Music
James Williamson
born 1949 · guitarist, songwriter, engineer
The Stooges' Raw Power guitarist, who came of age in the Detroit area in the 1960s and formed his first band there with future SRC singer Scott Richardson.
- Born
Castroville, Texas
age 76- Birth name
- James Robert Williamson
- Also known as
- Straight James
- Detroit years
- mid-1960s–1969
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
James Williamson was born in Texas and, after moves to San Antonio and Lawton, Oklahoma, arrived with his family in the Detroit area in the mid-1960s. He had started on guitar in seventh grade, and in ninth grade he formed his first band, the Chosen Few, with Scott Richardson, later the singer of the Michigan psychedelic band SRC. Through the local scene he met Ron Asheton and Iggy Pop, and after finishing high school in 1969 he followed the Stooges to New York. He joined them as second guitarist in December 1970, and in 1973 he co-wrote and played all the guitar on Raw Power, whose ferocious sound became a blueprint for punk. After further work with Iggy Pop he left music, earned an electrical engineering degree and spent decades in the tech industry, rising to vice president at Sony, before rejoining the reunited Stooges in 2009.
Highlights
- Co-wrote and played guitar on Raw Power (1973)
- Iggy Pop collaborations Kill City and New Values
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Stooges (2010)
- Solo album Re-Licked (2014)