Iggy Pop

James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who were formed in 1967 and have disbanded and reunited many times since.

Initially playing a raw, primitive style of rock and roll (progressing later towards more experimental and aggressive rock), the Stooges sold few records in their original incarnation and gained a reputation for their confrontational performances, which often involved acts of self-mutilation by Pop. He had a long collaborative relationship and friendship with David Bowie over the course of his career, beginning with the Stooges' album ''Raw Power'' in 1973. Both musicians went to West Berlin to wean themselves off their respective drug addictions and Pop began his solo career by collaborating with Bowie on the 1977 albums ''The Idiot'' and '' Lust for Life'', Pop usually contributing the lyrics. Throughout his career, he is well known for his outrageous and unpredictable stage antics, poetic lyrics and distinctive voice. He was one of the first performers to do a stage-dive and popularized the activity. Pop, who traditionally (but not exclusively) performs bare-chested, also performed such stage theatrics as rolling around in broken glass and exposing himself to the crowd.

Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the course of his career, including garage rock, punk rock, hard rock, heavy metal, art rock, new wave, jazz, blues and electronic. Though his popularity has fluctuated, many of Pop's songs have become well known, including "Search and Destroy" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by the Stooges, and his solo hits " Lust for Life", " The Passenger" and " Real Wild Child (Wild One)". In 1990, he recorded his first and only Top 40 U.S. hit, "Candy", a duet with B-52's singer Kate Pierson. Pop's song "China Girl" became more widely known when it was re-recorded by co-writer Bowie, who released it as the second single from his most commercially successful album, '' Let's Dance'' (1983). Bowie re-recorded and performed many of Pop's songs throughout his career.

Although Pop has had limited commercial success, he has remained a culture icon and a significant influence on a wide range of musicians in numerous genres. The Stooges' album ''Raw Power'' has proved an influence on artists such as Sex Pistols, the Smiths, and Nirvana. His solo album ''The Idiot'' has been cited as a major influence on a number of post-punk, electronic and industrial artists including Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and Joy Division, and was described by Siouxsie Sioux as a "re-affirmation that our suspicions were true: the man is a genius." He was inducted as part of the Stooges into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. In January 2020, Pop received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Early life

James Newell Osterberg Jr. was born in Muskegon, Michigan, on April 21, 1947, the son of Louella (''née'' Christensen; 1917–1996)United States Social Security Death Index and James Newell Osterberg Sr. (1921–2007), a former high school English teacher and baseball coach at Fordson High School in Dearborn, Michigan. He is of English, German, and Irish descent on his father's side, and Danish and Norwegian ancestry on his mother's side. His father was adopted by a Swedish-American nurse surnamed Osterberg. The family lived in a trailer park in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ron Asheton later described him as having been a conventional teenager: "He hung out with the popular kids that wore chinos, cashmere sweaters, and penny loafers. Iggy didn’t smoke cigarettes, didn’t get high, didn’t drink."

Osterberg began to play drums in the fifth grade, first starting with rubber pads glued to plywood, before his parents bought him a drum set. In a 2007 ''Rolling Stone'' interview, he explained his relationship with his parents and their contribution to his music:

Music career

Early days: 1960–1967

Osterberg began his music career as a drummer in various high school bands in Ann Arbor, Michigan, including The Iguanas, who covered several records such as Bo Diddley's " Mona" in 1965. He then began exploring local blues-style bands such as the Prime Movers (with brothers Dan and Michael Erlewine), which he joined at 18 years old. The Prime Movers gave him the nickname "Iggy" for having played in The Iguanas. According to biographer Jim Ambrose, the two years he spent in the band made him aware of "art, politics, and experimentation".

Osterberg eventually dropped out of the University of Michigan and moved to Chicago to learn more about blues. While in Chicago, he played drums in blues clubs, helped by Sam Lay (formerly of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band) who shared his connections with Pop. Inspired by Chicago blues as well as bands like The Sonics, MC5 and The Doors, he formed The Psychedelic Stooges. The band was composed of Osterberg on vocals, Ron Asheton on guitar, Asheton's brother Scott on drums, and Dave Alexander on bass. Their first show was played at a Halloween party at a house in Detroit, Michigan. Members of the MC5 were also in attendance. Osterberg became interested in Ron Asheton after seeing him perform in the Chosen Few (a covers band), 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

The Stooges era: 1968–1974

The seeds of Pop's stage persona were sown when he saw the Doors perform in 1967 at the University of Michigan and was amazed by the stage antics and antagonism displayed by singer Jim Morrison. Morrison's extreme behavior, while performing in a popular band, inspired the young Pop to push the boundaries of stage performance. Other influences on Pop's vocals and persona were Mick Jagger and James Brown.

In addition to Jim Morrison and The Doors' influence on the band, Pop also attributes the Stooges getting jump-started after seeing an all-girls rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, called The Untouchable. In a 1995 interview with ''Bust'', he relates:

In 1968, one year after their live debut and now dubbed the Psychedelic Stooges, the band signed with Elektra Records, again following in the footsteps of The Doors, who were Elektra's biggest act at the time (according to Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton called Moe Howard to see if it was all right to call the band "The Stooges", to which Howard responded by merely saying "I don't care what they call themselves, as long as they're not The ''Three'' Stooges!" and hung up the phone). Pop himself told the story in the 2016 Jim Jarmusch documentary film about The Stooges, '' Gimme Danger''. The Stooges' first album ''The Stooges'' (on which Pop was credited as "Iggy Stooge") was produced by John Cale in New York in 1969. Both it and the follow-up, ''Fun House'', produced by Don Gallucci in Los Angeles in 1970, sold poorly. Though the release of ''Fun House'' did not receive the recognition expected, it was later ranked No. 191 in ''Rolling Stone's'' '500 Greatest Albums of All Time' in 2003. Shortly after the release of ''Fun House'', the group disbanded because of Pop's worsening heroin addiction.

In 1971, without a record deal, the Stooges kept performing in small clubs with a five-piece lineup that included both Ron Asheton and James Williamson on guitars and Jimmy Recca on bass, Pop having fired Dave Alexander the previous year when he turned up for a gig unable to play because of his chronic alcoholism. That year Pop and David Bowie met at Max's Kansas City, a nightclub and restaurant in New York City. Pop's career received a boost from his relationship with Bowie when Bowie decided in 1972 to produce an album with him in England. With Williamson signed on as guitarist, the search began for a rhythm section. However, since neither Pop nor Williamson were satisfied with any players in England, they decided to re-unite the Stooges. Ron Asheton grudgingly moved from guitar to bass. The recording sessions produced the rock landmark ''Raw Power''. After its release, Scott Thurston was added to the band on keyboards/electric piano and Bowie continued his support, but Pop's drug problem persisted. The Stooges' last show in 1974 ended in a fight between the band and a group of bikers, documented on the album ''Metallic K.O.'' Drug abuse stalled Pop's career again for several years.

Bowie and Berlin: 1976–1978

After the Stooges' second breakup, Pop made recordings with James Williamson, but these were not released until 1977 (as ''Kill City'', credited jointly to Pop and Williamson). Pop was unable to control his drug use and checked himself into a mental institution, the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, to try to clean up. Bowie was one of his few visitors there, continuing to support his friend and collaborator. In 1976, Bowie took Pop along as his companion on the ''Station to Station'' tour. This was Pop's first exposure to large-scale professional touring and he was impressed, particularly with Bowie's work ethic. Following a March 21, 1976, show, Bowie and Pop were arrested together for marijuana possession in Rochester, New York, although charges were later dropped.

Bowie and Pop relocated to West Berlin to wean themselves off their respective drug addictions. "Living in a Berlin apartment with Bowie and his friends was interesting…" Pop recalled. "The big event of the week was Thursday night. Anyone who was still alive and able to crawl to the sofa would watch ''Starsky & Hutch''."

In 1977, Pop signed with RCA Records. Bowie helped write and produce ''The Idiot'' and '' Lust for Life,'' Pop's two most acclaimed albums as a solo artist, the latter featuring one of his best-known songs, " The Passenger". '' Lust for Life'' featured another team of brothers, Hunt and Tony Fox Sales, sons of comedian Soupy Sales. Among the songs Bowie and Pop wrote together were "China Girl", "Tonight", and " Sister Midnight", all of which Bowie performed on his own albums later (the last being recorded with different lyrics as " Red Money" on '' Lodger''). Bowie also played keyboards in Pop's live performances, some of which are featured on the album '' TV Eye Live'' in 1978. In return, Pop contributed backing vocals on Bowie's '' Low''.

Arista albums: 1979–1981

Pop had grown dissatisfied with RCA, later admitting that he had made ''TV Eye Live'' as a quick way of fulfilling his three-album RCA contract. He moved to Arista Records, under whose banner he released ''New Values'' in 1979. This album was something of a Stooges reunion, with James Williamson producing and latter-day Stooge Scott Thurston playing guitar and keyboards. Not surprisingly, the album's style harkened back to the guitar sound of the Stooges. ''New Values'' was not a commercial success in the U.S., but has since been highly regarded by critics.

The album was moderately successful in Australia and New Zealand, however, and this led to Pop's first visit there to promote it. While in Melbourne, he made a memorable appearance on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's nationwide show ''Countdown''. During his anarchic performance of "I'm Bored", Pop made no attempt to conceal the fact that he was lip-synching (shoving the microphone down his pants at one point), and he even tried to grab the teenage girls in the audience. He was also interviewed by host Molly Meldrum, an exchange which was frequently punctuated by the singer jumping up and down on his chair and making loud exclamations of "G'day mate" in a mock Australian accent. His ''Countdown'' appearance is generally considered one of the highlights of the show's history and it cemented his popularity with Australian punk fans; since then he has often toured there. While visiting New Zealand, Pop recorded a music video for "I'm Bored", and attended a record company function where he appeared to slap a woman and throw wine over a photographer. While in Australia, Pop was also the guest on a live late-night commercial TV interview show on the Ten Network. The ''Countdown'' appearance has often been re-screened in Australia.

During the recording of ''Soldier'' (1980), Pop and Bowie argued with Williamson over various aspects of the project. Williamson recalled, "I was not at all happy with a number of aspects of that record including the band, the material and the recording facilities. So I was unhappy in general and vice versa". Williamson left the project. Bowie appeared on the song "Play it Safe", performing backing vocals with the group Simple Minds. During a live performance in Brooklyn in 1981, Pop smashed a microphone into his own face, knocking out a front tooth.
Both ''Soldier'' and its follow-up ''Party'' (1981) were commercial failures, and Pop was dropped from Arista. His drug habit varied in intensity during this time, but persisted.

1980s

In 1980, Pop published his autobiography ''I Need More'', co-written with Anne Wehner, an Ann Arbor arts patron. The book, which includes a selection of black and white photographs, featured a foreword by Andy Warhol. Warhol wrote that he met Pop when he was Jim Osterberg, at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1966. "I don't know why he hasn't made it really big," Warhol wrote. "He is so good."

The 1982 album '' Zombie Birdhouse'' on Chris Stein's Animal label, with Stein himself producing, was no more commercially successful than his Arista works. In 1983, Pop's fortunes changed when David Bowie recorded a cover of the song "China Girl". The song had originally appeared on ''The Idiot'', and was a major hit on Bowie's blockbuster '' Let's Dance'' album. As co-writer of the song, Pop received substantial royalties. On ''Tonight'' in 1984, Bowie recorded five more of their co-written songs (2 from ''Lust for Life'', 1 from ''New Values'', and 2 new songs), assuring Pop financial security, at least for the short term. The support from Bowie enabled Pop to take a three-year break, during which he overcame his resurgent heroin addiction and took acting classes.

Additionally, Pop contributed the title song to the 1984 film '' Repo Man'' (with Steve Jones, previously of the Sex Pistols, on guitar, and Nigel Harrison and Clem Burke, both of Blondie on bass and drums) as well as an instrumental called "Repo Man Theme" that was played during the opening credits.

In 1985, Pop recorded some demos with Jones. He played these demos for Bowie, who was sufficiently impressed to offer to produce an album for Pop: 1986's new wave-influenced '' Blah-Blah-Blah'', featuring the single
"Real Wild Child", a cover of "The Wild One", originally written and recorded by Australian rock 'n' roll musician Johnny O'Keefe in 1958. The single was a Top 10 hit in the UK and was successful around the world, especially in Australia, where it has been used since 1987 as the theme music for the ABC's late-night music video show '' Rage''. ''Blah-Blah-Blah'' was Pop's highest-charting album in the U.S. since ''The Idiot'' in 1977, peaking at No. 75 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart.

Also in 1985, Pop and Lou Reed contributed their singing voices to the animated film ''Rock & Rule''. Pop performed the song "Pain & Suffering" in the final sequence of the film.

In 1987, Pop appeared (along with Bootsy Collins) on a mostly instrumental album, ''Neo Geo'', by Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. The music video for "Risky", written and directed by Meiert Avis, won the first ever MTV Breakthrough Video Award. The groundbreaking video explores transhumanist philosopher FM-2030's ideas of ''Nostalgia for the Future'' in the form of an imagined love affair between a robot and one of Man Ray's models in Paris in the late 1930s. Additional inspiration was drawn from Jean Baudrillard, Edvard Munch's 1894 painting ''Puberty'', and Roland Barthes ''Death of the Author''. The surrealist black-and-white video uses stop motion, light painting, and other retro in-camera effects techniques. Meiert Avis recorded Sakamoto while at work on the score for ''The Last Emperor'' in London. Sakamoto also appears in the video painting words and messages to an open shutter camera. Pop, who performs the vocals on "Risky", chose not to appear in the video, allowing his performance space to be occupied by the surrealist era robot.

Pop's follow-up to ''Blah Blah Blah'', ''Instinct'' (1988), was a turnaround in musical direction. Its stripped-back, guitar-based sound leaned further towards the sound of the Stooges than any of his solo albums to date. His record label dropped him, but the ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'' radio show recorded the ''Instinct'' tour (featuring guitarist Andy McCoy and Alvin Gibbs on bass) in Boston on July 19, 1988. Working with rock attorney Stann Findelle, Pop scored more movie soundtrack inclusions in 1989: "Living on the Edge of the Night" in the Ridley Scott thriller '' Black Rain''; and "Love Transfusion", a song originally written by Alice Cooper (who does backing vocals) and Desmond Child, in '' Wes Craven's Shocker''. Also, at the same time, Pop, dissatisfied from RCA's decisions, revoked copyrights of his RCA releases, assigned it to his company ''Thousand Mile'', and signed a contract with Virgin Records, which was a unique hybrid of distribution deal for his RCA releases and a recording contract for new albums. Virgin first reissued ''Lust for Life'' and ''The Idiot'' in 1990, then ''TV Eye Live 1977'' in 1994. Virgin continues to distribute these albums to this day.

1990s

In 1990, Pop recorded ''Brick by Brick'', produced by Don Was, with members of Guns N' Roses and The B-52's as guests, as well as backup vocals by many local Hollywood groups, two of whom (Whitey Kirst and Craig Pike) would create his band to tour and perform on his ''Kiss My Blood'' video (1991), directed by Tim Pope and filmed at the Olympia in Paris. The video attracted much controversy, as it featured much footage of Pop performing with his penis exposed to the audience. The album featured his first Top 40 U.S. hit, "Candy", a duet with B-52's singer Kate Pierson.

Also in 1990, Pop sang the role of "The Prosecutor" for the POINT Music/Philips Classics recording (released in 1992) of composer John Moran's multimedia opera ''The Manson Family''. That year he also contributed to the Red Hot Organization's AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Blue project, singing a version of " Well Did You Evah!" in a duet with Debbie Harry.

In the early to middle 1990s, Pop would make several guest appearances on the Nickelodeon show ''The Adventures of Pete and Pete''. He played James Mecklenberg, Nona Mecklenberg's father.

In 1991, Pop and Kirst contributed the song "Why Was I Born (Freddy's Dead)" to the soundtrack of the film '' Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare''. The song also plays over the end credits of the film, with a compilation of clips from the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' series running alongside the end credits. In the same year, Pop sang a leading role in the John Moran opera ''The Manson Family''.

In 1992, he collaborated with Goran Bregović on the soundtrack for the movie ''Arizona Dream'' by Emir Kusturica. Pop sang four of the songs: ''In the Deathcar'', ''TV Screen'', ''Get the Money'', and ''This is a Film''. Also in 1992, he collaborated with the New York City band White Zombie. He recorded spoken word vocals on the intro and outro of the song "Black Sunshine" as well as playing the character of a writer in the video shot for the song. He is singled out for special thanks in the liner notes of the band's album '' La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One''.

In 1993, Pop released ''American Caesar'', including two successful singles, "Wild America" and "Beside You". The following year Pop contributed to Buckethead's album '' Giant Robot'', including the songs "Buckethead's Toy Store" and "Post Office Buddy". He appears also on the Les Rita Mitsouko album '' Système D'' where he sings the duet "My Love is Bad" with Catherine Ringer.

In 1996, Pop again found mainstream fame when his 1977 song " Lust for Life" was featured in the film ''Trainspotting''. A new video was recorded for the song, with clips from the film and studio footage of Pop dancing with one of the film's stars, Ewen Bremner. A Pop concert also served as a plot point in the film. The song has also been used in TV commercials for Royal Caribbean and as the theme music to ''The Jim Rome Show'', a nationally syndicated American sports talk show.

In 1996, Pop released ''Naughty Little Doggie'', with Whitey Kirst returning on guitar, and the single "I Wanna Live". In 1997, he remixed ''Raw Power'' to give it a rougher, more hard-edged sound; fans had complained for years that Bowie's official "rescue effort" mix was muddy and lacking in bass. Pop testified in the reissue's liner notes that on the new mix, "everything's still in the red". He co-produced his 1999 album '' Avenue B'' with Don Was, releasing the single "Corruption".

In 1997, Pop was credited with the soundtrack to the film '' The Brave''.

On January 1, 1998, Pop made a guest appearance on Paramount Television's science fiction series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Pop played a Vorta in an episode based upon the film ''The Magnificent Seven'', titled "The Magnificent Ferengi". Pop also contributed the theme song for "Space Goofs".

Pop sang on the 1999 Death in Vegas UK Top-10 single ''Aisha''. The same year he appeared on Hashisheen, The End of Law, a collaborative effort by Bill Laswell, reading on the tracks ''The Western Lands'' and ''A Quick Trip to Alamut''. He also sang on the tracks " Rolodex Propaganda" and "Enfilade" by At the Drive-In in 2000.

For New Year's Eve 1997, Pop was the headliner for the annual Australian three-day concert the Falls Festival. He gave one of the most memorable performances in the history of the festival. A member of the audience got to do the countdown for the new year with Pop as part of a competition to guess Pop's new year's resolution (it was "To do nothing and make a lot of money!")

The Stooges reunion: 2003–2010

Pop's 2003 album ''Skull Ring'' featured collaborators Sum 41, Green Day, Peaches, and The Trolls, as well as Ron and Scott Asheton, reuniting the three surviving founding members of the Stooges for the first time since 1974. Pop made a guest appearance on Peaches's song "Kick It" as well as the video. Also in 2003, his first full-length biography was published. ''Gimme Danger – The Story of Iggy Pop'' was written by Joe Ambrose; Pop did not collaborate on the biography or publicly endorse it. Having enjoyed working with the Ashetons on ''Skull Ring'', Pop reformed the Stooges with bassist Mike Watt (formerly of the Minutemen) filling in for the late Dave Alexander, and ''Fun House'' saxophonist Steve Mackay rejoining the lineup. They have toured regularly since 2004. That year, Pop opened Madonna's ''Reinvention'' World Tour in Dublin.

Pop and the Stooges played the Glastonbury Festival in June 2007. Their set included material from the 2007 album ''The Weirdness'' and classics such as "No Fun" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog". Pop also caused controversy in June 2007 when he was interviewed on the BBC
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