Ron Asheton
Ronald Franklin Asheton (July 17, 1948 – c. January 6, 2009)[2] was an American musician, who was best known as the guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter for the rock band the Stooges. He formed the Stooges along with Iggy Pop and his brother, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. Asheton, once ranked as number 29 on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,[3] is currently (as of December 2015) ranked at number 60.[4]
Ron Asheton
Ronald Franklin Asheton
July 17, 1948
Washington, D.C., US[1]
c. January 6, 2009 (aged 60)
Ann Arbor, Michigan, US[1]
- Musician
- songwriter
- Guitar
- bass guitar
- vocals
1963–2009
Early life[edit]
Ronald Franklin Asheton was born July 17, 1948, in Washington, D.C.[1] He described his household as heavily musical, and described his family as his first big musical influence. His first instrument was a violin which was given by his mother, he was then gifted an accordion at age 5, of which he practiced more seriously with. At age 10 he took up both guitar and bass which ultimately took the majority of his practice time and interest.
He described himself as a child different compared to others kids his age, as a majority of kids that lived in his area were more interested in sports and physical activities, while he spent his time listening to music and practicing on guitar and bass. When he was 13, the family relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan. He and his brother Scott attended Pioneer High School.
He played with some local bands including the Prime Movers and The Chosen Few (briefly overlapping with James Williamson, later of the Stooges). He met Iggy Pop soon after and they formed the hard rock band the Stooges.[5] Like his father who was a Marine, Ron had a strong interest in military history, including a controversial albeit apolitical obsession with collecting Nazi memorabilia.
[6]
Asheton played the double tracked guitar solo (referred to as a "guitar duet" in the liner notes) on Ragnar Kvaran's 1981 recording, Wrecked on Love.[10]
He is credited for helping to write the song "Hit Them Again" on the album Radios Appear (1977) by Radio Birdman, as well as one track that can be heard at the end of the movie Mosquito. Some other tracks Asheton wrote had been recorded by the group "Wylde Ratttz", for the original score of the 1998 movie Velvet Goldmine, but only one song was featured on the soundtrack. He contributed another song to Beyond Cyberpunk, a 2001 compilation assembled and produced by Wayne Kramer of MC5.