Following Ron Asheton's sudden death in 2009, Williamson rejoined The Stooges, who had toured regularly after the Fun House-era lineup (save for Alexander, who had died years previously in 1975) reunited in 2003.
To rehearse, he enlisted the help of local roots rock band Careless Hearts, who backed him on his first gig in 35 years at the Blank Club in San Jose, California on September 5, 2009.
 They performed a number of early Stooges songs, and also some material from the Kill City album.
In June 2010,  a CD + DVD combo was released of this event called James Williamson with Careless Hearts.

The Stooges' first reunion concert with Williamson occurred on November 7, 2009 in São Paulo, Brazil.
The band added material from Raw Power and several of Pop's early solo albums to its repertoire.

In March 2010, The Stooges were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The group's current line-up performed "Search and Destroy" with Scott Thurston.

Following several additional tours (many of which included full performances of Raw Power), the band released what would become their last album, Ready to Die, on April 30, 2013 via Fat Possum Records.
Produced by Williamson, the album contained ten new Pop-Williamson compositions.

Re-Licked, Williamson's first solo studio album, was released by Leopard Lady Records in October 2014.
Composed entirely of much-bootlegged songs by Pop and Williamson that were written, demoed and performed by The Stooges in the immediate aftermath of Raw Power, it featured vocal contributions from Jello Biafra, Bobby Gillespie, Ariel Pink, Carolyn Wonderland, Alison Mosshart and Lisa Kekaula along with performances by several members of the reunited Stooges (including bassist Mike Watt and touring drummer Toby Dammit).
Pop did not participate in the project, with a representative alleging that "Iggy was never given an opportunity to participate on the album.
He found out about the project in December of 2013 after it was rejected by a Chicago label."
According to Williamson, "He gave me his blessing and wished me success.
But it's a hard pill to swallow when someone is doing all your songs with your band and you're not on it.
I think he's cool with it so far.
We'll see how things progress ... I hope he maintains his positive attitude."
In a subsequent interview with Rolling Stone, Pop said, "I don't have a problem with anything, I don't oppose anything.
This statement about the 'hard pill' sounds kind of passive aggressive to me.
The guys in the touring group have been phoning and emailing me and my rep before during and after the recordings, wondering how I felt about this.
These guys are my friends and we've all worked together many years.
I am glad someone is paying them; they are working musicians and they need to play.
I want to thank all the wonderful singers on this record for covering my songs."

On March 15, 2014, Scott Asheton died of a heart attack at the age of 64.
Saxophonist Steve Mackay (who briefly joined the group in mid-1970 before participating in the post-2003 reunion and Re-Licked) also died in October 2015 at the age of 66.
On June 22, 2016, Williamson issued an official statement for the band saying that The Stooges are no more: "The Stooges is over.
Basically, everybody's dead except Iggy and I. So it would be sort-of ludicrous to try and tour as Iggy and The Stooges when there's only one Stooge in the band and then you have side guys.
That doesn't make any sense to me."
Williamson also added that touring had become boring, and trying to balance the band's career as well as Pop's was a difficult task.
Following Ron Asheton's sudden death in 2009, Williamson rejoined The Stooges, who had toured regularly after the Fun House-era lineup (save for Alexander, who had died years previously in 1975) reunited in 2003. To rehearse, he enlisted the help of local roots rock band Careless Hearts, who backed him on his first gig in 35 years at the Blank Club in San Jose, California on September 5, 2009.  They performed a number of early Stooges songs, and also some material from the Kill City album. In June 2010,  a CD + DVD combo was released of this event called James Williamson with Careless Hearts.
The Stooges' first reunion concert with Williamson occurred on November 7, 2009 in São Paulo, Brazil. The band added material from Raw Power and several of Pop's early solo albums to its repertoire.
In March 2010, The Stooges were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The group's current line-up performed "Search and Destroy" with Scott Thurston.
Following several additional tours (many of which included full performances of Raw Power), the band released what would become their last album, Ready to Die, on April 30, 2013 via Fat Possum Records. Produced by Williamson, the album contained ten new Pop-Williamson compositions.
Re-Licked, Williamson's first solo studio album, was released by Leopard Lady Records in October 2014. Composed entirely of much-bootlegged songs by Pop and Williamson that were written, demoed and performed by The Stooges in the immediate aftermath of Raw Power, it featured vocal contributions from Jello Biafra, Bobby Gillespie, Ariel Pink, Carolyn Wonderland, Alison Mosshart and Lisa Kekaula along with performances by several members of the reunited Stooges (including bassist Mike Watt and touring drummer Toby Dammit). Pop did not participate in the project, with a representative alleging that "Iggy was never given an opportunity to participate on the album. He found out about the project in December of 2013 after it was rejected by a Chicago label." According to Williamson, "He gave me his blessing and wished me success. But it's a hard pill to swallow when someone is doing all your songs with your band and you're not on it. I think he's cool with it so far. We'll see how things progress ... I hope he maintains his positive attitude." In a subsequent interview with Rolling Stone, Pop said, "I don't have a problem with anything, I don't oppose anything. This statement about the 'hard pill' sounds kind of passive aggressive to me. The guys in the touring group have been phoning and emailing me and my rep before during and after the recordings, wondering how I felt about this. These guys are my friends and we've all worked together many years. I am glad someone is paying them; they are working musicians and they need to play. I want to thank all the wonderful singers on this record for covering my songs."
On March 15, 2014, Scott Asheton died of a heart attack at the age of 64. Saxophonist Steve Mackay (who briefly joined the group in mid-1970 before participating in the post-2003 reunion and Re-Licked) also died in October 2015 at the age of 66. On June 22, 2016, Williamson issued an official statement for the band saying that The Stooges are no more: "The Stooges is over. Basically, everybody's dead except Iggy and I. So it would be sort-of ludicrous to try and tour as Iggy and The Stooges when there's only one Stooge in the band and then you have side guys. That doesn't make any sense to me." Williamson also added that touring had become boring, and trying to balance the band's career as well as Pop's was a difficult task.
James Williamson (musician)