The Stooges (also known as Iggy and the Stooges) were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. Initially playing a raw, primitive style of rock and roll, the band sold few records in their original incarnation and gained a reputation for their confrontational performances, which sometimes involved acts of stage diving and self-mutilation by Iggy Pop.
After releasing two albums – The Stooges (1969) and Fun House (1970) – the group disbanded briefly, and reformed with an altered lineup (with Ron Asheton replacing Dave Alexander on bass and James Williamson taking up guitar) to release a third album, Raw Power (1973), before breaking up again in 1974. The band reunited in 2003 with Ron Asheton moving back to guitar and Mike Watt on bass, and the addition of saxophonist Steve Mackay, who had played saxophone on Fun House. Ron Asheton died in 2009 and was replaced by James Williamson, and the band continued to play shows until 2013, when they also released their last album, Ready to Die. The Stooges formally announced their breakup in 2016 due to the deaths of Scott Asheton and saxophonist Steve Mackay.
The Stooges are widely regarded as a seminal proto-punk act. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them 78th on their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. In 2007, they were awarded the Mojo Lifetime Achievement Award at the Mojo Awards.
History Formation (1967–1968) Iggy Pop (born James Newell Osterberg) played drums in several Ann Arbor–area bands as a teenager, including the Iguanas and, later, the Prime Movers. The Prime Movers nicknamed Osterberg "Iggy" in reference to his earlier band.Cliff Jones & Paul Trynka. "Whatever Turns You On". Mojo No. 29, April 1996
Osterberg was first inspired to form the Stooges after meeting blues drummer Sam Lay during a visit to Chicago. Upon returning to Detroit, Osterberg sought to create a new form of blues music that was not derivative of historical precedents, with influence from garage rock bands the Sonics and the Kinks. Ron Asheton (guitar) and Scott Asheton (drums), and Dave Alexander (bass guitar) comprised the rest of the band, with Osterberg as the main singer. Osterberg became interested in Ron Asheton after seeing him perform in a cover band called the Chosen Few, believing, "I've never met a convincing musician that didn't look kind of ill and kind of dirty, and Ron had those two things covered!" The three nicknamed Osterberg "Pop" after a local character whom he resembled.Paul Trynka. "Meet Ze Monster". Mojo No. 161, April 2007 Shortly after witnessing an MC5 concert in Ann Arbor, Osterberg began using the stage name Iggy Pop, a name that he has used ever since.
Though the Stooges had formed, Iggy Pop attributes two key motivating influences to move the band forward. The first was seeing the Doors perform at a homecoming dance for the University of Michigan. The second was seeing an all-girls rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, called the Untouchable perform in the summer of 1967. In a 1995 interview with Bust Magazine, he relates:
The band's 1967 debut was at their communal State Street house on Halloween night, followed by their next live gig in January 1968. During this early period, the Stooges were originally billed as the "Psychedelic Stooges" at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, and other venues, where they played with the band MC5 and others. At one of their early Grande Ballroom performances, Asheton's guitar neck separated from the body forcing the band to stop playing during the opening song, "I Wanna Be Your Dog". The first major commercial show for the Psychedelic Stooges was on March 3, 1968, at the Grande Ballroom, opening for Blood, Sweat & Tears. According to John Sinclair, who booked the show, the Psychedelic Stooges were substitutes for the MC5, who had a formidable Detroit reputation that made Blood, Sweat & Tears reluctant to follow them. A fan who saw several of their performances at that time said, "What they achieved was an almost orchestral drone or trance-like sound which was totally unique, valid and impressive."
The group's early sound differed from their later music, wrote critic Edwin Pouncey:
In 1968, Elektra Records sent DJ/publicist Danny Fields to scout the MC5, resulting in contracts for both that band and the Stooges. The contracts were at different pay rates: MC5 $20,000, the Stooges $5,000, as revealed in the 2016 Jim Jarmusch film, Gimme Danger.
The Stooges, Fun House, and first breakup (1969–1971)
In 1969, the band released their self-titled debut album; sales were low and it was not well received by critics at the time. The Stooges soon gained a reputation for their wild, primitive live performances. Pop, especially, became known for his outrageous onstage behavior: smearing his bare chest with hamburger meat and peanut butter, cutting himself with shards of glass, and flashing his genitalia to the audience. Pop is sometimes credited with the invention or popularization of stage diving.
In 1970, their second album, Fun House, was released, featuring the addition of saxophonist Steve Mackay. On June 13 of that year, television recorded the band at the Cincinnati Pop Festival. While performing the songs "T.V. Eye" and "1970", Pop leaped into the crowd, where he was hoisted up on people's hands, and proceeded to smear peanut butter all over his chest. In a broadcast interview at WNUR Northwestern University radio station in Evanston, Illinois, in 1984, Stiv Bators of the Lords of the New Church and the Dead Boys confirmed the long-standing rumor that it was he who had provided the peanut butter, having carried a large tub from his home in Youngstown, Ohio, and handing it up to Iggy from the audience.
Fun House was also poorly received by critics and the general public. Alexander was dismissed in August 1970 after arriving at the Goose Lake International Music Festival too drunk to play.Keith Cameron Return To The Fun House Mojo No. 161, April 2007 He was replaced by a succession of new bass players, including former roadie Zeke ZettnerJack White interview with Iggy Pop Mojo No. 199 October 2003 and James Recca. Around this time, the band expanded their lineup by adding a second guitar player, roadie Bill Cheatham, who was eventually replaced by James Williamson, a childhood friend of the Ashetons and Alexander.
By this time, the Stooges, with the notable exception of Ron Asheton,Paul Trynka Night Of The Iguana Mojo No. 78, May 2000 had all become serious heroin users. The drug was introduced to the band by new manager John Adams. Their performances became even more unpredictable, and Pop often had trouble standing up on stage due to his extreme drug abuse. Elektra soon eliminated the Stooges from its roster, and the band had a hiatus for several months. The final lineup was Pop, the Asheton brothers, Recca and Williamson.
The breakup of the Stooges was formally announced on July 9, 1971.Nicolas Ungemuth, Iggy Pop, Librio Musique / Flammarion, September 2002 With the band having broken up, Pop met David Bowie on September 7, 1971, at Max's Kansas City, and the pair quickly became good friends. The next day, on the advice of Bowie, Pop signed a recording contract with pop music manager Tony DeFries' company, MainMan. A few months later, Tony DeFries and Pop met Clive Davis from CBS/Columbia Records and got a two-album recording deal.
Raw Power and second breakup (1972–1974) In March 1972, DeFries brought Pop and Williamson to the UK, and the pair attempted to reconstitute the Stooges with British musicians, but after finding no suitable additions, they brought the Asheton brothers back into the band. (This "second choice" decision rankled Ron Asheton, as did his change from guitar to bass.) This lineup, billed as Iggy & the Stooges, recorded their third album, the influential Raw Power, which was released in 1973.
At the time, the album faced the criticism that Bowie had mixed it poorly. (In subsequent years, various unofficial fan recordings were assembled and released as the album Rough Power; in 1997, the album was re-mixed by Iggy Pop and re-released.) Although the album sold rather poorly and was regarded as a commercial failure at the time of its release, Raw Power would go on to gain recognition from early punk rockers.
With the addition of a piano player (briefly Bob Sheff and then Scott Thurston), the Stooges toured for several months, starting in February 1973. Around this time they also made a number of recordings that became known as the Detroit Rehearsal Tapes, including a number of new songs that might have been included on a fourth studio album, had the band not been dropped by Columbia soon after the release of Raw Power. In 1973, James Williamson was briefly dismissed due to criticism from the band's management company (likely pertaining to his tempestuous relationship with Cyrinda Foxe, a close friend of road manager Leee Black Childers); guitarist Tornado Turner replaced him for a single gig (on June 15, 1973, at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago), but Williamson soon returned to the group.Trynka, Paul (2007), "Open Up and Bleed", pg. 152
The Stooges disbanded in February 1974 as a result of dwindling professional opportunities; this factor was compounded by Pop's ever-present heroin addiction and erratic off-stage behavior. The last half of the band's last performance of this era on February 9, 1974, in Detroit, Michigan, was captured and was released in 1976 as the live album Metallic K.O., along with the first half of an earlier show on October 6, 1973, at the same venue. A 1988 expanded release of the album with the title Metallic 2X K.O. included the two halves of each show. In 1998, the album was re-released under the original title with the order of the shows reversed, (mostly) expanded tracks and more complete set lists.
Post-breakup and reunion (1975–2003)
After his first attempt at drug rehabilitation, Pop began a volatile yet ultimately successful solo career in 1977, commencing with the Bowie-produced albums The Idiot (1977) and Lust for Life (1977). Relocated to Los Angeles, California, Ron Asheton formed the short-lived band the New Order (not to be confused with the UK band New Order) with Stooges alumni Recca and Thurston before performing with the Ann Arbor–based "anti-rock" group Destroy All Monsters from 1977 to 1985. Until the Stooges' reformation, he supported himself as a working musician in various ensembles, including New Race, Dark Carnival and the Empty Set. Williamson worked with Pop as a producer and engineer during his early solo career – the Kill City and New Values albums are a product of this collaboration – but began a long break from the music industry in favor of a career in electronics engineering beginning in 1980. He received his degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in 1982 and retired from Sony as vice president of technical standards in 2009. Scott Asheton performed with Sonic's Rendezvous Band and the Scott Morgan Group while pursuing various day jobs. Dave Alexander died of pulmonary edema related to his alcohol-induced pancreatitis in 1975.
In 1997, a reissue of Raw Power remixed by Pop was released. In 1999, reissue label Rhino Handmade released the seven-disc box set 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions, composed of the entire recording sessions associated with the Fun House album. 3,000 copies were pressed, selling out in less than a year.