Iggy Pop facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop performing in 2011
Background information
Birth name	James Newell Osterberg Jr.
Born	(1947-04-21) April 21, 1947 (age 77) Muskegon, Michigan, U.S.
Origin	Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S
Genres	Rock punk rock proto-punk hard rock garage rock
Occupation(s)	Singer musician songwriter actor
Instruments	Vocals guitar drums keyboards
Years active	1963–present
Labels	Caroline International Loma Vista Virgin RCA Elektra A&M

James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who were formed in 1967 and have disbanded and reunited many times since.

Early life

Osterberg as a high school senior, 1965

James Newell Osterberg Jr. was born in Muskegon, Michigan, on April 21, 1947, the son of Louella (née Christensen; 1917–1996) and James Newell Osterberg Sr. (1921–2007), a former high school English teacher and baseball coach at Fordson High School in Dearborn, Michigan. He is of English, German, and Irish descent on his father's side, and Danish and Norwegian ancestry on his mother's side. The family lived in a trailer park in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Osterberg began to play drums in the fifth grade, first starting with rubber pads glued to plywood, before his parents bought him a drum set. In a 2007 Rolling Stone interview, he explained his relationship with his parents and their contribution to his music:

Once I hit junior high in Ann Arbor, I began going to school with the son of the president of Ford Motor Company, with kids of wealth and distinction. But I had a wealth that beat them all. I had the tremendous investment my parents made in me. I got a lot of care. They helped me explore anything I was interested in. This culminated in their evacuation from the master bedroom in the trailer, because that was the only room big enough for my drum kit. They gave me their bedroom.

Music career

The Prime Movers, featuring Pop on drums

Osterberg began his music career as a drummer in various high school bands in Ann Arbor, Michigan, including The Iguanas, who covered several records such as Bo Diddley's "Mona" in 1965. He then began exploring local blues-style bands such as the Prime Movers (with brothers Dan and Michael Erlewine), which he joined at 18 years old. The Prime Movers gave him the nickname "Iggy" for having played in The Iguanas. According to biographer Jim Ambrose, the two years he spent in the band made him aware of "art, politics, and experimentation".

Iggy Pop at the Pinkpop Festival in 1987

Osterberg eventually dropped out of the University of Michigan and moved to Chicago to learn more about blues. While in Chicago, he played drums in blues clubs, helped by Sam Lay (formerly of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band) who shared his connections with Pop. Inspired by Chicago blues as well as bands like The Sonics, MC5 and The Doors, he formed The Stooges. The band was composed of Osterberg on vocals, Ron Asheton on guitar, Asheton's brother Scott on drums, and Dave Alexander on bass. Their first show was played at a Halloween party at a house in Detroit, Michigan. Members of the MC5 were also in attendance. Osterberg became interested in Ron Asheton after seeing him perform in the Chosen Few (a covers band), believing "I’ve never met a convincing musician that didn’t look kind of ill and kind of dirty, and Ron had those two things covered!" The three nicknamed Osterberg "Pop" after a local character whom he resembled.

Iggy Pop in Cardiff, 1979

Initially playing a raw, primitive style of rock and roll (progressing later towards more experimental and aggressive rock), the Stooges sold few records in their original incarnation and gained a reputation for their confrontational performances. Osterberg had a long collaborative relationship and friendship with David Bowie over the course of his career, beginning with the Stooges' album Raw Power in 1973. Pop began his solo career in 1977. Throughout his career, he is well known for his outrageous and unpredictable stage antics, poetic lyrics and distinctive voice. He was one of the first performers to do a stage-dive and popularized the activity.

Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the course of his career, including garage rock, punk rock, hard rock, heavy metal, art rock, new wave, jazz, blues and electronic. Though his popularity has fluctuated, many of Pop's songs have become well known, including "Search and Destroy" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by the Stooges, and his solo hits "Lust for Life", "The Passenger" and "Real Wild Child (Wild One)". In 1990, he recorded his first and only Top 40 U.S. hit, "Candy", a duet with B-52's singer Kate Pierson. Pop's song "China Girl" became more widely known when it was re-recorded by co-writer Bowie, who released it as the second single from his most commercially successful album, Let's Dance (1983). Bowie re-recorded and performed many of Pop's songs throughout his career.

Iggy Pop on October 25, 1977, at the State Theatre in Minneapolis

On April 10, 2020, Pop released an alternate mix of his hit song "China Girl", as part of the forthcoming May 29, 2020, release of The Bowie Years, a new seven-disc deluxe box set.

A new digital track by Pop was released in December 2020, titled "Dirty Little Virus". Lyrically, it is about the COVID-19 pandemic.

On October 28, 2022, "Frenzy", the first single from Pop's still to be titled upcoming album, was released. The song features Duff McKagan and Chad Smith.

Although Pop has had limited commercial success, he has remained a culture icon and a significant influence on a wide range of musicians in numerous genres. The Stooges' album Raw Power has proved an influence on artists such as Sex Pistols, the Smiths, and Nirvana. His solo album The Idiot has been cited as a major influence on a number of post-punk, electronic and industrial artists including Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and Joy Division, and was described by Siouxsie Sioux as a "re-affirmation that our suspicions were true: the man is a genius." He was inducted as part of the Stooges into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. In January 2020, Pop received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Pop's nineteenth studio album Every Loser was released in January 2023. The album received favourable reviews.

Film, television and radio career

Iggy Pop with Marilyn Manson, 2003

As an actor Pop has appeared in a number of movies, including Sid and Nancy (a non-speaking cameo role), The Color of Money, Hardware (voice only), The Crow: City of Angels, The Rugrats Movie, Snow Day, Coffee and Cigarettes (opposite Tom Waits, in the third segment of the film, "Somewhere in California"), Cry-Baby, Dead Man, Tank Girl and Atolladero, a Spanish science fiction Western. He was wanted to play Funboy in the original The Crow movie, but his recording schedule would not permit him. Pop was featured alongside indie starlet Greta Gerwig in the film Art House, which premiered at the Nashville Film Festival in April 2010.

Pop has appeared in many television series, including Tales from the Crypt, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, where he played Nona's dad in the second and third season, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which he played Yelgrun in the episode "The Magnificent Ferengi".

Pop worked with Johnny Depp on several films: they appeared together in Cry-Baby and Dead Man. Pop provided the soundtrack for The Brave, which was directed by and starred Depp, and music for Depp's 1993 film Arizona Dream.

The Stooges at Sziget Festival 2006

Pop also voiced a cameo in the American Dad! episode "American Dream Factory" as Jerry, the drummer, in Steve Smith's band.

In 2013, Pop appeared briefly in the French film Les gamins then he voiced The Caterpillar in the television series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

In 2014, Pop presented (narrated) the BBC documentary Burroughs at 100. William Burroughs profoundly affected Pop's writing, inspiring lyrics in the famous "Lust for Life". It was aired in the US on This American Life on January 30, 2015, in the episode "Burroughs 101", commemorating his 101st birthday.

Pop hosts a weekly radio show and podcast titled "Iggy Confidential" on BBC 6 Music.

Personal life

Pop lives near Miami, Florida. He has been married three times: to Wendy Weissberg (for several weeks in 1968 before the marriage was annulled shortly thereafter), to Suchi Asano (from 1984 until their divorce in 1999), and to his longtime partner Nina Alu, whom he married in 2008. He has a son, Eric Benson, born in 1970 from a relationship with Paulette Benson.

Discography

Iggy Pop in 2006

• The Idiot (1977)
• Lust for Life (1977)
• Kill City (with James Williamson) (1977)
• New Values (1979)
• Soldier (1980)
• Party (1981)
• Zombie Birdhouse (1982)
• Blah-Blah-Blah (1986)
• Instinct (1988)
• Brick by Brick (1990)
• American Caesar (1993)
• Naughty Little Doggie (1996)
• Avenue B (1999)
• Beat 'Em Up (2001)
• Skull Ring (2003)
• Préliminaires (2009)
• Après (2012)
• Post Pop Depression (2016)
• Free (2019)
• Every Loser (2023)

Awards and nominations

Honors

In 2017, shortly after his 70th birthday, Pop was made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Consul general in Miami on behalf of the French government.

A photo of Pop on stage with fans at the Sydney Opera House in 2019 taken by Antoine Veling won the Culture Category of the Sony World Photography Awards.

See also

In Spanish: Iggy Pop para niños