Ron Asheton, whose buzzsaw guitar sound helped define the early recordings of legendary Detroit punk trailblazers The Stooges, has died. He was 60.

Asheton was found in his Ann Arbor, MI, home early Tuesday morning (1/6) after the Ann Arbor police department received a call asking them to check on the musician, according to a police spokesman. Police don't suspect foul play in the death, which appears to be from natural causes, according to the department.

Asheton had been touring in recent years with a reunited version of The Stooges, and the band was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with this year's crop of inductees to be announced later this month.

The Stooges formed in Detroit in 1967 with Asheton, his brother, drummer Scott Asheton, and mercurial frontman James Osterberg, who would soon assume the name Iggy Pop. The band, which also featured bassist Dave Alexander, didn't make its public debut until early 1968, but quickly gathered a following and attention from record labels, signing with Elektra Records later in the year.

The group released its self-titled debut album in 1969, and a follow-up, "Fun House," the following year. Although they were never a commercial success, The Stooges attracted the attention of many big names in the music industry, including fan David Bowie, who famously brokered a record deal for the band with Columbia and produced the group's third studio album, 1973's influential "Raw Power." Ron Asheton moved to bass on the album, with James Williamson taking over on lead guitar. a move that rankled Asheton and contributed to the band's breakup in 1974.

Asheton appeared with several bands in the years and decades following the breakup of The Stooges, although none of them came close to the notoriety of his original group. The Stooges reformed in 2003 with both of the Asheton brothers and Pop, along with Mike Watt on bass. The group had been touring steadily until last fall, releasing a new studio album, "The Weirdness," in 2007.

Asheton, who was not considered an especially gifted player technically by most observers, was ranked at No. 29 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list, with the magazine enthusing that the guitarist made the "Stooges' music reek like a puddle of week-old biker sweat. He favored black leather and German iron crosses onstage, and he never let not really knowing how to play get in the way of a big, ugly feedback solo."

In a 2003 interview with the Detroit Free Press, Asheton expressed gratitude for the dedication of the band's fanbase, which swelled over the years as the group's legend grew over time.

"When I was a young guy coming up, going to the Grande Ballroom every weekend, I got to see my heroes play," he told the newspaper. "Jeff Beck, The Who, everyone. I didn't want to be a fanboy, but I'd stand there and wait--'I just want to say hi, this was great.' I saw them walk by me with blank stares like they were zombies. I said to myself, you know, if I ever make it, I've got at least one minute for everybody who wants to say something. So I talk to people, and that's what's exciting now."