I remember reading a review of one of his records in the NY Times where they kept referring to him as “Mr. Pop.”

My favorite Iggy story? Saw him at the Cameo Theatre in Miami Beach (my first time live) around ‘84. RIVETING. Just so feral & electric!!! I hadn’t gotten it until then, but man, it was something. I had my hand up when he came by (like MANY of the ladies- hey, we’ve seen the pic of him naked!), so he slaps it, laughs, bend down and makes kissy faces at me. OH MY.

Killer, just killer.

Iggy must now make a pretty penny off of commercials. I hear his music all the time on TV. Well edited of course.

Why Tom do you call it a myth that there would be no Clash/Pistols etc without Iggy? Certainly Iggy was playing a new kind of music that inspired many, including the Ramones, Dolls and Pistols. And without Iggy, Ziggy Stardust would have NEVER been born. Much of punk and glam can be directly traced back to Iggy. Rock and roll would have been born without Elvis but it probably would have had a different sound. Why is this a myth?

There are some artists who it is hard to exaggerate their influence. Iggy Pop is one of them I believe. James Brown, Black Sabbath, Beatles come to mind too.

And another thought: Funhouse may be my all time favorite album cover. I’ve known people who had owned the album (vinyl I’m talking) for years and never saw the double image because they never happened to hold it wrong side up. And once you know its there, you can’t believe you ever missed it.

I was hooked. We decided one day on a lark to send Iggy a package. I do not remember what address we used or how we got it. We mailed him black and white promo shot that was hanging around the office and a 6 inch thick package of the magazines we worked on. We highlighted all the mistakes made within our magazines such as misspellings on the cover. We ridiculed ourselves and wished him luck inenjoying the crap we were paid to create. (This included sci-fi, rap, wrestling, female body building, horror, car racing and a dozen other niche magazines.) We also asked him to sign the glossy and included two personal letters with two self addressed stamped envelopes.

We waited. And waited. Months go by and we forget the whole thing. At the time I was engaged and by now my wedding day had come. The very morning of my wedding the letter arrived. It was a very short hand written note with the included glossy. I do not remember what he wrote because the note was addressed to Jim. The letters were switched. I put the note in my pocket and carried it to my wedding. When Jim arrived to my wedding we were both smiling holding each others letters. I immediately opened mine and it read: “Funhouse got me fired.” with a poorly drawn hand flipping me the bird and signed Iggy Pop. His letter was a response to my letter which only contained the words, “Funhouse is my favorite album.”

(We later confirmed the handwriting against writings found on some of his albums and other soources.)

So the moment I kissed my wife in front of family and friends I held in my tuxedo breast pocket a hand written personal letter from Iggy Pop giving me the middle finger. And to this day the letter is embedded within my wedding photo album falling chronologically next to the moment I became a married man.

As much fun and mayhem I have experienced at his shows, this is my favorite Iggy story.

I can not exaggerate the love I have for this man’s music. Nothing else sounds like it. Nothing else equals it in its pure energy.

Great post Tom. Iggy however did reach top 20 once with Candy.