"I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a song by American rock band

the Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

. Released as the group's debut single from the band's 1969 self-titled debut album. The riff is composed of only three

chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ( ...

(G, F♯ and E), is played continuously throughout the song (excepting two brief 4-bar

bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

). The 3-minute-and-9-second-long song, with its distortion-heavy guitar intro, single-note piano riff played by producer

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various sty ...

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...

, and steady, driving beat, gave the cutting edge of the early heavy metal and punk sound. In 2004, the song was ranked number 438 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine's list of the "

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine '' Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 i ...

", but it was dropped at number 445 on its 2010 revision, then was re-ranked at number 314 on its 2021 list. ''

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

'' placed it at number 16 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".

Personnel

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 w ...

- vocals *

Ron Asheton Ronald Franklin Asheton (July 17, 1948 – c. January 6, 2009) was an American musician , who was best known as the guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter for the rock band the Stooges. He formed the Stooges along with Iggy Pop and his brother, ...

- guitar * Dave Alexander - bass *

Scott Asheton Scott Randolph Asheton (August 16, 1949 – March 15, 2014) was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band the Stooges. Asheton was born in Washington, D.C. and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan with his family at the age of ...

- drums *

- piano,

sleigh bells Sleigh Bells may refer to: * Sleigh bells, a type of bell which produces a distinctive 'jingle' sound, especially in large numbers. * Sleigh Bells (band) Sleigh Bells is an American musical duo based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2008 and ...

Appearances in media

*The song is part of the soundtrack of numerous films, such as ''

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' is a 1998 British black comedy crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, produced by Matthew Vaughn and starring an ensemble cast featuring Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Steven Ma ...

'' (1998), '' Friday Night Lights'' (2004), ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main c ...

'' (S2E16 "Stuff", 2007), '' Transporter 3'' (2008), '' The Runaways'' (2010), '' Faster'' (2010), ''

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

'' (2013), '' Cruella'' (2021), ''

Reservation Dogs ''Reservation Dogs'' is an Indigenous American teen comedy drama television series created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi for FX Productions. It is the first series to feature all Indigenous writers and directors, along with an almost ent ...

'' (2021), etc. *The song was part of the fictional radio station Liberty Rock Radio in ''

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the e ...

'' (2008).

hosts the station.

Cover versions

Sid Vicious John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...

performed a version of the song on his debut album '' Sid Sings''. Actor

Gary Oldman Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy F ...

performed the song as Sid in the film '' Sid & Nancy''. * Anti Pasti covered this song as their final track on their 1981 debut LP ''The Last Call''. * Joan Jett and the Blackhearts covered this song in 1988 on their album '' Up Your Alley''. *

Swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

side-project

The World of Skin The World of Skin was a music project springing out of the American group Swans, which was a collaboration between the core Swans members Michael Gira and Jarboe. The project was initially called Skin, with the first two albums being released unde ...

covered the song and included it as a bonus track on the CD version of their 1988 album '' Shame, Humility, Revenge''. *

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of t ...

covered this song live on

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 19 ...

's '' Night Music'' TV show in 1989. *

Uncle Tupelo Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to atten ...

recorded an acoustic version of this song during sessions for their album, ''

Still Feel Gone ''Still Feel Gone'' is the second album by American alternative country pioneers Uncle Tupelo. It was released in 1991 on Rockville Records and re-released in 2003 by Sony Legacy. Reception ''Still Feel Gone'' has been generally well receiv ...

''. The cover was later released as a bonus track to ''

March 16–20, 1992 ''March 16–20, 1992'' is the third studio album by alternative country band Uncle Tupelo, released on August 3, 1992. The title refers to the five-day span during which the album was recorded. An almost entirely acoustic recording, the album fea ...

''. They also recorded an electric version. *

Mephisto Walz Mephisto Walz are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom ...

covered this song on the 1994 album "The Eternal Deep". *

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical styl ...

covered this song on the 1996 ''

Undisputed Attitude ''Undisputed Attitude'' is the seventh studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on May 28, 1996, by American Recordings. The album consists almost entirely of covers of punk rock and hardcore punk songs, and also includes ...

'' with changed lyrics, renaming it "I Gonna Be Your God". *

Émilie Simon Émilie Simon (; born 1978 in Montpellier, Occitanie, France) is a French singer, songwriter and composer of electronic music. Music ''Émilie Simon'' In May 2003, she released her debut album '' Émilie Simon''. The electronic album was cr ...

covered the song in 2003 on her eponymous debut album. *

Matt Mays Matt Mays (born August 10, 1979) is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter and was the lead singer of Matt Mays & El Torpedo, a rock music group based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and New York City. Previously, Mays was a member of a Canadian i ...

recorded a cover of the song on his 2020 album '' Dog City''. *Actor John McCrea sang a cover version heard in the 2021 film '' Cruella''. McCrea also appeared in the film.

Damiano David Damiano David (; born 8 January 1999) is an Italian singer. He is the frontman of the rock band Måneskin, which won the Sanremo Music Festival 2021 and subsequently the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 representing Italy with the song "Zitti e buon ...

, lead vocalist of Måneskin, performed a cover of the song for the Italian dub of the film. *

Modern Life Is War Modern Life Is War is an American hardcore punk band formed in Marshalltown, Iowa in 2002. During Modern Life Is War's six-year original run, the band released three full-length albums and one self-titled 7" EP. Despite a growing profile on the ...

released a cover in 2021 on their EP "Tribulation Worksongs, Vol. 3".

References

External links

* {{authority control 1969 debut singles 1969 songs The Stooges songs Émilie Simon songs Songs written by Iggy Pop Song recordings produced by John Cale Elektra Records singles