Punk rock's founding document has a bass player, and his name was Dave Alexander. As the original bassist of The Stooges, Alexander anchored the two albums — The Stooges (1969) and Fun House (1970) — that essentially invented punk before the word existed. He was thrown out of the band at 23 and dead at 27, but the primal drones he laid down under Iggy Pop's howl are still rattling through every garage on earth.
Ann Arbor delinquents
David Michael Alexander was born June 3, 1947, and grew up around Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he ran with brothers Ron and Scott Asheton — a crew of rock-obsessed misfits. The defining Alexander legend: days before finishing high school, he dropped out and flew to England with Ron Asheton on a pilgrimage to see The Who. That was the level of commitment. Back home, the Ashetons and Alexander fell in with a charismatic drummer-turned-frontman named James Osterberg — soon to be Iggy Pop — and in 1967 the Psychedelic Stooges were born.
Two albums that invented the future
The Stooges signed to Elektra and cut their 1969 debut with John Cale of the Velvet Underground producing. Alexander's bass is the dark pulse under "I Wanna Be Your Dog," "1969," and "No Fun" — songs built on brutal simplicity at a time when rock was racing toward complexity. Critics were baffled; teenagers in garages understood immediately.
Fun House (1970) went even further — a feral, free-jazz-scorched masterpiece now routinely ranked among the greatest rock albums ever made. Alexander's playing on "Dirt" is his monument: a slow, sinuous, menacing bassline that generations of players have studied. The whole band shared writing credits, and Alexander's droning, hypnotic approach was central to the Stooges' architecture: not flash, but force.
Goose Lake and the fall
In August 1970, at Michigan's massive Goose Lake festival, Alexander — badly drunk — froze onstage in front of 200,000 people, barely playing a note. Iggy fired him immediately after the show. Cut loose from the band that had been his whole identity, Alexander drifted, and his drinking consumed him. On February 10, 1975, following a hospitalization for pancreatitis brought on by alcoholism, he died of pulmonary edema in Ann Arbor. He was 27.
Legacy
History has been far kinder than 1970 was. When The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, Alexander was inducted with them. Mike Watt, the Minutemen legend who played bass in the reunited Stooges, made a point of honoring him from the stage as the man whose lines he was keeping alive. Every punk, post-punk, and garage band tracing its lineage back to those first two Stooges records — which is to say, nearly all of them — is playing over Dave Alexander's foundation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the original bassist of The Stooges? Dave Alexander, who co-founded the band in 1967 and played on The Stooges (1969) and Fun House (1970).
Why was Dave Alexander fired from The Stooges? After showing up too drunk to perform at the Goose Lake festival in August 1970, Iggy Pop dismissed him from the band immediately afterward.
How did Dave Alexander die? He died February 10, 1975, at age 27, of pulmonary edema after being hospitalized with alcohol-related pancreatitis.
Is Dave Alexander in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Yes — he was inducted in 2010 as a member of The Stooges.