The Stooges (musical group)

The Stooges were a popular American rock band best known for the influential role they played in creating and popularizing the punk rock genre in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Led by frontman and vocalist Iggy Pop, the band’s primary lineup included bassist Dave Alexander, guitarist Ron Asheton, and drummer Scott Asheton. From the release of their 1969 self-titled debut album, The Stooges turned the rock and roll world upside down with their raw, primitive playing style and over-the-top live performances. Despite recording only two additional albums during their initial run, Iggy Pop and The Stooges left an indelible mark on the development of rock that was felt for generations to come. Following their second split in 1974, The Stooges disbanded for nearly three decades before reuniting in 2003, releasing both The Weirdness (2007) and Ready to Die (2013), and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

Background

Punk rock is an especially aggressive variant of rock music that started in the late 1960s and grew into a full-scale, international musical genre and ideological movement in the 1970s. The term “punk rock” was initially applied to a subset of amateur garage musicians in the 1960s. The bands that fell into the early punk rock category had little to no formal musical training and were generally far less skilled than their professional counterparts. As such, their playing style was remarkably raw and primitive, a quality that proved popular among audiences interested in a stripped-down alternative to traditional rock. In the late 1960s, emerging punk bands like the Stooges and MC5 began popularizing punk rock as a variant of hard rock that reflected the struggles of teen angst and delivered a clear political message.

In the United States, the punk rock scene first took hold in New York City during the mid-1970s. There, an array of bands like the Ramones, Blondie, and the Talking Heads put on increasingly well-attended shows in the Bowery District. Many of these shows were held at a famous nightclub known as the CBGB. Meanwhile, a separate punk rock scene was also taking shape in the United Kingdom. Faced with a struggling economy and soaring unemployment, many English youths in the 1970s were in an angry and rebellious mood. This hostile environment was the perfect catalyst for the rise of a vibrant punk scene that was kicked off by the emergence of a popular band called the Sex Pistols. In addition to entertaining audiences with their own works, the Sex Pistols also inspired a group of young punk fans dubbed the Bromley Contingent to start their own punk rock bands. Members of the Bromley Contingent went on to form such notable punk groups as the Clash, the Slits, and the Billy Idol-led Generation X.

The emergence of punk rock reached its zenith in the late 1970s. By then, punk rock enjoyed widespread popularity and earned recognition as a legitimate musical genre. It also spawned a variety of sub-genres, some of which include Afro-punk, glam punk, and street punk.

Overview

The formation of The Stooges began with the rise of James Osterberg, a young man who achieved stardom when he transformed himself into the infamous punk rock frontman Iggy Pop. Born in Muskegon, Michigan, on April 21, 1947, Pop grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and took a keen interest in music from an early age. He initially focused on drumming, frequently using his parents’ bedroom as a practice space. As a teenager, Pop played the drums for various Chicago-area blues bands and formed his own rock band, the Iguanas. Eventually, however, Pop grew dissatisfied with being stuck behind his drum set and decided pursue a more visible on-stage role. To that end, Pop moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in hopes of starting a new band that he could front as lead vocalist.

Once in Ann Arbor, Pop met Ron and Scott Asheton, a pair of young brothers who also had experience as musical performers, as well as Dave Alexander, a one-time classmate of the Ashetons at Pioneer High School. In 1967, the four formed a band originally known as The Psychedelic Stooges. While Pop provided vocals, Ron Asheton played lead guitar, Scott Asheton served as drummer, and Alexander played bass. The Psychedelic Stooges played a loud, raw form of garage rock that later came to be known as proto-punk. From the time they first started playing together, The Psychedelic Stooges gained notoriety for their intense sound and, more importantly, their shocking live performances. The star of their shows was the perennially shirtless, wildly gyrating Pop, whose bizarre on-stage antics often included smearing himself with peanut butter or cutting himself with glass. He also had a propensity for diving straight into the audience. In short order, The Psychedelic Stooges attracted a rabid following of devoted fans.

As the band was preparing to release their first album in 1969, Pop considered shortening their name to simply The Stooges. Before finalizing the name, however, he first reached out to comedy legend Moe Howard of The Three Stooges for permission. With Howard’s blessing, The Stooges were born. Later that year, the band released their self-titled debut album, which garnered some interest from the underground press even though it sold poorly. By the time they returned to the studio to record their second album, Fun House (1970), all of The Stooges except Ron Asheston were in the throes of severe substance abuse. As such, the band’s playing was strained at best and Fun House turned into an abject failure. With that, The Stooges began to fall apart. Alexander was fired and other musicians like bassist Zeke Zettner and guitarist Bill Cheatham soon joined and subsequently left the band. After going dormant for a while, The Stooges went back into the studio and produced a new album called Raw Power (1973). Despite receiving warm reviews, Raw Power was another flop. A year later, The Stooges formally disbanded.

In spite of their failure, The Stooges’ work was instrumental in the formation of the punk rock genre. Pop also went on to have a very successful solo career. The Stooges eventually reunited at the Coachella Valley Festival in 2003 without Alexander, who died in 1975. The surviving Stooges then released a live album called Telluric Chaos (2005) and recorded a new record, The Weirdness (2007), for the first time in nearly three decades. The band released its last album, Ready to Die-, in 2013. The following year, Scott Asheton passed away. His death brought the curtain down on The Stooges for the final time.

Bibliography

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Cooper, Ryan. “The History and Evolution of Punk Rock Music.” LiveAboutDotCom, 10 Apr. 2018, www.liveabout.com/history-of-punk-rock-2803345. Accessed 10 July 2020.

Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. “The Stooges.” AllMusic, 2020, www.allmusic.com/artist/the-stooges-mn0000562304/biography. Accessed 10 July 2020.

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“The Stooges.” Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 2020, www.rockhall.com/inductees/stooges. Accessed 10 July 2020.

Uhelszki, Jaan. “Cult Heroes: The Stooges – The Chaotic Tale of America’s First Punk Band.” Louder, 2 Dec. 2016, www.loudersound.com/features/cult-heroes-the-stooges-the-chaotic-tale-of-americas-first-punk-band. Accessed 10 July 2020.