Iggy Pop Remembers the Stooges in ‘Total Chaos’ Book

Share This:

Cover photo by Dustin Pittman

The story of one of classic rock’s most notorious bands, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, is now being told by the one person who really knows what went on during those heady days: Iggy himself. Third Man Books is publishing Total Chaos: The Story of The Stooges/ As Told by Iggy Pop on November 15. Pre-order is available here.

According to the announcement from Third Man, “Author Jeff Gold and contributor Johan Kugelberg spent two days with Pop at his Miami home, sharing with him their extensive Stooges collection and interviewing the legendary singer.” The press release continues: “Pop’s candid, bare-all responses left them with the almost unbelievable tale of the band he founded-the alternately tragic and triumphant story of a group who rose from youth, fell prey to drugs, alcohol, and music biz realities, collapsed and nearly 30 years later reformed, recording and touring to great acclaim.”

In 2010 the Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Says author Gold, “It was a rare privilege to sit with Iggy as he downloaded the story of The Stooges. He’s an incredible storyteller with a fantastic memory and a great sense of humor, and he held nothing back. The Stooges were pioneers in sound, look and live presentation, and along the way invented a genre—punk rock—and influenced countless others that followed. There was no precedent in rock music for what they did. They’re definitely the only group in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who started out playing an amplified Waring blender, a vacuum cleaner, spring water bottles and a 200-gallon oil drum.”

The book is illustrated with dozens of previously unpublished images.

Here are Iggy and the Stooges in rare live footage from 1970…