Iggy Pop (born James Newell Osterberg, Jr. on April 21, 1947) is an American rock singer, songwriter, and occasional actor. Although he has had only limited mainstream success, Iggy Pop is considered an innovator of punk rock, hard rock, and other related styles.; He is sometimes referred to by the nicknames "the Godfather of Punk" and "the Iguana", and is widely acknowledged as one of the most dynamic stage performers of all time.; Pop began calling himself Iggy after his first band in high school, The Iguanas.Iggy Pop was the lead singer of The Stooges, a late 1960s/early 1970s rock band who were influential in the development of the nascent hard rock and punk rock genres. The Stooges became infamous for their live performances, during which it was not uncommon for Pop (who traditionally performs bare-chested) to self-mutilate, verbally abuse the audience, expose himself and leap off the stage (thus being the first or among the first to stage dive). Pop's popularity has ebbed and... more