Seven of Iggy Pop’s Most Memorable Collaborations

Iggy Pop. Found on Wikimedia Commons. Author Alex Const.

 Last Friday, Japanese guitarist Hotei released a new single from his international debut album ‘Strangers,’ with famed punk singer Iggy Pop on vocal duties. “Walking Through the Night” is a bluesy track with a heavy, plodding guitar riff that gives the song motion.

This isn’t the first collaboration between the two musicians, who released the punky “How the Cookie Crumbles” together last year.

This isn’t the first instance of Iggy collaborating with other artists either. In fact, he has worked with artists other than The Stooges for years. Some of his most popular songs were collaborations with some of the biggest artists in rock.

Here, Vinyl Bay 777 brings you seven of Iggy Pop’s most memorable recorded collaborations. Some of these were done for movies, others were done for the sake of mutual respect between the artists. All are worth another listen.

1.       Iggy Pop and David Bowie, “Lust For Life”: One of Iggy’s most popular solo songs, “Lust For Life” was actually written by himself and David Bowie in Germany while both were trying to get sober. Bowie has also recorded this and other songs from their writing sessions. (video)

2.       Iggy Pop and Green Day, “Private Hell”: I came across this song on iTunes once while searching Green Day music. It is part of an album of pop-punk songs Iggy recorded in 2003 called ‘Skull Ring,’ which also features collaborations with Sum 41, Peaches and The Trolls. It’s bluesy and punky, and a lot better than “Supermarket,” the other collaboration between Pop and Green Day on the album. (video)

3.       Iggy Pop and Debbie Harry, “Well Did You Evah”: This song was recorded by the two for a charity tribute album of songs written by Cole Porter. The collaboration seems very natural, as does the acting between the two in the video. (video)

4.       Iggy Pop and Josh Homme, “Post Pop Depression”: Pop’s last album, 2016’s ‘Post Pop Depression,’ was a collaboration with Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, as well as QotSA guitarist Dean Fertita and drummer Matt Helders of Arctic Monkeys. According to quotes in Rolling Stone, Pop has said that the album “took him to a place he’d never been.” (video – “Gardenia”)

5.       The Stooges featuring John Cale, “I Wanna Be Your Dog”: Cale is actually produced “I Wanna Be Your Dog” is one of The Stooges’ most well known songs, as well as the entirety of The Stooges debut album. The song also features Cale on piano and sleigh bells. (video)

6.       Iggy Pop featuring Steve Jones, Nigel Harrison and Clem Burke, “Repo Man”: Pop was approached to write a song for the soundtrack to ‘Repo Man,’ so he recruited an all-star band to back him up. This band featured Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols and Nigel Harrison and Clem Burke of Blondie. (video)

7.       Iggy Pop and Kate Pierson, “Candy”: It turns out that Pop’s only top 40 hit was a collaborative effort. With the B-52’s at the height of their career, working with Kate Pierson gave his single with her, “Candy,” a boost. Different from much of Pop’s work, it is a fun little pop song that reminisces about a girl. (video)

Iggy Pop’s collaborations are just as legendary as his solo and Stooges hits. It is an honor for a younger band or musician to get to play with Pop and gets people talking about them. These, of course, are not all of his collaborations, as he has also worked with the likes of Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast, Ke$ha, Sparklehorse and more.

Find music from Iggy Pop and more at Vinyl Bay 777 and vinylbay777.com. Our wide variety of titles on vinyl, CD and cassette runs the gambit from punk to blues to country to pop and more, guaranteeing that there is always something for everyone. Now open every day!