Glen Buxton

Glen Edward Buxton (10 November 1947 – 19 October 1997) was a US musician, and guitarist for the original Alice Cooper group. He was born in Akron, Ohio. He was known throughout his career as the "Blonde Bomber". He made his debut in a Cortez High School rock band called The Earwigs. They were very popular, and they changed their name to The Spiders. The band later changed their name to The Nazz. In order not to compete with another popular band of the same name, Buxton and his band mates changed their name for the last time to Alice Cooper.

Buxton was the co-writer of such rock n' roll classics as "School's Out," "I'm Eighteen," and "Elected," and is credited as lead guitarist on seven albums by the Alice Cooper group including the chart-topping "Billion Dollar Babies."

Though credited as guitarist for the group, Buxton's contributions to the band diminished with each ensuing Alice Cooper album. During the Billion Dollar Babies tour, Buxton's guitar was turned down so that it couldn't be heard through the P.A. system.

Buxton was one of the reasons for the break-up of the original Alice Cooper group. Singer Alice Cooper and Buxton had been friends since high school, and Cooper found it easier to exit the band for a solo career than to replace Buxton in the band.

Buxton reported became involved with herion, and after the disbanding of Alice Cooper as a group, Buxton fell into financial trouble, eventually losing his home to the IRS.

Later he played with a Phoenix-based band called Virgin.

He lived for a time on a farm near Clarion, Iowa performing with local artists. Buxton died of complications from pneumonia on Sunday, October 19, 1997 at a hospital in Mason City, Iowa. Before his death, the guitarist was able to spend time with his old band mates, consisting of Alice Cooper, Dennis Dunaway, Michael Bruce, and Neal Smith

In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named Buxton as one of the "100 greatest guitarists of all time". [1]