Steve Mackay, best known for playing saxophone with The Stooges and Violent Femmes, has died at the age of 66 after a battle with sepsis.
Mackay was born in Grand Rapids and attended the University of Michigan’s art school in the 1960s, where he played in a band called Carnal Kitchen. Iggy Pop attended one of their shows and invited Mackay to perform with The Stooges. From these jam sessions came two classic proto-punk tracks: “Fun House” and “1970.”
Mackay toured with The Stooges in 1970, the year that Fun House was released. Decades later, he performed on their 2007 album The Weirdness and 2013’s Ready to Die, as well as joining them on tour. Mackay also recorded solo albums and played with the Violent Femmes, Sonny Vincent, Mike Watt, R. Stevie Moore, and many others.
Sadly, this is the third Stooges-related death in the past six years. Ron Asheton died in 2009, and Scott Asheton passed away last year. Iggy Pop released the following statement about Steve Mackay today:
“Steve was a classic ’60s American guy, full of generosity and love for anyone he met. Every time he put his sax to his lips and honked, he lightened my road and brightened the whole world. He was a credit to his group and his generation. To know him was to love him.”
Photo credit: Steve Mackay’s Facebook