Thomas "Zeke" Zettner (September 21, 1948 – November 10, 1973) was a member of the 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 * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

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 Dave ...

. Zettner had originally been a

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...

for the band, but replaced original Stooges bassist Dave Alexander after their second album ''

Fun House A funhouse or fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and funfair midways and is where patrons encounter and interact with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, and amuse them. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, fu ...

'' until the end of 1970. Alexander's

drinking problem Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

had made him an unreliable performer.

Jimmy Recca Jimmy Recca (born 1953) is an American musician known as a former bass player in The Stooges via an incarnation that existed from early 1971 until their first break-up on July 9, 1971. After a brief period of non-musician roadies filling the vaca ...

soon replaced Zettner as bass player.

Early life

Thomas “Zeke” Zettner was born on September 21st, 1948 to a middle-class family in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, and had two younger brothers named Randall and James, whom he was close to. His family ended up living in the city of Inkster, Michigan, and he was well-liked, though often noted as a quiet individual.

Career

Zettner started his musical life as a

for SRC, having appeared in the inner sleeve of their 1970 album, Traveler’s Tale. Their lead singer, Scott Richardson, was previously in a band called The Chosen Few, which included lead guitarist James Williamson, whom Zettner shared an apartment with during his tenure in The Stooges, and bassist

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, ...

. After his tenure in SRC ended, Zettner became a roadie for The Stooges, and can be heard mentioned by members of the band between takes on the sessions for The Stooges’ 1970 album

. After the departure of bassist Dave Alexander, Zettner was invited in as a replacement for Alexander, along with the addition of fellow roadie

Bill Cheatham Bill Cheatham was a roadie for the band Stooges, and in 1970 joined the group on second guitar. Cheatham was a childhood friend of Ron Asheton, and was a member of the group during the time in which the band played at Ungano's Club in New York Ci ...

as their second guitarist. Zettner and Cheatham did not live in the ‘Fun House’ with the other band members, instead living in an apartment complex in Ann Arbor with James Williamson, who would go on to replace Cheatham by December of 1970, due to, according to Williamson, a cited lack of technical prowess on guitar. Zettner was noted by Williamson as, similar to Cheatham, lacking the ability of his predecessor, though he was noted as being somewhat more proficient than Cheatham. Zettner’s tenure with The Stooges ended in around the beginning of 1971, after already having played a few gigs with Williamson on guitar. He moved back into his parents’ home on the eastern side of Detroit and left music for a career in the automotive industry.

Death

Zettner was a

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

addict, similar to the rest of the band, with the notable exception of Ron Asheton, due to having been introduced to heroin by a member of their management in the latter half of 1970. Zettner passed away of a perdorated peptic ulcer and a cerebral oedema caused by a heroin overdose on 10 November 1973. His death is mentioned in Iggy Pop's song "Dum Dum Boys" from ''

The Idiot ''The Idiot'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Идиот, Idiót) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–69. The title is an ...

.''

References

External links

* * 1973 deaths American punk rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists The Stooges members Road crew 1948 births Deaths by heroin overdose in the United States 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians {{US-bass-guitarist-stub