Pop, Iggy (originally, Osterberg, James Jewel)

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Pop, Iggy (originally, Osterberg, James Jewel)

Pop, Iggy (originally, Osterberg, James Jewel) , vocalist for the late 1970’s punk band, The Stooges; b. Ann Arbor, Mich., April 21, 1947. The Stooges, often considered the forerunner of the punk groups of the late 1970s, featured minimalist music, chaotic guitar playing, and the vituperative and insolent lyrics of Iggy Pop. Membership : Iggy Pop, voe; Ron Asheton (Ronald Franklin Asheton Jr.), gtr. (b. Washington, D.C., July 17, 1948); Dave (David Michael) Alexander, bs. (b. Ann Arbor, Mich., June 3, 1947; d. Detroit, Feb. 10, 1975); Scott (Randolph) Asheton, drm. (b. Washington, D.C., Aug. 16, 1949). James Williamson, gtr. (b. Birmingham, Mich.) joined in 1972; Ron Asheton switched to bass. Scott Thurston, bs., kybd., joined in 1988.

Leader Iggy Pop’s spontaneously outrageous and sadomasochistic onstage behavior made him one of the first performance artists in rock, and as such he served as a precursor to the calculated theatrical excesses of Alice Cooper and Kiss. Enduring a chaotic period of drug and psychological problems, Iggy Pop reemerged as a solo act in the late 1970s, eventually giving up his self- destructive onstage act while retaining his energetic, compelling image.

Iggy Pop played drums and sang lead with the Detroit-area high school band the Iguanas, and he later manned the Prime Movers. After a semester at the Univ. of Mich, and as a drummer for a blues band in Chicago, he returned to Detroit, where he formed the Stooges in 1967 with Asheton brothers Ron and Scott and Dave Alexander. The Stooges performed loud, three-chord rock music fronted by the vocals and disturbing onstage antics of Iggy. Over the years his notoriety grew, with deeds such as threatening and vilifying audiences, cutting himself with broken bottles, pouring hot wax over his body, intentionally smashing his teeth, and vomiting, even urinating on audiences and allowing ardent fans to perform fellatio on him.

Signed to Elektra Records, the Stooges recorded their debut album under producer John Cale of the Velvet Underground. It featured Stooges favorites such as “No Fun” and “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” However, their classic second album, Funhouse, failed to even make the album charts and the group experienced a period of disintegration. Taken to England by mentor David Bowie in 1972, Iggy Pop and new guitarist James Williamson were joined by the Asheton brothers for the Bowie-produced Raw Power on Columbia. An acknowledged early heavy-metal classic, the album included the title cut as well as “Search and Destroy,” “Gimme Danger,” “Death Trip,” and “Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell.” The Stooges broke up in early 1974 and Pop ended up in Los Angeles, where he became addicted to heroin; he kicked the habit, then entered a mental hospital in 1975.

After moving to West Berlin in spring 1976, Iggy Pop again encountered David Bowie, who managed to secure him a recording contract with RCA Records. The Idiot contained “Sister Midnight” and the Bowie-Pop collaboration “China Girl” (a major hit for Bowie in 1983), and Lust for Life included “Fall in Love with Me,” “Neighborhood Threat,” and the title song. Pop returned to live performance, often accompanied by Bowie on keyboards, but the albums sold modestly at best, despite critical acclaim. Iggy Pop switched to Arista Records for 1979’s New Values and another round of disturbing, if not outrageous, live performances later that year with former Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock and guitarist-keyboardist Ivan Krai from the Patti Smith Group.

During the 1980s Iggy Pop abandoned his self-destructive onstage antics and recorded Zombie Bird-house for Animal Records. He moved to N.Y.C, and recorded the theme song to the 1984 cult movie Repo Man, taking up acting and eventually securing minor roles in Sid and Nancy and The Color of Money. Pop cowrote five songs for David Bowie’s Tonight, Bowie’s last album to sell a million copies, and Bowie coproduced and coauthored five of the songs on Pop’s Blah Blah Blah on A&M Records, hailed as his best recording in years. Former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones cowrote three of the album’s songs, including “Cry for Love,” and the album otherwise featured “Isolation” and a remake of Johnny Kidd’s “Real Wild Child.” Pop conducted his first world tour in four years in 1986–1987, serving as the opening act for the Pretenders’ 1987 tour. He later recorded Instinct with Steve Jones.

By 1990 Pop had moved to Virgin Records, where he recorded the best-selling album of his career, Brick by Brick. Produced by Don (Was) Fagenson, the album featured Slash and Duff McKagan from Guns N’ Roses, included John Hiatt’s “Something Wild,” and yielded Pop’s only (major) hit, “Candy,” sung with Kate Pierson of the B-52’s. He performed as one of the headline acts for 1990’s Gathering of the Tribes festival (a precursor of the Lollapalooza tours) and toured again in 1993 in support of American Caesar. Skydog issued the live set We Are Not Talking About Commercial Shit in 1995, the year Iggy Pop recorded Wild Animal for New Rose Records.

Discography

THE STOOGES : The Stooges (1969); Funhouse (1970). IGGY POP AND THE STOOGES : Raw Power (1973); Metallic K.O. (rec. 1973; rel. 1994). IGGY POP : The Idiot (1977); Lust for Life (1977); TV Eye—1977 Live (1978); Choice Cuts (1984); New Values (1979); Soldier (1980); Party (1981); Zombie Birdhouse (1983); Blah Blah Blah (1986); Instinct (1988); Brick by Brick (1990); American Caesar (1993); We Are Not Talking About Commercial Shit (1995); Wake Up Suckers (1995); Wild Animal (1990);