Today we will tell you about the musician, singer, producer, and actor Iggy Pop.
(Photo: Olaf Heine)
Why did he get the nickname Iggy?
What genre of music has he influenced so much that he is considered its godfather?
What big band invited him to be their singer after their charismatic lead singer passed away?
With which Israeli artist did he collaborate?
Stay with us and find out:
1. He was born on April 21, 1947, in Maskigan, Michigan, United States. His name at birth was James Newell Osterberg Jr.
2. He began his musical career as a drummer back in high school. One of the first bands he played was called "The Iguanas".
(Photo: Don Swickerath)
3. When he moved to the band "The Prime Movers" the band members nicknamed him "Iggy", because he came from the band "The Iguanas".
4. Another nickname given to him by his bandmates was "Stooge" and so the idea for his next band "The Stooges".
5. The band was formed by Iggy in 1967 and their first album "The Stooges" was released in 1969.
6. Iggy was the one who taught the band's drummer - Scott Asheton to play drums, he also gave him his drum set, on which he learned to play.
7. The bold, kicking, and rude sound of the debut album made Iggy and his friends the bad kids of rock. It is considered the album that invented the punk genre, even though it was released years before the punk revolution even broke out.
8. The band's next albums "Fun House" from 1970 and "Raw Power" from 1973, continued in the same direction and have already earned Iggy the nickname "Godfather of Punk".
9. "Raw Power" was produced by none other than David Bowie whom Iggy first met in 1971. Bowie will also produce Iggy's excellent solo albums "The Idiot", "Lust for Life" and "Blah-Blah-Blah ".
10. Raw Power" influenced many artists including the Sex Pistols, the Smiths, and Nirvana.
11. The collaboration between Bowie and Iggy will result in, among other things, the co-writing of the songs "China Girl", "Tonight" and "Sister Midnight", which Bowie will later record for his albums as well.
12. Bowie decided to record the song "China Girl" for his "Let's Dance" album to help Iggy who was in a difficult financial situation at the time. This way he was able to help Iggy indirectly, since Iggy receive royalties from the sales of the song.
13. After Jim Morrison's death, Iggy received an invitation from "The Doors" to join the band as their lead singer. His charismatic figure and prominent stage presence reminded the band members of Morrison. Iggy of course refused.
14. Speaking of stage presence, Iggy was the first to perform the Stage Dive trick so he got the nickname "godfather of the stage dive". It happened in the early days of "The Stooges" in Detroit.
15. Another stage prank that Iggy performs during the shows, is to cut himself to bloodshed. This prank accidentally started at one of the shows when he fell on a glass and was cut. The audience was hysterical about the blood flowing from his body and Iggy decided to repeat the prank on subsequent shows.
16. Beyond being a drummer, Iggy also plays piano and guitar, which he plays left-handed.
17. In 1988, Iggy Pop first appeared in Israel at the "Cinema Hall" in Tel Aviv.
(Photo: Yves Lorson)
18. In 1989 he was featured on the song "New York City" from The Cult's "Sonic Temple" album.
19. In 1992 he participated in the song "Daw Da Hiya" by Ofra Haza, from her international album "Kirya".
20. In 2003 he returned to collaborate with members of "The Stooges" on gigs and in 2007 even released the album "The Weirdness" which heralded the comeback of the band after 33 years.
21. As part of the tour to promote the album, Iggy performed with the band in Israel on July 7, 2007.
22. The band will release their fifth album "Ready to Die" in 2013. Iggy still considers the band's comeback period to be the best of "The Stooges".
23. In 2010 he was featured on the song "We're All Gonna Die" from Slash's debut album.
24. The IMDB database recorded 59 appearances of Iggy as an actor, including the character of "Yelgrun" in the episode "The Magnificent Ferengi" of the series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".
25. He recorded the album "Post Pop Depression" in 2016 together with Josh Homme from the band "Queens of the Stone Age". The drummer on the same album is Matt Helders from the "Arctic Monkeys".
26. He has released to date 20 studio albums in his solo career and 5 more albums along with "The Stooges".
27. His album The Idiot is considered to be one of the influences on post-punk, industrial, and electronic artists, such as "Depeche Mode", "Nine Inch Nails" and "Joy Division".
28. He has a large variety of collaborations with various artists including: "White Zombie", "Death in Vegas", Joe Jackson, Cat Power, Kesha, Kylie Minogue, and more.
29. In 2010 he was inducted into the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" as part of "The Stooges".
30. In 2020 he received the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement.