Iggy is the unlikely survivor of the Sacred Triangle of the late 60s and early 70s. Lou Reed and Bowie are gone, but punk progenitor Iggy Pop is still standing. He was less commercially successful than his brethren, probably because he was at least a decade ahead of his time, but was no less influential. Just imagine: it’s the era of hippies, folk rock, the Summer of Love, and Woodstock. Peace, love, dope, and everything’s groovy. Into this idyllic mind space comes a punk from Detroit, rolling on a stage strewn with broken glass, whipping himself with a drumstick, rubbing foodstuff on his bare chest, stage-diving into the crowd, and singing “I’m Bored.” Not many were ready for that then, but that act became part and parcel of the punk, grunge, goth, and metal repertoire. No wonder, then, that the reunion of Iggy and the Stooges in 2003 found audiences ready to embrace them and appreciate music that still sounded fresh and modern.
Iggy Pop was born James Newell Osterberg, Jr. in Muskegon, MI, on April 21, 1947. Jimmy was a normal kid, albeit one whose school teacher father, reared during the Depression, chose to house the family in a $1 a day trailer park in Ypsilaniti. Jimmy slept on a shelf above the dinette. His family was tremendously supportive of him. They gave the only bedroom in the trailer to Jimmy for his drum set. It wouldn’t fit anywhere else. Jimmy went to junior high and high school in Ann Arbor. He did gymnastics and golfed. He ran for class president, and worked in a record store.
But, Mr. Osterberg, Jr. is very much a tale of two personalities. There’s Jimmy, the wanna-be normal kid, and then there’s Iggy. He took the name from one of his high school bands, the Iguanas. After graduating high school in 1965, Jimmy attended UM for a short time before dropping out and moving to Chicago to be a blues drummer. Iggy was back in Michigan with his new band the Psychedelic Stooges when he saw concerts by the Velvet Underground and the Doors. Both were hugely influential. He adopted Morrison’s confrontational style, and he went home with Nico, who took him back to NYC where he was absorbed into The Factory scene that Andy Warhol had going on. His band, now just The Stooges, was signed to Elektra and John Cale of the VU became the producer of their first album, The Stooges (1969). It was Cale who taught them to break apart their long jams and turn the segments into individual songs. Though it’s been called “the original punk album,” The Stooges, and the 1970 follow up, Fun House, were not successful with critics or buyers. The band broke up, in part because of Iggy’s increasing drug use.
Classic songs from the early Stooges include: “No Fun” “Search and Destroy” “I Wanna Be Your Dog” “1969” “1970 (I Feel Alright)” and “Down on the Street.”
In 1972, Iggy met Bowie at Max’s Kansas City in NYC. Bowie was enamored with the whole Warhol scene, and was a fan and clearly influenced by Lou Reed and Iggy. Bowie’s “Jean Genie” is about “an Iggy-type character.” Bowie suggested he produce a new Stooges album in London. The result was Raw Power (1973), another great album now that failed in its time. By 1974, Iggy’s persistent drug use led the band to dissolve again.
Iggy checked into rehab in 1976, visited frequently by his friend Bowie, and when he got out was invited along on the Station to Station tour. They began to collaborate, even lived in the same apartments in Berlin in 1977. Bowie helped write and produce The Idiot and Lust for Life, two of Iggy’s most successful albums. For his part, Iggy was Bowie’s guinea pig for new song ideas. Iggy’s no limits approach to rock and roll allowed Bowie to write and try out more experimental music, and then pick and choose what to take to his own studio sessions. They both performed on the other’s records, and performed unannounced at each other’s concerts. “China Girl” was co-written by Iggy and Bowie.
In the 80s and 90s, Iggy continued to record as a solo artist “Repo Man” “Real Wild Child (Wild One)” and collaborated: with Bowie on “Play It Safe” (Simple Minds also did backing, and took their name from a line in “Jean Genie”), with Kate Pierson of the B-52s on “Candy,” and with others including Lou Reed, Guns N’ Roses, and Blondie. Many of his early songs came back around in movie and television soundtracks, and even TV commercials (“Lust for Life” was used in ads for Norwegian Cruise Lines).
Since The Stooges reunion in 2003, the group has released two albums and performed in collaboration with others on four more Iggy “solo” albums. The Stooges played Glastonbury in 2007. Iggy admitted then that his personal demons had deprived the band of the rewards he reaped later, and was paying back. The Stooges were inducted into the rock HOF in 2010. Iggy also has a successful TV and movie career. He is close to Johnny Depp, and has appeared in films with him, as well as contributing to soundtracks for Depp’s films.
Happy Birthday to Iggy Pop!
