FUSE TV - Stooges Drummer Scott Asheton Passes Away

Iggy & the Stooges drummer Scott “Rock Action” Asheton passed away this Saturday of an unknown illness. He was 64.

Born in Washington, D.C. before moving to Ann Arbor, MI as a child, Asheton co-founded the Stooges in 1967 alongside frontman Iggy Pop, his brother and guitarist Ron, and bassist Dave Alexander. The group released their self-titled debut in 1969, a record produced by John Cale of the Velvet Underground that would lay the foundation for 70s proto-punk. Before disbanding in 1974, the band would release two more albums, Fun House and Raw Power, after a series of lineup changes. Asheton and Pop remained the only consistent members.

The band reformed in 2003 and remain active today. Asheton continued to record and tour with the Stooges until suffering a medical injury on a plane in 2011. The drummer makes an appearance on 2013’s Ready to Die, but had stopped touring with the band.

Iggy Pop released the following statement:

“My dear friend Scott Asheton passed away last night. Scott was a great artist, I have never heard anyone play the drums with more meaning than Scott Asheton. He was like my brother. He and Ron have left a huge legacy to the world. The Ashetons have always been and continue to be a second family to me.

My thoughts are with his sister Kathy, his wife Liz and his daughter Leanna, who was the light of his life."