He’s known for such rock and roll favorites as the 1972 smash “School’s Out” and the 1989 “comeback” single “Poison.” For many radio listeners, he’s also known as the host of a syndicated program he’s helmed for nearly two decades.
Now, Alice Cooper is ready to wind down his nightly offering, as the final week of fresh programs is now confirmed.
According to United Stations EVP/Programming Andy Denemark, Nights with Alice Cooper will conclude its 19 1/2 years in syndication during the week of September 4, with programs being offered through Sunday, September 10.
Denemark tells RBR+TVBR that all affiliates were notified of the coming conclusion to the program.
For some affiliates, Cooper was heard weekly. At Cumulus Media’s WGRF “97 Rock” in Buffalo, he was featured on Saturday nights. But, his biggest affiliate is Hubbard Radio Classic Rocker KSLX-FM in Phoenix, where he can be heard in the 7pm-midnight time slot. He’s been heard on KSLX for nine years, and before that was featured on sibling KDKB prior to its switch from Rock to Alternative.
Cooper joined the KDKB lineup in January 2004. By September 2004, stations such as KZEL in Eugene-Springfield, Ore., couldn’t get enough of his program. “Everyone gets a kick out of hearing Alice Cooper on the radio,” then-Program Director Russ Davidson said in a Radio & Records interview. “They especially like his choice in deep cuts. It’s him, broadcasting from a ‘toxic waste site’ out in the middle of the Arizona desert, just doing his thing.”
Today, Steve Gorman mans the nighttime slot for KZEL, as the Nights with Alice Cooper affiliates of today consider their next steps.
What’s next for Alice Cooper? A source tells RBR+TVBR that he did not retire or quit radio. Rather, the decision to conclude his syndicated program is tied to the sale of United Stations. “New management is taking the programming in a different direction,” the source said.
