Ted Nugent

Early life

Nugent was born in 1948 in Detroit, Michigan, the second of four children born to Marion Dorothy (née Johnson) and Warren Henry Nugent. His maternal grandparents were Swedish. He grew up in Redford, Michigan. In 1965, Warren was transferred to the Chicago, Illinois area, where Ted attended St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights.

Draft status

Nugent grew up in a military family; his father was a career army sergeant. Nugent himself never served in the military, although he came of age during the height of the Vietnam War. In 1977 and 1990 interviews with High Times magazine and the Detroit Free Press, Nugent claimed he deliberately failed his draft physical by eating nothing but junk food for days beforehand, and urinating and defecating in the same pair of pants for one week.

Nugent denied this story in a 2018 appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, claiming that he invented the story for his and his band's amusement, because news sources at the time often published inaccurate information about them, and that he wanted to mess with the "dirtbag" and "hippie" writers of High Times (a marijuana-themed magazine), because he was "hardcore anti-drug". He further asserted to Rogan that in 1969 he passed his draft physical "with flying colors", and denied that he was given a 4-F draft classification.

Nugent's claims to Rogan are contradicted by his Selective Service record. According to these records, he was given student deferments while attending Oakland Community College, and upon leaving the school received a draft rating of I-A, before failing his draft physical on August 28, 1969. After that physical, he was rated 1-Y ("registrant qualified for service only in time of war or national emergency") until that classification was abolished in 1971. He was subsequently reclassified 4-F, indicating ineligibility for military service due to not meeting physical, mental, or moral standards.

Musical career

Nugent's influences include Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard.

The Amboy Dukes

The first lineup of the Amboy Dukes played at The Cellar, a teen dance club outside of Chicago in Arlington Heights, Illinois, starting in late 1965, while Nugent was a student at St. Viator High School. The Cellar's "house band" at the time had been the Shadows of Knight, although the Amboy Dukes eventually became a staple until the club's closing.

The Amboy Dukes' second single was "Journey to the Center of the Mind", which featured lyrics written by the Dukes' second guitarist Steve Farmer from the album of the same title whose cover features a diverse array of drug paraphernalia. Nugent, an ardent anti-drug campaigner, has always claimed that he had no idea that this song was about drug use. Early albums The Amboy Dukes (1967), Journey to the Center of the Mind (1968) and Migration (1969)—all recorded on the Mainstream label—sold moderately well. On April 7, 1968, shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Nugent joined other musicians in a tribute to King by having a folk, rock and blues jam session. Joni Mitchell played first, followed by Buddy Guy, Janis Joplin, B. B. King, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Richie Havens and Jimi Hendrix. Other musicians who participated were B. B. King and Al Kooper.

After settling down on a ranch in Michigan in 1973, Nugent signed a record deal with Frank Zappa's DiscReet Records label and recorded Call of the Wild under the revised band name Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes. The following year, Tooth Fang & Claw (which contained the song "Great White Buffalo") established a fan base for Nugent and the other Amboy Dukes. Personnel changes at this time nearly wrecked the band. Nugent reunited with the other members of the Amboy Dukes at the 2009 Detroit Music Awards, which took place April 17, 2009. The psychedelic band received a distinguished achievement honor at the event. The Dukes also played together at the ceremony, marking their first public performance in more than 30 years.

Solo career

Nugent dropped the Amboy Dukes band name for good in 1975 and signed to Epic Records. Retaining only bassist Rob Grange from the previous Amboy Dukes lineup, Nugent added Derek St. Holmes (guitar, vocals) and Clifford Davies (drums). This quartet remained the primary band members for Nugent's 1970s multi-platinum albums: Ted Nugent (1975), Free-for-All (1976) and Cat Scratch Fever (1977). These albums produced the popular radio anthems "Hey Baby", "Stranglehold", "Dog Eat Dog" and "Cat Scratch Fever". Despite most of the songwriting credits being listed as solely Nugent, St. Holmes claims that many were co-written by the whole band and that Nugent took sole credit as a way to avoid paying them royalties.

It was during these three years that Nugent emerged as a guitar hero to hard rock fans, many of whom were unaware of his lengthy apprenticeship with the Amboy Dukes. This band lineup toured extensively, also releasing the multi-platinum live album Double Live Gonzo! (1978), until its breakup in 1978 when St. Holmes and Grange departed. St. Holmes was replaced by Charlie Huhn and Grange by multiple bassists, with Nugent eventually settling on Dave Kiswiney for a three-album stretch in the 1980s. Davies left around 1982 after staying on to record Weekend Warriors (1978), State of Shock (1979) and Scream Dream (1980), all three of which charted in the US Top 25, plus the live album Intensities in 10 Cities (1981). The Intensities in 10 Cities album includes the controversial song "Jailbait".

On July 8, 1979, Ted was on the rock radio program King Biscuit Flower Hour. This was the original broadcast of Ted's performance of Live at Hammersmith '79 which had been recorded during the second set of a night at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1979. An album of this program was released in 1997.

1980s solo career and Damn Yankees

During the period of 1982–1988, Nugent released four more solo albums (to declining critical favor and commercial performance) and also began assuming a more prominent role as lead vocalist. In 1989, he joined the supergroup Damn Yankees, with Jack Blades (bass/vocals, of Night Ranger), Tommy Shaw (guitar/vocals, of Styx) and Michael Cartellone (drums). Damn Yankees (1990) was a hit album, going double platinum in the U.S., thanks to the hit power ballad "High Enough". The second and final Damn Yankees album, Don't Tread (1992), reached gold status in the U.S., but was not as well-received as the band's debut and the group dissolved soon after.

Return to solo career

Returning to a solo career, Nugent released Spirit of the Wild in 1995, his best-reviewed album in quite some time. The album contained the bowhunting anthem "Fred Bear", and also marked the return of Derek St. Holmes to Nugent's studio band. A series of archival releases also came out in the 1990s, keeping Nugent's name in the national consciousness. He also began hosting a radio show in Detroit on WWBR-FM ("102.7 The Bear, Detroit's Rock Animal") and took ownership in several hunting-related businesses. He created TV shows for several networks: Wanted: Ted or Alive on Versus, Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild on PBS and The Outdoor Channel, and Surviving Nugent and Supergroup-Damnocracy on VH1. In 2006, Nugent was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

Ted Nugent appears on David Crowder Band's 2007 release, Remedy, playing guitar on the song "We Won't Be Quiet". He announced his "Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead" tour on April 21, 2010.

Nugent toured with local Detroit musician Alex Winston during the summers of 2007 and 2008.

On July 4, 2008, at the DTE Energy Music Theater in Clarkston, Michigan, Ted Nugent played his 6,000th concert. Derek St. Holmes (original singer for the Ted Nugent band), Johnny Bee Badanjek (drummer for Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels) and Nugent's guitar teacher from 1958, Joe Podorsek, all jammed on stage with Nugent for various songs.

Nugent appeared as video game character in the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. As part of the "solo guitar career" section, the player engages in a guitar duel with Nugent, after which his song "Stranglehold" is unlocked and Nugent becomes available as a playable character.

On March 14, 2011, Nugent released a new song, "I Still Believe", as a free download via his website to subscribers to his newsletter. Nugent says of the song: "America is a target-rich environment for an independent man addicted to logic, truth and The American Way. 'I Still Believe' throttles the animal spirit of rugged individualism in pure MotorCity ultra high-energy rhythm and blues and rock and roll." In April 2011 Nugent announced that former frontman Derek St. Holmes would be joining his band for Nugent's I Still Believe Tour.

Influence

Nugent has been cited as a key influence in the straight edge movement, a punk rock-associated lifestyle that developed in the early 1980s and discourages drug and alcohol use. Henry Rollins, former vocalist for Black Flag and Rollins Band, said he and Ian MacKaye, former vocalist for Minor Threat and Fugazi (and coiner of the term "straight edge" from his song of the same title), were inspired by Nugent during their high school years in the 1970s. Rollins has been quoted as saying, "[We] would read about the Nuge and the thing that really rubbed off on us was the fact that he didn't drink or smoke or do drugs ... [Nugent's performance] was the craziest thing we'd ever seen onstage and here's this guy saying, 'I don't get high.' We thought that was so impressive."

He has also been cited as an influence to Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo, and Brother Cane guitarists Damon Johnson and Dave Anderson.

Several notable artists have covered Nugent's songs, including the Ramones version of "Journey to the Center of the Mind" on their album Acid Eaters, and Pantera and Motörhead versions of "Cat Scratch Fever". Nugent expressed a love for all three artists, but criticized their covers for a lack of soulfulness, calling them "just too caucasian". On September 12, 2024, Pearl Jam covered "Stranglehold" during a live show, but with lyrics changed to be anti-gun. In response to this, Nugent invited Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder to appear on his television show, Spirit Campfire, and discuss gun policies.

Television and movie appearances

Reality TV

Nugent has starred in several reality shows, including his own outdoors television show on the Outdoor Channel, named after his popular song "Spirit of the Wild", since 2001. The song was the theme music to the TV series, in which Nugent took viewers on a variety of wild game hunts using his bow. In the series, he taught and advised hunters and "hands-on" conservationists around the world on the different aspects of hunting and politics. In one episode of Spirit of the Wild, Nugent hits a young deer with a bow. Two game wardens saw the episode, later charging Nugent with 11 misdemeanor violations of California hunting law. Nugent pleaded guilty to two violations.

In 2003, he was host of the VH1 reality television program Surviving Nugent, in which city dwellers moved in to Nugent's Michigan ranch. During filming, Nugent injured himself with a chainsaw, requiring 40 stitches and a leg brace.

In 2005, Nugent hosted a reality-type show, Wanted: Ted or Alive, on what was then called the OLN, or Outdoor Life Network, before it became the NBC Sports Network. In Wanted: Ted or Alive, contestants competed for money and opportunities to go hunting with "Uncle Ted". The contestants had to kill and clean their own food to survive.

In 2006, he appeared on VH1's reality show SuperGroup, with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, Biohazard bassist Evan Seinfeld, ex-Skid Row lead singer Sebastian Bach and John Bonham's son Jason Bonham, who had been the drummer for Bonham, UFO and Foreigner. The name of the supergroup was originally FIST but later was changed to Damnocracy. Bach had lobbied for the name Savage Animal. Captured on film by VH1 was a rare Nugent duet with guitarist Joe Bonamassa at the Sand Dollar Blues Room for a 45-minute blues jam. He starred in another reality show for CMT in August 2009. The show, titled Runnin' Wild ... From Ted Nugent, featured Nugent instructing competitors in the art of survival; the competitors had to use those skills in challenges in which Nugent himself hunted them down.

In 2008, Nugent was a guest on the episode Southwest Road Trip Special of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, where he spoke against obesity and public health care.

Acting

In 1986, he guest-starred in an episode of the hit television show Miami Vice entitled "Definitely Miami", playing a villain. His song "Angry Young Man" was featured in the episode. His song "Little Miss Dangerous" was also featured on a Miami Vice episode of the same name, although he did not appear in the episode.

In 2001, Nugent appeared as himself in a third-season episode of That '70s Show entitled "Backstage Pass".

Also in 2001, Nugent appeared as himself in the second episode of the short-lived university campus FOX comedy series Undeclared. In the episode "Full Bluntal Nugety", Nugent is a guest at the university, there to speak on his favorite topics, mainly hunting and gun control. FOX did not like the idea of Nugent and his political views appearing on this show, so the episode was re-shot and re-edited as "Oh, So You Have a Boyfriend?" which aired without any Ted Nugent content whatsoever. The complete "Full Bluntal Nugety (Director's Cut)" episode is available in its entirety in the Undeclared DVD box set, including some extra Ted Nugent scenes that had been deleted.

Nugent made a guest appearance on the television series Aqua Teen Hunger Force, in the episode "Gee Whiz", on Adult Swim.

In 2007, Nugent appeared in the music video for Nickelback's song "Rockstar". The same year, Nugent debated The Simpsons producer Sam Simon on The Howard Stern Show about the ethics of hunting animals. Coincidentally, Nugent would later lend his voice to an over-the-phone appearance in the season 19 episode of The Simpsons, "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", where, in a humorous jab at his political stance, inmate Dwight picks up his call for voting no to the fictional Proposition 87, which bans crossbows in public schools. As part of his pre-recorded message, Nugent asks "If we outlaw crossbows in our public schools, who's going to protect our children from charging elk?".

Nugent made his feature film debut in 2008 in the Toby Keith film Beer for My Horses, playing the role of Skunk, a "long-haired, over-the-top rock 'n' roll deputy sheriff in Jackson County, Oklahoma, who loves bowhunting and guns".

In 2012, Nugent again appeared as himself on The Simpsons, on the episode "Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson", in which he is nominated as a presidential candidate for the Republican Party.

Personal life

Nugent is a fan of the Detroit Red Wings in ice hockey, Detroit Pistons in basketball, Detroit Lions in football, and Detroit Tigers in baseball. In 2021, Nugent auctioned over 400 items from his personal collection. The auction included his 1958 and 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitars, a 1956 Fender Stratocaster, and several Gibson Byrdland guitars.

Family and relationships

Nugent has been married twice and has six children with four women. In the late 1960s, prior to his first marriage, Nugent fathered a boy and a girl, both of whom he gave up for adoption in their infancy. This did not become well known to the public until 2010. The siblings were adopted separately and had no contact with one another. The son learned the identity of his birth father in 2010, through the daughter's quest to make contact with him and their birth parents. According to a news report, over the years Nugent had discussed the existence of these children with his other children.

He was married to his first wife, Sandra Jezowski, from 1970 to 1979. They had two children, a son and a daughter. Jezowski died in a single-car crash in 1982.

His second wife is Shemane Deziel, whom he met while a guest on Detroit's WLLZ-FM, where she was a member of the news staff. They married on January 21, 1989. They have a son.

In 2005, Nugent agreed to pay $3,500 in monthly child support for a son fathered with a woman named Karen Gutowski while he was married to Deziel.

Nugent's 1981 song "Jailbait" describes statutory rape. In a Behind the Music episode, he admitted to having sexual relations with underage girls on multiple occasions. In 2013, the musician Courtney Love said she had performed oral sex on Nugent at 14, and that there was a line of young girls waiting to engage in sexual acts.

In 1978, 29-year-old Nugent began a relationship with 17-year-old Hawaii native Pele Massa. On VH1's Behind the Music, Nugent said that Massa's parents approved of the relationship and preferred him to an alcoholic or a drug addict. It is alleged Nugent became or tried to become Massa's legal guardian with her parents' permission.

Health

Since the 1970s, Nugent has promoted anti-drug and anti-alcohol stances. He is a national spokesman for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program. In 2018, he admitted that he drinks "a little wine". Nugent has hearing loss. He said in a 2007 interview: "The ear's not too good, especially with background noise, but that's a small price to pay. Believe me, the journey was worth it."

Politics

Political views

Nugent is a vocal supporter of the Republican Party and various associated conservative causes, particularly gun rights and hunter's rights. He is a supporter of President Donald Trump and has made a number of statements critical of former President Barack Obama, one of which was perceived as potentially threatening and led to Nugent being investigated by the Secret Service.

In addition to Nugent's support of Trump, he also endorsed Mitt Romney for president and Joe Arpaio for Sheriff of Maricopa County, in the 2012 U.S. elections. He also worked as the treasurer and co-chairman for Sid Miller's 2014 campaign for Texas Agriculture Commissioner.

Despite his support of Republicans, he has been critical of several Republican politicians, stating during the 2008 presidential election that John McCain was "catering to a growing segment of soulless Americans who care less what they can do for their country, but whine louder and louder about what their country must do for them." He also clashed in 2014 with Jay Dean, then the mayor of Longview, Texas and an incoming Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives after Dean moved to cancel Nugent's scheduled appearance at the Longview Independence Day concert. Dean said that he finds Nugent's music unsuitable for family-oriented audiences on July 4. Longview hence paid Nugent $16,000, half of the amount he had been promised, to drop him from the concert. Nugent in turn called Dean "racist" and "clueless, dishonest and one of the bad guys."

Nugent, an opponent of animal rights, said in a long interview, "I'm stymied to come up with anything funnier than people who think animals have rights. Just stick an arrow through their lungs." In a 1992 radio interview, Nugent referred to Heidi Prescott of the Fund for Animals as a "worthless whore" and a "shallow slut", asking "who needs to club a seal, when you can club Heidi?" He was ordered by a court to pay Prescott $75,000.

In 2000, Bhaskar Sinha was jailed briefly following an incident outside a department store in San Francisco in which he threatened and physically assaulted Nugent, who in turn took Sinha into custody until San Francisco Police arrived and arrested the protester. However, protesters claim that Nugent started the altercation by spitting in the face of one of the protesters when offered an anti-fur flyer. A San Francisco police officer, who stated that he was on the scene, said that he did not believe Nugent spat on anyone. Nugent has reportedly received death threats against him and his family from animal rights activists. On the Penn & Teller's Bullshit! episode about People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Nugent said, "We've got reports and files with law enforcement across America where the animal rights extremists are on record threatening to kill my children on the way to school because we eat pheasant."

Potential runs for office

Referring to Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm (in office 2003–2011), during performances he would frequently interject "Jennifer Granholm, kiss my ass" into his songs and shoot an arrow at her likeness. In a 2007 interview, in discussing running for governor of Michigan, he stated that Granholm "is not doing an ugly job, but as the perfect woman, she is scrotumless".

Although Nugent has never run for government office, in the 2000s, he publicly speculated about doing so on several occasions. In May 2005, he announced he was "getting real close to deciding to run" for governor of Michigan in 2006; while in 2007, he talked about running for that office in 2010. During the latter period, he stated, "Michigan was once a great state. Michigan was a state that rewarded the entrepreneur and the most productive, work-ethic families of the state. Now the pimps and the whores and the welfare brats are basically the state's babies." Earlier, Nugent had been rumored to be under consideration by the Illinois Republican Party as its candidate in that state's 2004 Senate race, given his roots in Illinois.

In July 2008, Nugent declared "I was serious when I threatened to run for office in the past if I cannot find a candidate who respects the U.S. Constitution and our sacred Bill of Rights." When asked by Imagineer magazine in a 2010 interview about what he would do if elected to political office, he responded: "Slash the living hell out of the waste and corruption and the outrageous army of do-nothing bureaucrats. I would fire every government worker whose job I would deem to be redundant and wasteful. No able-bodied human being would ever get a handout again."

In a July 2013 interview with The Washington Post, Nugent expressed interest in possibly running for President of the United States as a Republican in the 2016 election. He never sought the office.

Band members

Current members

Ted Nugent – lead and rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals, occasional bass (1975–present)

Jason Hartless – drums, backing vocals (2016–present)

Johnny Schoen – bass, backing vocals (2023–present)

Former members

Rob Grange – bass, backing vocals (1975–1978, one off 2006)

Derek St. Holmes – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar (1975–1976, 1976–1978, 1982, 1993–1995, 2011–2016, one off 2006)

Cliff Davies – drums, backing and occasional lead vocals (1975–1982 one off 2006; died 2008)

Meat Loaf – lead vocals (1976; died 2022)

Charlie Huhn – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1978–1982)

Dave Kiswinery – bass, backing vocals (1979–1986, 1988)

Carmine Appice – drums, backing vocals (1982–1983)

Bobby Chouinard – drums (1983–1985; died 1997)

Brian Howe – vocals (1984–1985; died 2020)

Alan St. John – keyboards, backing vocals (1983–1985)

Dave Amato – rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals (1985–1988)

Michael Mason – drums, backing vocals (1985–1987)

Discography

Published books

Nugent, Ted. Blood Trails: The Truth About Bowhunting Ted Nugent (1991) ISBN B0006ORP2G (146 pages)

Nugent, Ted. God, Guns & Rock and Roll. Regnery Publishing, Inc. (August 21, 2000) ISBN 0-89526-173-1 (316 pages)

Nugent, Ted. Blood Trails II: The Truth About Bowhunting. Woods N' Water Inc. (November 12, 2004) ISBN 0-9722804-7-2 (256 pages)

Nugent, Ted and Nugent, Shemane. Kill It & Grill It: A Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish. Regnery Publishing, Inc. (June 25, 2005) ISBN 0-89526-164-2 (250 pages)

Nugent, Ted. Ted, White and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto. Regnery Publishing Inc. (November 12, 2008) ISBN 978-1-59698-555-1 (256 pages)