Alice Cooper Credits The Who for Inspiring ‘School’s Out’ Anthem

Alice Cooper revealed that The Who's "My Generation" sparked the idea behind "School's Out." The 77-year-old musician discussed his career and sobriety, plus how he created his 1972 hit.

"We understood what an anthem was after hearing 'My Generation,'" Cooper told Ganbarg.

That 1965 track taught him something crucial about music. Cooper pointed to why certain songs never die, explaining that it's "an anthem because 100 years from now, a 16-year-old kid hears that song and goes 'Oh, he's talking about me!'"

Cooper took that lesson and ran with it. "At the same time, everybody hated school. We thought, if you can capture the last three minutes of the last day of school before summer vacation, that would be a joyous song," he said. The idea clicked.

"School's Out" became a landmark glam rock anthem after its release in the early 1970s. The track was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2015.

Cooper, born Vincent David Furnier, is a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer who is still performing. He has Las Vegas shows scheduled for March.

The performer told PEOPLE in January 2025 about his sobriety, which began in 1983. "When I used to drink, my drink was whiskey and Coca-Cola. I used to be the Dean Martin of rock 'n' roll. There was always a drink in my hand," he said.

Staying sober hasn't hurt his image. "But I've never once had anybody come up to me and go, 'Wow, what a wimp,'" he said. He stressed that while sobriety "sounds like it would be anti the character of rock 'n' roll … rock 'n' roll is more of an attitude. You don't have to be drunk or high to be a rocker, you know. It's just an attitude."