The death of ‘America’s Oldest Teenager’ Dick Clark has resulted in many tributes from rockers of all genres. Perhaps the most in-depth and heartwarming one however, comes from the desk of Alice Cooper.

Soon after the death of Dick Clark, Cooper opened up about how ‘American Bandstand’ enriched his childhood, the inspirational role that Clark played in starting Cooper’s radio show ‘Nights With Alice Cooper,’ and more. Cooper released the following statement on his official website:

I used to come home from elementary school to watch ‘American Bandstand’. It had all the new songs, all the new dances, and it had the happiest guy in the world presenting them to you. I had no idea that later in my career I would know Dick Clark on a professional level. I ran into him some years ago, and he said to me, ‘Hey, Coop, if you had your own radio show, what would it be like?’ I told him it would be more like the free form FM stations of the ’60s, where the DJ’s actually played what they liked and demographics didn’t play a role. He said, ‘Alice, why don’t you do it then?’ Just like that, my radio show, ‘Nights With Alice Cooper’, was born. It’s been nine years later and I’m still on the air! And let me just add that NOBODY loved rock ‘n’ roll more than Dick Clark!

Cooper also released a personal letter (pictured below) that Dick Clark wrote the shock rocker after Cooper performed and helped host the 1990 American Music Awards.

 

Alice Cooper Dick Clark Letter
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