Alice Cooper, 78, Reveals When He Will Finally Retire — And His Answer Involves Mick Jagger

At 78 years old, legendary rock star Alice Cooper has no intention of slowing down, and while many musicians his age have already stepped away from the spotlight, the man famous for his outrageous stage performances, terrifying costumes and unforgettable rock anthems insists that retirement is still a very distant possibility.

The American singer, whose real name is Vincent Damon Furnier, continues to maintain a demanding schedule that would exhaust performers half his age, touring with his own band, performing alongside Johnny Depp and Joe Perry in Hollywood Vampires, working on three new albums and promoting a recently released autobiography that reveals some surprising truths about his extraordinary career.

During a recent interview in Glasgow, Scotland, Cooper explained that he still experiences the same excitement when stepping onto a stage that he felt decades ago, even though his body occasionally reminds him of his age after particularly demanding performances.

According to the rock veteran, the combination of adrenaline and an enthusiastic audience can make physical discomfort almost disappear during a concert, allowing him to deliver the energetic performances that have made him one of the most recognisable figures in rock music.

Cooper even recalled performing concerts while suffering from broken ribs, explaining that once the music starts and the audience begins responding, the excitement of being on stage becomes powerful enough to distract him from the pain.

Despite having spent more than five decades entertaining audiences around the world, the singer believes he is currently performing at an exceptionally high level and sees little reason to abandon something that continues to bring him so much enjoyment.

When asked whether he had established a particular age at which he would finally retire, Cooper made it clear that his decision would depend more on his physical condition and ability to maintain his famous stage character than on the number of birthdays he has celebrated.

He also revealed that he has a rather unusual retirement plan involving Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, explaining that he intends to continue performing for one additional day after Jagger eventually decides to stop touring.

The comment reflects Cooper’s determination to remain active in the music industry, particularly as other veteran performers continue to demonstrate that age does not necessarily prevent musicians from delivering successful live shows.

However, the singer’s energetic stage personality is only one side of a man whose private life is considerably different from the sinister character audiences encounter during his concerts.

While Alice Cooper is famous for appearing on stage with swords, snakes, elaborate horror costumes and a theatrical guillotine that seemingly removes his head, Vincent Furnier describes himself as a devoted Christian, a family man and someone who enjoys a surprisingly ordinary daily routine.

One of the most important people in his life is his wife, Sheryl Goddard, whom he married in 1976 after meeting her when she auditioned as a dancer for his Welcome to My Nightmare tour.

The couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2026, marking a remarkable milestone in a relationship that has survived the pressures of international fame, constant touring and some of the darkest periods of Cooper’s personal life.

Their anniversary ceremony was conducted by Sheryl’s father, Reverend William Goddard, who had also officiated their original wedding five decades earlier.

Sheryl continues to participate in Cooper’s live performances, occasionally appearing as an executioner who operates the guillotine during one of the singer’s most famous theatrical routines, a situation Cooper finds particularly amusing considering that the woman pretending to remove his head is also his wife.

Although their relationship has lasted half a century, Cooper openly acknowledges that it came dangerously close to ending during the early 1980s, when his dependence on alcohol and cocaine began destroying both his health and his marriage.

The musician has previously claimed that he spent approximately one million dollars on drugs during his most troubled years, although he now jokes that the experience left him with far more missing memories than anything worth remembering.

His addiction eventually became so serious that Sheryl left him and took their daughter to Chicago, while Cooper entered rehabilitation and faced the possibility of losing the family that had become central to his life.

He remembers reaching a breaking point after several sleepless nights, when he finally decided that he could no longer allow drugs and alcohol to control his behaviour, leading him to dispose of his remaining cocaine and commit himself to recovery.

Following treatment and intensive marriage counselling, the couple rebuilt their relationship, and Cooper has now remained sober for more than four decades.

Interestingly, the singer believes that replacing his destructive habits with a healthier obsession played an important role in maintaining his recovery, and that replacement turned out to be golf.

Cooper now plays almost every day, including while travelling between concerts, and has developed his skills to the point where he maintains a golf handicap of four, an impressive achievement for someone whose professional career involves spending so much time on the road.

His typical touring routine involves waking up, playing a round of golf, enjoying lunch, doing some shopping and eventually preparing for the evening’s performance, although he jokingly admits that his wife remains the most important constant in his life.

The couple have three children and five grandchildren, and Cooper takes considerable pride in describing himself as an ordinary American father and grandfather who attends church, enjoys family life and occasionally spoils his grandchildren.

His latest autobiography also reveals how much of the mythology surrounding Alice Cooper was deliberately exaggerated during the early years of his career, when shocking stories helped establish his reputation as one of rock music’s most controversial performers.

One of the most famous examples concerns an incident at the Toronto Peace Revival Festival in September 1969, when a live chicken unexpectedly appeared on stage during a performance.

Cooper claims that he picked up the bird and threw it towards the audience because he mistakenly believed chickens could fly, only for the animal to land among spectators, where it was reportedly killed.

Newspapers subsequently published sensational stories claiming that Cooper had personally bitten off the chicken’s head and consumed its blood, accusations that he has repeatedly denied.

According to the singer, record producer Frank Zappa contacted him after hearing the reports and encouraged him not to correct the story because the publicity was attracting so much attention.

The incident helped Cooper understand the enormous appeal of his frightening stage personality, which eventually became an essential part of his performances and contributed to his transformation into an international rock star.

Another long-standing myth involved the origins of his stage name, which was supposedly suggested by the spirit of a medieval witch during a supernatural séance involving a Ouija board.

In reality, Cooper says he selected the name because it sounded like something belonging to an ordinary elderly woman, creating a humorous contrast with the band’s increasingly aggressive music and bizarre appearance.

Despite his reputation for unpredictable behaviour, Cooper’s preparations before concerts are surprisingly structured, involving a series of personal rituals that help him transition from his everyday personality into the terrifying character audiences expect.

These rituals include eating a particular type of cheese, watching a kung fu film, practising knife throwing at photographs of well-known figures, applying his famous black eye makeup and praying before stepping onto the stage.

His performances have also changed slightly over the years because of restrictions surrounding the transportation of live animals, particularly in Europe, where the permits required to travel between countries have made it increasingly difficult to include his famous boa constrictor in concerts.

Nevertheless, Cooper continues to deliver the elaborate theatrical spectacles that made him famous, combining classic songs such as School’s Out, Poison and No More Mr. Nice Guy with dramatic costumes, horror-inspired props and carefully rehearsed stage effects.

The singer also maintains a special affection for audiences in the Netherlands, where his lengthy track Halo of Fliesbecame an unexpected hit and remains particularly popular among concertgoers.

With several musical projects underway, an enduring marriage, a busy touring schedule and no shortage of enthusiasm for performing, Cooper appears determined to continue entertaining audiences for as long as he remains physically capable.

And while fans may eventually have to accept that even the most energetic rock legends cannot perform forever, Cooper has made one thing abundantly clear: he is not planning to retire simply because he has reached an age when most people would already be enjoying a quieter life.

As far as the legendary shock rocker is concerned, the stage remains exactly where he belongs, and if Mick Jagger continues performing well into his later years, Cooper intends to make sure that his own career lasts just a little bit longer.