A shocking moment in American history apparently kept Iggy Pop from a life in politics -- and it wasn't finding out that you can't host shirtless state dinners. Instead, he tells BBC's Newsnight that John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963 changed everything.

Well, more specifically, everything that immediately followed.

“I did want to be a politician -- until JFK got shot," Pop said, according to NME. "Not because he was shot, but because suddenly you had [Richard] Nixon, Hubert Humphrey and Lyndon B. Johnson. A kid can look at these people and think, ‘These people are not well.’”

Instead, Pop co-founded the protopunk Stooges before launching his own unpredictable solo career -- becoming best known for songs like 'I Wanna Be Your Dog,' 'Search and Destroy,' 'Lust for Life,' 'Real Wild Child,' 'Candy' and others.

On Sunday, he's set to deliver the John Peel Lecture, an annual talk where music figures are invited to talk about the industry. Pop's topic will be "Free Music in a Capitalistic Society."

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