Happy Birthday: Ron Asheton

Today’s the birthday of Ron Asheton of The Stooges, so if you feel the need to run put on one of the band’s classic albums, we understand completely. In fact, we’re even encouraging it, hence the inclusion of our official Stooges playlist here. Beyond that, though, check out these six tracks, which feature Asheton in some capacity or other. The majority of them are pretty sure, so prepare to get an education!

1. New Order, “Lucky Strike” (1977): No, not that New Order, but you’re right in suspecting that the identical name led to this band – Asheton’s first proper band after the Stooges wrapped up – turning into Ron Asheton’s New Order, so as to avoid any possible brand confusion.

2. Destroy All Monsters, “Assassination Photograph” (1979): This band came roaring out of Detroit, and although they never found tremendous commercial success, they gained a fair amount of attention as a result of having members of both the Stooges and the MC5 within their ranks at various points.

3. New Race, “Crying Sun” (1982): These guys were never a studio band, only a live outfit, but when three guys from Radio Birdman team up with one of the Stooges and a member of the MC5, you can understand why Warner Brothers found it reasonable to release a live album by the band (THE FIRST AND LAST).

4. The Lovemasters, “(Santa’s Got A) Bomb for Whitey” (1995): To tell the short story of the Lovemasters, one must first tell the even shorter story of the Ramrods, a Detroit punk band who – had they not disbanded – might well have found mainstream success, given that they were already being eyed by both Danny Fields, who managed the Ramones, and Seymour Stein of Sire Records. Instead, they broke up, and guitarist Peter James and drummer Bob Mulrooney went on to form this group. Asheton wasn’t actually a member of the group, mind you, but he did play on this song.

5. Dark Carnival, “Bloody Mary” (1997): This band was fronted by Niagara, who – as many of you likely already know – also fronted the aforementioned Destroy All Monsters. As such, it’s none too surprising that Asheton should feature on recordings by both bands.

6. Sonny Vincent, “Dedication” (2000): A staple of the New York punk rock scene as a member of the Testors, Vincent has rarely stopped playing music, releasing an album with Rocket from the Crypt as recently as 2015. He and Asheton have interacted together on other projects as well, but this track was produced by Asheton.