Alice Cooper during the Celebrity Pro-Am at the Kraft Nabisco Championships at The Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California on Wednesday, March 29, 2006. (Photo by S. Levin/Getty Images) Getty Images In the first two parts of our exclusive interview series with classic rocker Alice Cooper, we covered his infamous "chicken" incident, his associations with Kiss, David Bowie and Elton John, the first time he heard one of his songs on the radio, his radio show, "Alice's Attic" and its affiliation with KLOS-FM and Superadio, his 1973 appearance on the cover of Forbes, and why he still tours at age 77. Here, in Part 3 we discuss the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, his addiction to golf and alcohol, and his faith in Jesus Christ. Following are edited excerpts from a longer phone conversation. Jim Clash: I know you're an active golfer. It seems so unlike the energy you put into live stage performances as Alice? Alice Cooper: Golf is an escape from rock-and-roll. When we're on tour, my guitar players and - I'm a longtime Callaway spokesperson - set up golf outings every day for whatever city we're in. We get up in the morning, play nine holes, then look forward to the show that night. Golf is a whole other addiction. I got rid of my bad addictions for a good one, what golf is. Clash: One of those bad addictions was alcohol. Did accepting Jesus Christ help with that? Cooper: I saw what I was missing. The music is not as fulfilling as you might think. I had the greatest wife in the world, the greatest band, the greatest success, but not the most important thing, Jesus Christ. He was not in my life. It was a miracle that when I went into the hospital, I came out and never had another drink, not even the desire. It's been 42 years now. The doctor even said that it was a major miracle. Clash: When did you know you had an alcohol problem? Cooper: I was the classic, somebody that uses alcohol as medicine. I'd go out and have three or four drinks, and do it every night because I needed them, not because I wanted them. "Oh, I've got two interviews, I'd better have a drink." Pretty soon, you drift into alcoholism. You don't realize it until it's too late. I never got drunk, but I always had a drink in my hand, that golden Dean Martin buzz. It didn't look like I had a problem. I never missed a show. If I were acting, I knew all of my lines. But my guts were saying, "Hey, we're dying in here." One morning I got up and threw up blood. Time to go to the hospital. Clash: Did the alcohol help you onstage? Cooper: I had a great psychiatrist. He asked me how much I drank on stage. And I answered, “I never drink on stage." He then asked how much I drank when I was filming or recording. I told him I never drank then. “So,” he says, "Alice isn't the problem, you are." I didn't even realize that. It was me the other 22 hours when I wasn't Alice. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 05: Alice Cooper poses in the press room during the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Microsoft Theater on November 05, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame A light came on. Now, like every other kid, we smoked grass in the band when we were young. In fact, Jimi Hendrix was the first to pass a joint to me [laughs]. The [real] drugs never were a problem, but the alcohol, which actually is a drug, was legal. I didn't want to go to jail for a drug, so I drank. Clash: Your induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2011 - what did that mean to you, if anything? Cooper: Everybody who is not in the Hall Of Fame says, "I don't care. Even if I get in, I'm not going to go." But getting in - it's the greatest thing ever. We got in when it was valid hard rock, when the bands really deserved it. I'm not saying that anyone who has gotten in recently doesn't belong. I just think they're spreading rock-and-roll pretty thin. Some bands in there now, I'm wondering whether they can put them in the same category as The Who. Burt Bacharach isn't in - he wrote as many hits as The Beatles. And Iron Maiden isn't, either. When we got in, we were a garage band from Detroit that happened to be in the right place at the right time. You're in the audience [at the induction] with Paul McCartney, Jeff Beck and Mick Jagger all cheering, and you think, "If we belong, we’re in the lower level” [laughs]. I fully expected an envelope and a secret handshake [with a piece of paper] that says, "Who shot Kennedy - UFOs, are they real?" But all it is, really, is recognition, and not necessarily for how many records you sold. It's more like, “What did you bring to the table that was historic and changed everything?" That was something we did. ForbesAlice Cooper: ‘You Can’t Set German Shepherds On Fire On Stage Tonite’By Jim Clash Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Editorial StandardsForbes Accolades