Rhino Factoids: One More Angel in Snake Heaven

There’s a strange sort of rock ‘n’ roll serendipity about the fact that we remember Dee Dee Ramone, co-writer of the semi-classic Ramones track “Eat That Rat,” who died on this date in 2002, on the same day that we remember Alice Cooper’s late boa constrictor, who died on this date in 1977 after being bitten by a rat he was trying to eat.

No, really.

Actually, the only thing in that first paragraph that might be even remotely surprising is the way in which poor Angel died, because it’s certainly common knowledge that Mr. Cooper has been known to associate with serpents, even naming an album after them at one point. Not a great album, mind you, but an album nonetheless.

Sadly, while the event itself has become a staple of “This Day in Rock” calendars, the actual name of the snake that died has been lost over the years. We do know, however, that it was soon replaced by a boa by the name of Angel, who ended up working with Alice for a couple of years. In fact, there was a particularly great story in the June 23, 1977 issue of The Montreal Gazette about how she proved problematic when Cooper was traveling to Vancouver to perform, and since it’s brief, we’ll just offer up the whole thing:

Alice Cooper’s Snake Can’t Enter Canada

“Alice Cooper must appear in Vancouver without his co-star, Angel, because she is a snake without a country. Cooper only last week acquired the services of Angel, a 9-foot boa constrictor, but was forbidden to take it across the border for a concert in Vancouver, said Shep Gordon, Cooper’s manager. Canadian officials demanded papers ‘stating the country of origin and antecedents of Angel, and in the short time available we were unable to trace the reptile’s roots,’ Gordon said. Cooper will carry on with ‘local talent – whatever the snake dealers of Canada can provide’ – while Angel’s legal owner, 7-year-old Ghandi Newman of Los Angeles, petitions his congressman to have the snake declared an American by virtue of being part of the Newman family, Gordon said.”

To commemorate this unforgettable date in Alice Cooper’s career, we present you with the opportunity to revisit Lace and Whiskey, which had hit stores only about a month and a half before the great snake tragedy took place. That there should be a song entitled “Road Rats” on the record can only be seen as sadly ironic.