10 Greatest Secret Weapons In Rock And Roll

The mantle of Iggy Pop as the Godfather of all things Punk tends to seem a bit larger than life looking back on everything. After all, the band in question was called just the Stooges before adopting their reptilian frontman as the new voice and draw of the group. While Iggy might have been the brute force behind the mic, James Williamson was the wild man you heard once you actually picked the record up.

Coming into the fold a little later than the rest of the band, Williamson was the prototype for what would become punk guitar playing on albums like Raw Power. Compared to the first few Stooges records where things were dominated by barre chords and raw noise, Williamson added a healthy dose of manic energy and precision to his playing, with solos that were off the rails while still managing to make a sonic statement by the end.

Even though the Stooges ended up lasting for only a few years afterwards, Iggy seemed to remain on good terms with Williamson long enough to have him feature on some of his initial solo releases before hooking up with David Bowie. Iggy may be the true wild man behind the Stooges, but James Williamson is the real puppeteer making every single second of madness hit at the right time.