Iggy Pop

James Newell Osterberg aka Iggy Pop started out as a member of the proto-punk Stooges before embracing a solo career. Pop's first two solo albums, the pop-oriented The Idiot and Lust for Life (1977), were produced by David Bowie. He returned to hard rock in TV Eye Live (1978) and New Values (1979). After the release of Zombie Birdhouse (1982) Pop took time off, reappearing four years later with Blah-Blah-Blah, another Bowie production. He followed it with Brick by Brick, produced by Don Was, his most accessible and commercially successful album. Pop pursued an acting career for the next few years, appearing in John Waters' Cry Baby. Only diehard fans appreciated his next albums, American Caesar (1993), Naughty Little Doggy (1996), and Avenue B, a Lou Reed-style collection of mostly ballads with a guest appearance by jazz funk trio, Medeski, Martin and Wood. Beat 'Em Up (2001) marked a return to his earlier, louder style but didn't won him much praise either. The elder statesman of rock and roll has historically been more venerated for his name than his musical output.