Spiders 'Why Don't You Love Me' EP 7" (1998)
Before Vincent Furnier realized he was Alice Cooper he sang lead with the Spiders, recording two rare singles of hard-charging mid-60's R 'n B perfection!
From wikipedia: In 1964, Furnier was eager to take part in the local annual Letterman's talent show and gathered fellow cross-country teammates from the school to form a group for the show. They named themselves The Earwigs, and as they didn't know how to play any instruments at the time, they dressed up like The Beatles and mimed their performance to Beatles songs. As a result of winning the talent show and loving the experience of being onstage, the group immediately proceeded to learn how to play instruments they acquired from a local pawn shop and soon renamed themselves The Spiders: Furnier on vocals and harmonica, Glen Buxton - lead guitar, John Tatum - rhythm guitar, Dennis Dunaway - bass guitar, and John Speer - drums. Musically, the group were inspired by artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, The Who, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, and The Yardbirds.
By 1965 The Spiders, still in school, performed regularly around the Phoenix area with a huge black spider's web as their backdrop, the group's first stage prop. That year they also recorded their first single "Why Don't You Love Me", originally performed by The Blackwells, with Furnier learning the harmonica for the song.
In 1966, the members of The Spiders graduated from Cortez High School. With North High School footballer Michael Bruce soon replacing John Tatum on rhythm guitar, the band then scored a local #1 radio hit with "Don't Blow Your Mind", an original composition from their second single release.
By 1967 the band had begun to make regular roadtrips to Los Angeles, California to play shows. They soon renamed themselves The Nazz and released the single "Wonder Who's Lovin' Her Now", backed with future Alice Cooper track "Lay Down And Die, Goodbye". Shortly thereafter, drummer John Speer was replaced by Neal Smith. By the end of the year the band had relocated to Los Angeles permanently.
In 1968, upon learning that Todd Rundgren also had a band called Nazz, the band were again in need of another stage name. Furnier recognized that the group needed a gimmick to succeed, and that other bands were not exploiting the showmanship potential of the stage. He subsequently chose the band's name to be Alice Cooper and adopted this stage name as his own.
