Writers: Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Glen Buxton, and Neal Smith
Producer: Bob Ezrin
Recorded: Fall 1972 at Morgan Studios, London
Released: February 1973
| Players: | Alice Cooper — vocals Michael Bruce — guitar, vocals Glen Buxton — guitar Dennis Dunaway — bass Neil Smith — drums |
| Album: | Billion Dollar Babies (Warner Bros., 1973) |
“Elected” began life as “Reflected,” a song from Alice Cooper's 1969 album Pretties For You that commented on the false lure of Hollywood glitz. The group decided to retool it into “Elected” for the Billion Dollar Babies album.
The political theme of “Elected” was inspired by the presidential campaign of 1972, during which Richard Nixon was reelected. Cooper called the song “total political satire,” and he added, “We hated politics, but the idea of Alice, the scourge of the entire world, being president was just too good.”
Cooper credited producer Bob Ezrin with turning the dramatic, horn-soaked “Elected” into a sonic “masterpiece.” Ezrin said, “It was important to give this a real dramatic value because the vocal itself was so campaign-like. To achieve that, I arranged for a full-length mirror to be placed in front of Alice while he sang so he could really sell the character to himself.”
During sessions for “Elected,” former Beatle John Lennon visited and commented on “Elected” in particular. “John Lennon would come to the studio a lot and listen to this song,” Cooper said, “and tell me, 'It's great, but Paul (McCartney) would have sung it better.' He was right!'”
Released as a single from the Billion Dollar Babies album, “Elected” peaked at Number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Billion Dollar Babies was the group's third consecutive million-seller, and Cooper's only Number One album.
The album also hit Number One on the U.K. chart.
Recorded in Connecticut, New York City, and London, it was also the first Cooper album to make extensive use of outside musicians. It featured Donovan, Marc Bolan, Harry Nilsson, and guitarists Dick Wagner, Steve Hunter, and Mick Mashbir.
