Billion Dollar Babies is the brainchild of Michael Bruce, Neal Smith and Dennis Dunaway, members all of the original Alice Cooper Group.

If you were ever enrolled in Rock 'n Roll History 101, you'll remember that "Alice Cooper" was the name of the entire band, before it was taken as the nom de plume of the lead singer. And well it should have been the band's moniker, since Michael Bruce penned 81% of the vintage Cooper material and the Smith-Dunaway rhythm section not only formed a rock solid foundation, but caused severe palpitations of many an adolescent heart.

Breaking through the barrier of superstardom in 1970 with the hit single "Eighteen" and the LP "Love It To Death," and continuing through 6 gold albums (3 platinum!), perpetual touring in the U.S.A., Europe, South America and any other locale which would have them- irreconcilable differences (aesthetic and otherwise) eventually took their toll.

Our three heroes could not all fit comfortably behind either an X or O on Hollywood Squares with the gentleman who adopted the group's name. They found themselves temporarily in the situation of being a band without portfolio and after catching their breaths for a brief spell, each one came up with the exact same prescription for their respective cases of the "Rockin' Pneumonia and The Boogie Woogie Flu."

The cure-all was the formation of Billion Dollar Babies- a band dedicated to their original goal, namely crisp, sure-footed, scorching, and catchy hard rock for teenagers of all ages. Neal Smith and Michael Bruce immediately plunged into their collective extended-adolescent thought streams and generated a wealth of material that had all who listened feel had surpassed their previous efforts.

The next step was completing the band - but that turned out to be no task at all. While touring back in 1973, Neal, Dennis, and Michael had seen an amazing young guitarist named Mike Marconi performing in Rochester, NY. No other guitar player would be considered until they had a decision from this dark, angular, shaggy haired rock 'n roll whiz kid. Mike, Neal, Dennis, and manager, Leo Fenn went on a "search and recruit" mission to darkest Rochester, zeroed in their target, and came away with B$B's "strato-blasting" lead guitarist.

Finding a master of keyboards was a bit easier. Bob Dolin had been hired to play on the 1973 Cooper Group Tour and had impressed everyone. Accomplished on synthesizer and organ as well as piano, the classically trained Dolin joined up with the fledgling rock 'n roll crusaders and the Billon Dollar Babies were ready to dance in their rock 'n roll baby shoes.

"Battle Axe" represented the debut LP of the Babies. Not only was it the title of the album, but also of their sports spectacular stage show. The concept- if one can really apply that trite word- was basically the triumph of pure rock 'n roll over other musical forces seeking to weaken rock's grasp on the hearts and minds of teenagers. A sonorous fanfare commences, a futuristic fight ring rises out of the stage and a battle to the finish takes place between rival guitarists dressed in bold sci-fi rock-star regalia a la a space-age gladiator. "Born from the despair of MOR and Disco came the ultimate in spectacular" riff to riff combat pitting the resurgent energy of rock against the cold and calculating wastelands of formula disco and other such enervating musical forms. Rock 'n roll triumphs and the audience was left to pronounce the fate of the vanquished.

The Billion Dollar Babies rock 'n roll ammo consisted of strong doses of solid rock songs as presented on Battle Axe: "Rock 'n Roll Radio," "Too Young," "Dance With Me," and all the other tracks were a salvo of well-executed melodic rock 'n roll that kept the airwaves and concert halls pulsating through the rest of the seventies. The Billion Dollar Babies meant business!

"Battle Axe" has been out of print since the late 1970s and is unlikely to ever be reissued on CD, although Tendolar used three of its selections ("Too Young," "Need Your Love" and "Dance With Me") in the 1990s for the Cooper CD Camelback Kids.