Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent ( /tɛd ˈnuːdʒɨnt/; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, musician, singer, author, and activist. From Detroit, Michigan, he originally gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes, before embarking on a lengthy solo career. He is also noted for his conservative political views and his ardent defense of hunting and gun ownership rights. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Amboy Dukes 2.2 Solo career 2.3 Influences 2.4 Damn Yankees 2.5 Back to solo 3 Media appearances 3.1 Reality programming 3.2 Acting 3.3 Other media appearances 4 Personal life 4.1 Family 4.2 Hearing loss 5 Activism 5.1 Drugs and alcohol stances 5.2 Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) law 5.3 Conflicts with animal rights groups 5.4 Politics 5.5 Military 6 Tours 7 Discography 8 Published books 8.1 Articles 9 References 10 External links Early life Nugent was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marion Dorothy (né! e Johnson) and Warren Henry Nugent . He is of Irish, English and German descent.[1][2] He moved to Palatine, Illinois as a teenager, and has two brothers: John and Jeffrey. Raised Catholic, Nugent has mentioned his ties with the Christian faith many times during interviews, and has stated that he regularly attends church. He attended St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, IL. Career Nugent has released more than 34 albums, and has sold a career total of 30 million records. He was known throughout his early career in the 1970s for using Fender amps, a large part of his signature sound, and for playing the hollow-body Gibson Byrdland guitar. Nugent in concert with his signature Gibson Byrdland guitar Performing since 1958,[3] Nugent has been touring annually since 1967, averaging more than 300 shows per year (1967–73), 200 per year (1974–80), 150 (1981–89), 127 concerts in 1990, 162 concerts in 1991, 150 concerts in 1993, 180 in 1994, 166 in 1995, 81 i! n 1996, Summer Blitz '97, '98, Rock Never Stops '99, 133 conce! rts with KISS 2K. Nugent's 2005 plans involved a tour with country music singer-songwriter Toby Keith, whom Nugent met in Iraq while they were both performing in USO-sponsored shows for the coalition troops.[citation needed] Nugent toured with local Detroit musician Alex Winston during the summers of 2007 and 2008.[4] On July 4, 2008, at the DTE Energy Music Theater in Clarkston, Michigan, Ted Nugent played his 6,000th concert.[3] 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 tunes. Amboy Dukes His first edition 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 eventuall! y became a staple until the club's closing.[5] The Amboy Dukes' second single was "Journey to the Center of the Mind", which featured lyrics written by the Dukes' second guitarist Steve Farmer. Nugent, an ardent anti-drug campaigner, has always claimed that he had no idea that this song was about drug use.[6] 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 4, 1968, Nugent along with a group of musicians paid tribute to Martin Luther King by having a folk, rock and blues jam session. Joni Mitchell played first, followed by Buddy Guy and Jimi Hendrix. Other musicians who participated were BB King and Al Kooper.[7] 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. The following year, Tooth Fang & Claw (which contained the song "Great White Buffalo") establishe! d a fan base for Nugent and the other Amboy Dukes. Personnel changes ne! arly wrecked the band, which became known as Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes. 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.[6] The Amboy Dukes were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends online Hall of Fame in 2008. Solo career Main article: Ted Nugent discography Nugent dropped the Amboy Dukes band name for good in 1975, and signed to Epic Records. Derek St. Holmes (guitar, vocals), Rob Grange (bass) and Clifford Davies (drums) were the primary additional band members for his classic 1970s multi-platinum[8] 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". It was! during these three years that Nugent truly emerged as a guitar hero to thousands of young hard rock fans, many of whom were unaware of his lengthy apprenticeship with the Amboy Dukes.[9] This band lineup toured extensively, also releasing the multi-platinum live album Double Live Gonzo!, until its breakup in 1978 when St. Holmes and Grange departed. St. Holmes was replaced by Charlie Huhn and Grange by Dave Kiswiney. Davies finally left around 1982 after staying on to record Weekend Warriors (1978), State of Shock (1979), Scream Dream (1980) and Intensities in 10 Cities (1981). 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 sold-out night at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1979. An album of this program was released in 1997. During this era, Nugent was notable for his frequent declarations that he did not drink alcoh! olic beverages or smoke tobacco or marijuana. In an interview for VH1's! Behind The Music, Nugent said this was due to his father having sternly reprimanded him when he came home smelling of alcohol after a night of drinking. This was an unusual stance for a major rock performer of the 1970s, and Nugent has been cited as an important early influence on the straight edge movement, which disavows drinking and recreational drug use.[10] Influences Nugent has been praised for his playing style, and is cited as an influence by many other hard rock and heavy metal musicians. Nugent has cited his own musical influences as Vanilla Fudge, Jeff Beck, Chuck Berry, The Kinks, Jimmy Page, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Yardbirds, Bo Diddley, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, The Animals, Little Richard, MC5, Frank Zappa, and Muddy Waters. Damn Yankees Ted Nugent live in 2007 During the period of 1982-89, Nugent released a series of moderately successful solo albums. In 1989, he formed the supergroup Damn Yankee! s, with Jack Blades (bass/vocals, formerly of Night Ranger), Tommy Shaw (guitar/vocals, formerly of Styx) and Michael Cartellone (drums). Damn Yankees (1990) was a hit, going multi-platinum in the U.S., thanks in no small part to the smash hit power ballad "High Enough". The video for this song featured Nugent in a priest's collar, and later in a zebra-striped cape during the guitar solo. It also saw the first appearance of his famous 'WhackMaster' hat. Back to solo Returning to a solo career, Nugent released Spirit of the Wild in 1995, his best-reviewed album in quite some time. This album 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 Outdoo! r Channel, as well as Surviving Nugent and Supergroup-Damnocracy on VH1. In 2006, Nugent was inducted 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".[11] He announced his "Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead" tour on April 21, 2010.[12] On March 14, 2011, Nugent released a new song, "I Still Believe", as a free download via his website to subscribers to his news letter. 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."[13][14] In April 2011 Nugent announced that former frontman Derek St. Holmes would be joining his band for Nugent's I Still Believe Tour.[15] Media appearances Reality programming Nugent starred in his own outdoors televis! ion show named after his popular song "Spirit of the Wild". 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 teaches and advises hunters and "hands-on" conservationists around the world on the different aspects of hunting and politics, and informs the public on the importance of getting children away from the TV and video games and getting them out beyond the pavement in order to better their lives.[16] In 2003, he was host of the VH1 reality television program Surviving Nugent in which city dwellers such as model Tila Tequila moved to Nugent's Michigan ranch in order to survive such "backwoods" activities as building an outhouse and skinning a boar. The success of the two-hour show spawned a four-part miniseries in 2004 entitled Sur
ted nugent wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist,! musician, singer, author, and activist. From Detroit, Michigan, he ori! ginally gained Read the rest
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WASHINGTON - The U.S. Secret Service is reportedly investigating faded '70s rock star Ted Nugent for his recent insistence he'll be "dead or in jail" in a year's time Read the rest
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WASHINGTON -- Ted Nugent, rock star and Mitt Romney supporter, stirred up controversy during an interview at the National Rifle Assn. convention in St Read the rest
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Rocker Ted Nugent is in trouble for remarks he made over the weekend about President Obama at the National Rifle Association's convention in St. Louis Read the rest
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Rocker Ted Nugent has reportedly earned himself the scrutiny of the Secret Service after saying over the weekend that he would be "dead or in jail by this Read the rest
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Ted Nugent has the Secret Service keeping an eye on him, according to New York's Vulture blog. Nugent landed on their radar over the weekend, when the Read the rest
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Rocker Ted Nugent's controversial remarks about President Obama this weekend have put a spotlight on his support of ! Mitt Romney, as the likely GOP presidential Read the rest
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(CNN) – Rocker Ted Nugent did little to quell his reputation as a conservative firebrand through comments at the National Rifle Association convention Read the rest
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