Every year a few diehard rockers that actually can go back 25 years start thunping for The Stooges to make it into the Rock’n'Roll Hall of Fame.  That’s Iggy Pop for the others.  We do that for one very simple reason:

They invented punk. The Rolling Stones and others ran around snarling and acting bad. However, going to their concert was as exciting as watching Abba. The Stooges took concerts to a whole new level where you often truly feared for your safety and sanity. Sometimes, you were truly ashamed to watch the personal destruction occurring on stage. In other words, you were actually affected. Punk would spawn all kinds of spin-offs that we listen to today. Almost every young band emulates Iggy at some point by crowd surfing. Watch the video to learn how to do it right. Iggy didn’t just lay there and wallow around. He stood on people. He walked on people. He threw peanut butter. Most people like myself know that Iggy and The Stooges aren’t in there because their sound was unpolished, the band members not pretty, and the crowds at the time were small. However, what they created was huge and Kiss and The Red Hot Chili Peppers will be the first to tell you The Stooges belong there before they do. I’m not going into any argument about any of the rest of the list. But, before any of them get in, The Stooges need to be there.