Meta Description: Discover Iggy Pop’s favorite Rolling Stones songs and the influence they had on his music. Explore the unique connection between these rock legends.
Iggy Pop’s Favorite Rolling Stones Songs: A Musical Tribute
Long hair. An affinity for the outrageous. One of the greatest frontmen of all time. Are we talking about Iggy Pop or Mick Jagger? The description could apply to both pretty easily, so it’s no surprise that the two are fans of each other. Granted, Iggy Pop didn’t reach the global level of fame that Jagger managed, but he was a pivotal part of the pub rock movement, eventually leading to punk. Despite one name being slightly more recognizable, they have both left considerable footprints in the music world.
Iggy Pop’s Eclectic Musical Tastes
While Iggy might conjure up images of punk rock, noisy guitar, and an outrageous stage show, he had a very eclectic taste in music. A lot of this comes from his period playing as a session drummer before he became a frontman. In doing this, he managed to tour with a range of different artists, learning about music, the creative act, and how to work a crowd.
“I got to play drums behind The Shangri-Las, The Crystals, The Four Tops. Learned a lot,” he said, recalling his time as a session drummer. “Mary, the lead singer of the Shangri-Las, had a really beautiful head of hair… and I just remember being very happy in the back, you know, playing ‘ts, ts, ts’ while she was going, ‘remember, walking in the sand’.”
The Influence of The Rolling Stones
Though some might consider The Rolling Stones to be the British rivals to The Stooges and Iggy Pop, Iggy confirms that there were a number of songs by the band that he liked. In fact, one Rolling Stones song (paired with a Beach Boys track) helped create one of The Stooges’ biggest hits, ‘No Fun’.
“When Ron [Asheton] started jamming the chords in ‘No Fun’, I knew instantly that we would be in the book,” said Iggy. “As for the lyrics of that track, I always thought that ‘no’ is a great word. One of my favorite parts of the Rolling Stones ‘Satisfaction’ is when Mick goes, ‘No, no, no’. And then, on the other hand, you had the Beach Boys, another great band, who had this song where they kept repeating ‘Fun, fun, fun’, so I thought to myself, ‘Well, there you go’.”
Iggy Pop’s Favorite Rolling Stones Songs
The two songs in particular that stand out for Iggy Pop as being his favorites by the Rolling Stones are ‘Good Times, Bad Times’ and ‘Congratulations’. It’s interesting that ‘Good Times, Bad Times’ appears, given it was one of the first songs Mick Jagger ever wrote for the band. It has a unique acoustic element to it, with a real bluesy swing that wasn’t as present in a lot of the Stones’ later work, so this could well be what appeals to Iggy.
‘Congratulations’ is also an old song for the band, which sounds more like a demo than it does a finished track. That being said, because of the raw nature of a lot of Iggy’s music, it could well be the authentic nature of these songs that appeals to him.
Iggy Pop’s Favorite Rolling Stones Songs:
- The Rolling Stones – ‘Good Times, Bad Times’
- The Rolling Stones – ‘Congratulations’
