Stooges Guitarist Ron Asheton Obituary; Stooges Pay Tribute

Stooges Guitarist Ron Asheton Found Dead; His Legacy; Stooges Pay Tribute
Wednesday, 7 January 2009

Gentle Ron Asheton, guitarist with punk pioneers The Stooges, was found dead in his home at Ann Arbour, Michigan (also the city where Ron was born) on January 6th, 2009. Asheton had died of an apparent heart attack.

Purveyor of possibly the most thunderous rock guitar intro ever, on The Stooges 'I Wanna Be Your Dog', Ron Asheton was a man who described his cats, dogs, and guitar as his best friends, and was never Mr. Conventional. Born on July 17th, 1948, Asheton began his musical journey on the accordion, but by the late 60s was a very accomplished rock guitarist, as displayed on The Stooges eponymous debut album in 1969. He appeared on The Stooges second album, 'Fun House (1970)', and played bass on their third, and appropriately named, 'Raw Power (1973)'. Iggy Pop had wanted an industrial, dramatic guitar sound, and Ron Asheton perfected the sound very early on, though on 'No Fun' there's a more gentler, albeit still powerful riff at work, and The Sex Pistols were to put their own more powerful take on it when punk rock finally reached the glare of a stunned British public in the mid-1970s.

The Stooges made a triumphant return in the 21st Century, releasing 'The Weirdness' in 2007, and Ron Asheton was in blinding form, notably at The Stooges chaotic performance at the Glastonbury Festival in the (loosely called) summer of 2007. Ron Asheton also played with bands The New Order and Destroy All Monsters.

Stooges leader Iggy Pop said in a statement on his website: "I am in shock. He was my best friend."

"We are shocked and shaken by the news of Ron’s death. He was a great friend, brother, musician, trooper. Irreplaceable. He will be missed.

For all that knew him behind the façade of Mr Cool & Quirky, he was a kind-hearted, genuine, warm person who always believed that people meant well even if they did not.

As a musician Ron was The Guitar God, idol to follow and inspire others. That is how he will be remembered by people who had a great pleasure to work with him, learn from him and share good and bad times with him.

Iggy, Scott (Ron's brother and Stooges drummer), Steve, Mike and Crew"
Iggy Pop & The Stooges