Skip to content
  • Give me access to SECRET EPISODES
  • Episodes
  • Watch
  • Listen
  • Subscribe
  • Episodes
  • Watch
  • Listen
  • Subscribe
  • Give me access to SECRET EPISODES
PrevPrevious EpisodeWriting History Without Getting in Trouble (Part 9)
Next ExpisodeModern Mormon PentecostalsNext

My Cousin Vinny – Alice Cooper’s Mormon Roots (Part 10)

Table of Contents: My Cousin Vinny – Alice Cooper’s Mormon Roots (Part 10)

Click to Support
Gospel Tangents

Alice Cooper was raised in the Bickertonite Church, and his grandfather was the president!  Alice Cooper’s song, “No More Mr. Nice Guy might have a reference to his Bickertonite upbringing!  What else can Daniel tell us about Alice Cooper?  Did Mr. Smithie really punch him in the nose?

YouTube player

Daniel:  We go to a friend, a family friend, between the both of us and we have dinner together and we’re talking and my wife just out of the blue says, “Okay, let me ask you this, are you that Mr. Smithy in the Alice Cooper song that punches him in the nose?”

And then Ike Smith’s wife just burst out laughing and says either her or Bonnie, she says “That’s where it comes from!” See, they didn’t, as far as we know, they didn’t know. Apparently people had been telling them that reference and they didn’t really fully realize where it was coming from. So my wife is, I guess maybe it was the first bold one to flat out say, Hey, are you the guy that punched him in the nose? So go Laura! That was awesome of her. And he said, he goes, “Oh.” He goes, “Oh my goodness. Oh Vinny.” And he basically, or something like that, just very friendly and laughing. And he says, “Just for the record, I did not punch Vinny in the nose.”

So yeah. And I guess we have a friend that’s a part of the Latter-day Saint movement. I had met him one time at a John Whitmer Historical conference. I forget his name. Really Nice Guy. Anyways, he knows Ike Smith as well. And his wife Bonnie. Anyways, he went to an Alice Cooper–I don’t know if it was a meet and greet or a concert or something like that and they took a picture with Alice Cooper and he told him saying, “Hey, I know Ike Smith.”

And Alice said to him, “Tell Ike, Vinny said hi.” So, there’s a history between them and it’s very possible. It’s very possible that sarcastically, you’d have to ask Vincent Furnier himself.

Here’s the video of the song if you’re interested!

YouTube player

We’ll also talk about Bickertonite leadership.  Did they follow Brigham Young’s pattern where the senior apostle becomes leader?  Is an apostle greater than a prophet?

Daniel:  Bickerton is a prophet who are ordains apostles. So it shows, at least through history, and if you would to tie that in scripturally, Bickerton kind of acts in a way. I don’t want to say he was Jesus, but he started a movement and restored the movement. Obviously if you’re a Bickertonite, you have to believe that he had the power to do that and to ordain apostles. So, it’s little interesting mental gymnastics that we play.

GT: I just wonder if that’s because the Cadman narrative is what won out, right?

Daniel: Yeah, exactly.

GT: So he would probably try to push prophets below apostles because he was an apostle and he wanted to be at the top of the church.

Daniel: Oh for sure.

GT: And so it sounded like…

Daniel: And he could even been considered a prophet necessarily, but he still was an apostle and the president first. Yeah.

GT: So, the president of the quorum of the Twelve–so you guys will follow the Brigham Young Movement in that the president of the Quorum of Twelve becomes the president of the church.

Daniel: Exactly, Yep.

Check out our conversation!  Here are our other conversations with Daniel!

 

Alice Cooper's grandfather was President of the Bickertonite Church!
Alice Cooper’s grandfather was President of the Bickertonite Church!

204: Writing History Without Getting in Trouble (Stone)

203: Reuniting the Bickerton Break (Stone)

202: Ousting a Prophet (Stone)

201: False Prophecies Are Possible! (Stone)

200: Civil War Prophecy Leads to Black Ordination (Stone)

199: Biblical Support to Ordain Women (Stone)

198: Bickerton Becomes Prophet (Stone)

197: Sidney’s Church Falls Apart (Stone)

196: Rigdon/Spalding Manuscript Theory (Stone)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:09 — 16.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Love this? Donate or Subscribe

Do you love the friendly, non-bashing interviews about Mormonism here on Gospel Tangents? 
Please show your support for Gospel Tangents by becoming a donor or subscriber:

Make me a Donor
Make me a Subscriber
No related products found.

More Podcasts with these Guests:

  • Deep Dive Mormon Schisms (John Hamer 2 of 2)
  • Succession Crisis (John Hamer 1 of 2)
  • Modern Mormon Pentecostals
  • Writing History Without Getting in Trouble (Part 9)
  • Reuniting the Bickerton Break (Part 8)

Get more information on the people and things discussed in this episode:

  • Guest: Daniel Stone, John Hamer
  • Denomination: Bickertonites
  • Historical Mentions Mormon History, Vincent Furnier, William Bickerton
  • Tags: Alice Cooper, GT Podcast, iTunes, Mormon schisms, Vincent Furnier, William Bickerton

Tell me when the next episode drops!

PrevPrevious EpisodeWriting History Without Getting in Trouble (Part 9)
Next ExpisodeModern Mormon PentecostalsNext

One Response

  1. RickB says:
    April 15, 2019 at 10:28 pm

    This interview explains that Mr. Smith was Emmitt Smith, his journalism teacher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PebLq32PvQ&feature=youtu.be&t=212

  • Date: October 10, 2018
  • Guest: Daniel Stone, John Hamer
  • Denomination: Bickertonites
  • Historical Mentions Mormon History, Vincent Furnier, William Bickerton
  • Tags: Alice Cooper, GT Podcast, iTunes, Mormon schisms, Vincent Furnier, William Bickerton
  • Posted By: RickB

Subscribe

I passed my class! Please help support Gospel Tangents and subscribe to the podcast!

Rick Bennett, Host

Rick Bennett is the friendly host of Gospel Tangents LDS Podcast: The Best Source for Mormon History, Science, and Theology. Book Rick for your fireside or conference.

More Interviews

  • Ben Spackman
  • David Ostler
  • Denver Snuffer
  • Lachlan McKay
  • Lindsay Hansen Park
  • Margaret Toscano
  • Richard Bushman
  • Sally Gordon
  • Terryl Givens
  • Ugo Perego...
View all 100+ Interviewees

Proud to be an Amazon Associate

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Subscribe

Go ad-free, get written transcripts, and talk to Rick one-on-one!
Stop Seeing Ads

Rick Bennett, Host of Gospel Tangents

Rick Bennett is the friendly, independent historian at the heart of Gospel Tangents LDS Podcast: The Best Source for Mormon History, Science, and Theology. When he isn't interviewing Mormon scholars, prophets, and others, he is teaching math and statistics at Utah Valley University. He also freelances as a research biostatistician in the fields of Dermatology and Traumatic Brian Injuries, as well as in the network television/cable T.V. industries as a sports statistician. Rick holds a Master of Statistics Degree from the University of Utah.

Contact Rick
Book Rick for your Event
Podcast Episodes
0 +
People Interviewed
0 +
  • Home
  • About
  • Episodes
  • Subscribe
  • Fan Shop
  • Book Rick
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About
  • Episodes
  • Subscribe
  • Fan Shop
  • Book Rick
  • Contact Us
Copyright 2025, Gospel Tangents. All Rights Reserved.