In A&E’s Biography: Alice Cooper, Alice Cooper clarified the truth about the live chicken incident on stage.
Back in 1969, the rocker stirred controversy when fans killed a live chicken at Toronto’s Rock and Roll Revival Festival. He recalled:
“The audience tears it to pieces. It was the peace and love festival. They tear it to pieces and throw it back up on the stage, so there’s blood everywhere – feathers and blood.”
The Chicken Story Became Famous
Rumors quickly spread that he had intentionally staged the incident and even drank the bird’s blood. Soon after, his label boss Frank Zappa called him about it and asked:
“‘Did you kill a chicken onstage last night?’ I said, ‘There was a chicken. I didn’t kill it, though.’ He goes, ‘Don’t tell anybody. They love it.’ He says, ‘It’s everywhere in the press!’ I immediately went, ‘Perfect.’ The chicken story then became huge: ‘Who is this monster who would do this at a rock show?’”
It was all a misunderstanding. Cooper thought the chicken could fly because it had wings and feathers:
“You have to remember I’m from Detroit. I had never been on a farm in my life. It had wings, it had feathers – it should fly. I picked up the chicken and I flung it into the audience, figuring it would fly away and somebody would take it and take it home and call it ‘Alice Cooper.’”
The Incident Made Cooper More Well-Known
But that didn’t happen as planned. Chickens can’t fly, so when Cooper threw it into the crowd, it just fell straight down. John Lennon and Yoko Ono were in the Toronto crowd that day. They saw the chaotic chicken incident as art. Despite their approval, rumors persisted and animal rights activists protested at Cooper’s concerts. The Godfather of Shock Rock added:
“My reputation was just insane. I didn’t have to do anything. They were inventing their own Alice Cooper myth. People were just discovering Alice Cooper, and I was just discovering him – so we were all doing it at the same time.”
The band members have shared different versions of the story over the years. According to one account, Cooper released a feral chicken on stage during a festival to surprise the audience, while other sources suggest it was a planned stunt involving the entire band.