Stooges consists of Dave Alexander (bass), Iggy Pop (vocals, mixing), James Williamson (guitar, vocals, mixing), Ron Asheton (bass, vocals, guitar), Scott Asheton (drums, piano).
Not to be confused with The Three Stooges.
The Stooges are a rock music band that first existed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During the 60s they were also referred to as the "Psychedelic Stooges."
The Stooges—like The Velvet Underground—sold rather few records in their original existence and often performed for indifferent or hostile audiences. (And like has been said about the Velvet Underground, the handful of people who first bought the Stooges' records ended up forming bands of their own.)
Nevertheless, the Stooges are often regarded as hugely influential both on the then-nascent heavy metal music and on later punk rock (see protopunk). Singer Iggy Pop and his wild onstage antics were often the focus of attention.
Iggy Pop (b. James Osterberg) played in several Ann Arbor, Michigan-area bands as a teenager, including The Prime Movers and The Iguanas. Iggy was inspired to form the Stooges after witnessing a Doors concert in Ann Arbor. Ron ( guitar) and Scott Asheton ( drums), two brothers, joined up along with their friend Dave Alexander ( bass guitar). The band's debut was at a Halloween concert at the University of Michigan in 1967.
The Stooges soon gained a reputation for their wild, primitive live performances. Iggy especially won fame for acting crazy onstage, smearing his naked chest with steak and peanut butter, and cutting himself with shards of glass. At one concert, he played a vacuum cleaner like a musical instrument. Pop is also sometimes credited with the invention or popularization of stage diving.
In 1968, the Stooges were signed by Elektra Records, who had sent a scout to see MC5 and wound up signing both acts. (That scout, Danny Fields, would later go on to discover and manage The Ramones.)