"No More Mr. Nice Guy" is a song by American rock band Alice Cooper, released in 1973 as a single off their sixth studio album Billion Dollar Babies (1973). The single reached No. 25 on the US charts and No. 10 on the UK charts, and helped Billion Dollar Babies to reach No. 1 in both the UK and the US. The song was written by Michael Bruce and Alice Cooper.
| "No More Mr. Nice Guy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Single cover | ||||
| Single by Alice Cooper | ||||
| from the album Billion Dollar Babies | ||||
| B-side | "Raped and Freezin'" | |||
| Released | March 16, 1973[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1972-1973 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:06 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce | |||
| Producer(s) | Bob Ezrin | |||
| Alice Cooper singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "No More Mr. Nice Guy" on YouTube | ||||
Cooper wrote the song lyrics about the reactions of his mother's church group to his stage performances, saying that there were worse things that he could do with his life and that the "gloves were off now".[6]
The song was re-recorded and featured in the video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock,[7] The Simpsons episode "Love Is a Many Strangled Thing", and the Family Guy episode "Mom's the Word". The song was also used in the TV show Ash vs Evil Dead and in the film Dazed and Confused. The scene featuring the song in the latter film was later parodied on Family Guy in the episode "Jungle Love". Cooper made a cameo appearance while performing the song in the film adaptation of the TV series Dark Shadows.
It remains one of the band's most popular songs, both as a live and a classic rock radio staple.
Track listing
edit- "No More Mr. Nice Guy" - 3:06
- "Raped and Freezin'" - 3:19
Album appearances
edit- Billion Dollar Babies
- A Fistful of Alice
- Alice Cooper: Brutally Live
- Live at Montreux
- Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits
- The Beast of Alice Cooper
- Classicks (Live Version)
- The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper
- Mascara and Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper
- The Definitive Alice Cooper
- The Essentials: Alice Cooper
- School's Out and Other Hits
Charts
edit| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] | 14 |
| Canada (RPM)[9] | 38 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 18 |
| Republic of New Holland (RT Singles Official Charts Company) | 1 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] | 6 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[12] | 10 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[13] | 25 |
| West Germany (GfK)[14] | 10 |
Personnel
edit- Alice Cooper - vocals
- Glen Buxton - lead guitar
- Michael Bruce - rhythm guitar
- Dennis Dunaway - bass
- Neal Smith - drums
Megadeth version
edit| "No More Mr Nice Guy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Single cover | ||||
| Single by Megadeth | ||||
| from the album Shocker | ||||
| A-side | "No More Mr. Nice Guy" | |||
| Released | January 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1989 | |||
| Length | 3:03 | |||
| Label | SBK | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce | |||
| Producer(s) | Desmond Child | |||
| Megadeth singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
American thrash metal band Megadeth covered the song in 1989 for the horror film Shocker. The cover was released as a single in January 1990, charting in both Ireland and the U.K.
The cover was later featured on the band's 1995 B-sides compilation, Hidden Treasures, and the 2007 box set Warchest.
The song was the only recorded material by the band as a trio, with newcomer Nick Menza on drums.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (performed by Megadeth) | 3:01 |
| 2. | "Different Breed" (performed by Dead On) | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Demon Bell" (performed by Dangerous Toys) | 3:55 |
Chart positions
edit| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)[15] | 32 |
| Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)[16] | 12 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[17] | 7 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[18] | 13 |
Personnel
editCredits are adapted from the liner notes.[19]
Megadeth
- Dave Mustaine – guitars, lead vocals
- David Ellefson – bass, backing vocals
- Nick Menza – drums
Production
- Production: Desmond Child and Dave Mustaine
Other cover versions
editPat Boone performed it on the cover album In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy.
Roger Daltrey, Slash, Bob Kulick, Mike Inez, Carmine Appice and David Glen Eisley covered it on the 1999 tribute album Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper.
For his 2024 album Solid Rock Revival, Cooper changed the lyrics for a kid-friendly song "Now, I'm Mr. Nice Guy".[20]
Uses in popular culture
editIn 1976, professional wrestler Chris Colt used the song as his entrance theme for his short-lived character The Chris Colt Experience, which was one of the first uses of rock music for a wrestler's theme song. Professional wrestling manager Jim Cornette used the song as the intro and outro for his two podcasts (The Jim Cornette Experience and Drive Thru) until late 2019.
The song appears in the Family Guy episode Jungle Love, during a scene where Chris gets paddled by Mayor Adam West as part of the "freshman hunt". The scene itself parodies another scene from the 1993 film Dazed and Confused, in which Ben Affleck's character paddles a freshman, which also features the song.
On the fourth episode of the seventh season of the television show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. named "Out of the Past", the song's chorus is played as the characters try to figure out what year they traveled to.[21]
References
edit- ^ "Alice cooper singles".
- ^ Talevski, Nick (2010). Rock Obituaries: Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-85712-1-172.
- ^ Coleman, Mark; Edmonds, Ben (2004). "Alice Cooper". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 11–13. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Guarisco, Donald A. "No More Mr. Nice Guy - Alice Cooper | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- ^ Wawzenek, Bryan (July 13, 2022). "Alice Cooper Albums Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
- ^ "No More Mr. Nice Guy by Alice Cooper Songfacts". Songfacts. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - ALICE COOPER, THE RUNAWAYS Re-Record Tracks Exclusively for 'Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock'". Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
- ^ "Alice Cooper – No More Mr. Nice Guy" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – No More Mr Nice Guy". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Alice Cooper" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ "Alice Cooper: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ^ "Alice Cooper Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Alice Cooper – No More Mr. Nice Guy" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Alice Cooper"
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. February 3, 1990. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin: levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Otava Publishing Company Ltd, 2003. ISBN 951-1-21053-X
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Megadeth". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Megadeth: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ^ Hidden Treasures Liner Notes. 1995.
- ^ Masley, Ed (April 2, 2024). "How Alice Cooper reimagined 'I'm Eighteen' and 'School's Out' for a kids album". Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
- ^ Hurley, Laura (June 18, 2020). "Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Needs To Stop Changing The Timeline After Latest Risky Move". CinemaBlend. Retrieved August 11, 2022.