Iggy Pop

''James Newell Osterberg, Jr.'' (born April 21, 1947), better known by his stage name ''Iggy Pop'', is an American rock singer, songwriter, and occasional actor.<ref name="AOL">[http://music.aol.com/artist/iggy-pop/biography/1004441 AOL Music Biography]. Accessed June 8, 2008</ref> Although he has had only limited mainstream success, Iggy Pop is considered an innovator of punk rock, garage rock, and other related styles.<ref name="AOL"/> He is sometimes referred to by the nicknames "the Godfather of Punk" and "the Rock Iguana", and is widely acknowledged as one of the most dynamic stage performers of all time.<ref name="AOL"/> Pop began calling himself 'Iggy' after his first band in high school, 'The Iguanas'.<ref name="Iggy Pop Main">[http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-p/iggypop_main.htm Rock On The Net: Iggy Pop<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Iggy Pop was the lead singer of The Stooges, a late 1960s/early 1970s garage rock band who were influential in the development of the nascent heavy metal and punk rock genres. The Stooges became infamous for their live performances, during which it was not uncommon for Pop (who traditionally performs bare-chested) to consume narcotics, self-mutilate, verbally abuse the audience, expose himself and leap off the stage (thus being the first or among the first to "stage dive"). Countless subsequent performers have imitated Pop's antics. Pop's popularity has ebbed and flowed throughout the course of his subsequent solo career. His best-known solo songs include "Lust for Life", "I'm Bored", "Real Wild Child", the Top 40 hit "Candy" (with vocalist Kate Pierson of The B-52's)<ref name="Iggy Pop Main"/> and "The Passenger". A film about Iggy Pop's life and career titled 'The Passenger' is currently in development.