Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton was found dead at his Ann Arbor, MI home Tuesday January 6, although police believe the musician passed away on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s day. Police are currently investigating the circumstances of the 60-year-old musician’s death, although foul play is reportedly not suspected in this case.
Although Asheton’s sinewy bandmate Iggy Pop is typically the most recognizable member of the Stooges, it was Asheton’s savage guitar sound that defined this pioneering rock band’s sound beginning in the l960s.
Having recorded the seminal guitar riffs for songs such as “Search and Destroy” and “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” it is hard to imagine how many aspiring guitarists Asheton inspired. Eschewing studied finesse in favor of raw power, Asheton blazed a trail for generations to follow.
After disbanding in the ‘70s, the Stooges reunited for a series of well-received reunion concerts in the 2003, culminating in the release of The Weirdness in 2007. Those lucky enough to have seen the band the first time around or during the reunion phase should consider themselves the lucky witnesses of rock’n’roll history. The rest of us are left to take comfort with loud stereos, battered eardrums and well-worn copies of Funhouse.
Turn it up loud enough for Ron to hear it one more time.
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