The book hit #1 on the UK’s Sunday Times non-fiction bestseller list.
Published by Ebury/Penguin/Random House, the book claimed the top spot after entering the list last week at #7.
The memoir, published in North America by Da Capo/Grand Central/Hachette, has also secured high positions across international bestseller lists. It debuted at #4 on the New York Times non-fiction list, #3 on Publishers Weekly, and #9 on Canada’s Toronto Globe & Mail non-fiction chart.
Devil On My Shoulder offers a comprehensive look at Cooper’s six-decade career, exploring the contrast between the musician born Vincent Furnier and his sinister stage persona. Trade publication Kirkus Reviews praised the book, noting that the tension between "regular-guy Vince and his sinister, egotistical alter ego, Alice" gives the memoir its core drive.
The review highlighted Cooper's focus on lyrics and stagecraft over typical celebrity score-settling, calling it a "hard-earned victory lap in a well-told tale."
Publishers Weekly echoed these sentiments, describing the book as an extraordinarily detailed account from the 78-year-old rock veteran. The publication noted Cooper's humours, humble tone as he reflects on his early influences—from comic books and horror movies to The Beatles—and sets the record straight on infamous rock lore, including the infamous Toronto chicken incident. The narrative chronicles his journey from forming the Earwigs at age 16 through to the creation of the theatrical, horror-inspired aesthetic that defined the Alice Cooper band.
Devil On My Shoulder is certainly the most detailed account of Cooper’s “eviloution,” from growing up in Detroit through the original Alice Cooper band’s formation in Phoenix, its time in Los Angeles and subsequent rise to notorious — and often reviled – superstardom with horror-show onstage theatrics and Billboard Hot 100 hits such as “Eighteen,” “School’s Out” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy.”
