Drummer Scott Asheton, a founding member of The Stooges, passed away this weekend at the age of 64.
Asheton, his brother Ron, and friend Dave Alexander formed The Stooges with Iggy Pop in 1967, and the band released two albums together – 1969′s The Stooges, and 1970′s Funhouse. Alexander would later be fired from the group, and replaced by James Williamson, thus creating the foursome that would create the punk classic Raw Power.
The Stooges would break up in 1974, and Asheton went on to drum for musicians such as Scott Morgan and Sonny Vincent, as well as Pop and his solo projects. He also joined back up with The Stooges in their 2003 reunion, and remained with them on recording of 2007’s The Weirdness and 2013’s Ready To Die.
A severe health scare in 2011 forced Asheton to stop touring with The Stooges, but the group still considered him a member of the band, especially after his brother’s death in 2009 left him as one of only two original band members.
Pop, now the last surviving member of the band, made this announcement on Facebook, following his death:
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 Asheton’s 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.
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