Welcome to My Nightmare by Alice Cooper, album cover
Album

Welcome to My Nightmare

Popularity70.1
Also cited11 March 1975

Welcome to My Nightmare is Alice Cooper's debut solo studio album, released in February 1975. It is a concept album: played in sequence, the songs follow a child named Steven through his nightmares. Most of Lou Reed's band joined Cooper for the sessions, and it is his only record for Atlantic and, internationally, Anchor Records. Vincent Price contributes a spoken monologue on "Devil's Food", which leads into "The Black Widow".

It matters as the start of Cooper's career under his own name, and it spread well beyond the record. It inspired a TV special, a worldwide tour that was among the most extravagant of its day, and the 1976 concert film. The ballad "Only Women Bleed", released as a single, began life as a Dick Wagner song for his band the Frost. Drew Struzan's cover art later placed ninetieth in Rolling Stone's list of the top 100 album covers. A sequel followed in 2011.

Welcome to My Nightmare on Riffology

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Welcome to My Nightmare: tracklist, credits and charts

11 tracks · 43:24

Tracklist

  1. 1Welcome to My NightmareAlice Cooper and Dick Wagner5:21
  2. 2Devil’s FoodCooper, Ezrin, Fordham3:35
  3. 3The Black WidowCooper, Ezrin, Wagner3:38
  4. 4Some FolksCooper, Ezrin, Wagner4:18
  5. 5Only Women BleedAlice Cooper and Dick Wagner5:50
  6. 6Department of YouthCooper, Ezrin, Wagner3:21
  7. 7Cold EthylAlice Cooper and Bob Ezrin2:57
  8. 8Years AgoAlice Cooper and Dick Wagner2:51
  9. 9StevenAlice Cooper and Bob Ezrin5:47
  10. 10The AwakeningCooper, Ezrin, Wagner2:31
  11. 11EscapeAnthony, Cooper, Fowley3:16
Produced by
Bob Ezrin
Recorded at
A&R Recording Studio, Electric Lady Studios, Soundstage (Toronto), The Record Plant, Record Plant East, Electric Lady and A&R Studios (New York City)
Recorded
1974–1975
Engineered by
Jim Frank, Rod O’Brien, Dave Palmer, Phil Ramone, Ed Sprigg, Corky Stasiak
Mastered by
Mike Reese
Artwork
Pacific Eye & Ear, Drew Struzan
Photography
Bret Lopez
Labels
Anchor Records, Atlantic (US/Canada), Anchor
Length
43:24

Line-up

  • Johnny Badanjek · drums (drum set)
  • Jozef Chirowski · clarinet, organ, vocals, keyboard, piano, Rhodes piano, clavinet, background vocals, harpsichord
  • Steve Hunter · guitar, slide guitar
  • Tony Levin · bass guitar, bass
  • Dick Wagner · acoustic guitar, guitar, vocals, slide guitar, background vocals
  • Alice Cooper · lead vocals
  • Whitey Glan · drums (drum set)
  • Prakash John · bass guitar, bass
  • Gerry Lyons · vocals · guest
  • Vincent Price · spoken vocals · guest
  • Michael Sherman · vocals, background vocals
  • Bob Ezrin · piano, tack piano, keyboard, synthesizer, harmonium, Rhodes piano
  • David Ezrin · background vocals · guest
  • The Summerhill Children’s Choir · choir vocals, background vocals · guest
  • Trish McKinnon · background vocals · guest

Singles

  • “Department of Youth” · February 1975 (UK)
  • “Only Women Bleed” · March 1975 (US)
  • “Welcome to My Nightmare” · October 1975

Peak chart positions

ChartPeak
US Billboard 200 · 19755
UK Albums Chart · 197519
Canadian Albums (RPM) · 19752
Australian Albums (ARIA) · 19755
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) · 197523
New Zealand Albums · 197524
Hungarian Albums · 202133
Scottish Albums · 202148

Certifications

RegionCertification
Australia · 19962× Platinum
Canada · 19792× Platinum
United Kingdom · 1975Silver
United States · 1990Platinum

From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.

70.1
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.1k
ListenBrainz listeners
84k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
7.7k
Deezer fans (all editions)

Released the same week

Also released on 28 February

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The best of 1975

All of 1975 →

More on Anchor Records

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Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia 1975-02-28 vs 1975-03-11 (wikidata)
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz1 August 1975ignored lone early release dated 1975-03-11
Wikipedia infobox28 February 1975
Wikidata11 March 1975
US release11 March 1975earliest US date
UK / Europe releaseMarch 1975earliest UK or European date
22 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
—XWAtlantic075678154263other
March 1975GBAnchor Recordsother
11 March 1975USAtlanticoriginal
1 August 1975YUAnchor Recordsother
1982USMobile Fidelity Sound Labother
1987USAtlantic075678154225other
4 December 1987XEAtlantic075678154225other
1988DEAtlantic075678154225other
25 May 1990JPAtlantic4988029005748other
25 October 1990USAtlanticother
1993CAAtlantic075678154225other
1994CAAtlantic075678154225other
2001USAtlantic081227678593other
26 June 2001USRhino081227678593other
2002XEAtlantic081227438326other
19 March 2002USAtlantic081227438326other
1 October 2011XWAtlantic075678154263other
18 January 2012JPAtlantic4943674112814other
10 July 2012USAtlantic081227972639other
3 December 2013XWAtlantic0603497941070other
5 January 2024USAnalogue Productions753088751578other
19 April 2024USAnalogue Productions753088751561other
Cover art sources

coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500

SourceSizeVerdict
coverartarchive ✓1500×1500native: native 1500x1500
deezer1800×1800native
fanarttv1000×1000upscaled