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Music at the Crossroads: Alice Cooper, at age 61, still rockin' on

He's pretty sick when he performs, but I think fans like him that way.

I'm talking about Alice Cooper.

He once stated that his audience would like to see Britney Spears' head cut off.

As he once said, "The sicker our fans get, the sicker we'll get."

Cooper, whose real name is Vincent Damon Furnier, is credited for introducing horror theater to rock 'n' roll.

The "Welcome To My Nightmare" rocker commonly wears black leather with skulls on them, and paints scary black circles around his eyes, with a line down the middle.

He was very extreme for his time, with his blood-drenched, violent stagecraft, pretending to behead or hang himself, or chopping off the heads of baby dolls and live chickens.

In more recent times, Cooper has calmed down quite a bit. The once heavy drinker recognized the toll alcohol was taking on him, and now, he golfs to help him through his addiction. He calls himself a reborn Christian, and he even considers Sarah Palin to be "a breath of fresh air."

Cooper's had a whirlwind of a career, and I think he's learned a lot about himself, and what being a famous performer can do to your life if you let fame get to you.

But at the same time, I bet he's still the same old Alice, who even at age 61, can still give fans a good taste of what made him famous: good heavy metal music mixed with horror movie theater.

Even Bob Dylan still likes him.

Alice Cooper will perform at Houston's Verizon Wireless Theater on Nov. 28. Tickets become go on sale Saturday at Livenation.com.