Ron Asheton RIP

Wow - this is huge. How sad! Ron Asheton - RIP.

Ron Asheton, the influential guitarist for legendary punk band the Stooges, was found dead early this morning at his home in Ann Arbor, police said.

Ann Arbor Police Sgt. Brad Hill said the department received a call around midnight with a request to check on Asheton, because the unidentified caller said he had not heard from the guitarist in a few days. Police went to his home and found him deceased.

The death is still under investigation but foul play is not suspected, Hill said.

The Stooges, founded in 1967 in Ann Arbor by Iggy Pop, Asheton and Ron Asheton’s brother, Scott, are among the most important rock groups to have emerged from the Detroit area, a place that’s seen more than its share. The band was never a commercial success in its late ‘60s and early ‘70s heyday, but the Stooges’ raw guttural sound helped create the template for punk rock, and later became hugely influential in the alternative-rock revolution of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Continued here.

Stooges (recent vintage) slide show here.