slot in both the US and UK. It was also the
penultimate album by the band before its lead singer, one Vincent
Furnier, would strike out on a solo career, taking the band name with
him.
The first recording sessions for the album took place in
Greenwich, Connecticut, in a mansion called the Galesi Estate. While at
the estate, to achieve certain vocal sounds and echoes, microphones were
run through rooms of various sizes, including a greenhouse. After
beginning recording there in August of 1972, sessions were then held at
Morgan Studios in London, wrapping up by January, 1973. While in
London, Donovan contributed to the album by singing on its title track.
The album was produced by Bob Ezrin, who had been behind the desk for
their albums since Love It To Death in 1971. A quadraphonic mix of the
LP was released on vinyl and reel to reel which featured radically
different mixes, including alternate vocal takes.
The tour to
support the album broke box office records in the US previously set by
The Rolling Stones, with ticket sails pushed by the popularity of the
album and the four hit singles that were taken from it. It represents
the high water mark for the band. The album rocks consistently from end
to end with buckets of memorable hooks littering virtually every song.
