The Nuge comes rocking

By Tribal News

For Puyallup Tribal News
Published on: July 24, 2008

Throughout his lengthy career, guitar wildman Ted Nugent has reveled in the controversy and criticism that always seems to follow in his path. While there is no denying his exceptional talent on the six-string, his knack for penning arena rock anthems, or his standing as one of rock’s top live acts, it is his non-musical endeavors that have caused the most condemnation from his detractors (his right-wing beliefs, pro-gun advocacy, appreciation of hunting animals, etc.). But by the same token, Ted Nugent is a family man and one of the few hard rockers who has admirably stuck by his lifelong anti-drugs and-drink stance throughout his career.

Ted Nugent, also known as the Nuge, will be bringing his well-known live show to the Emerald Queen Casino’s I-5 Showroom July 26 at 8:30 p.m.

Born on Dec. 13, 1948, in Detroit, Ted Nugent became interested in rock and roll early in the game, picking up the guitar as a youngster, while his disciplinarian father passed his beliefs down to Ted Nugent.

In the 1960s, Ted Nugent formed his first bands, but it was not until the formation of the Amboy Dukes that the Nuge got his first taste of stardom.

The band managed to issue several albums throughout the late 1960s as the group fit in well with other high-energy rock bands to emerge from the Motor City.

With band members coming and going, Ted Nugent remained the only constant member – and eventually changing the band’s name to Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes by the 1970s, and issuing 1971’s “Survival of the Fittest,” 1973’s “Call of the Wild,” and 1974’s “Tooth, Fang & Claw.” While none of these releases exactly stormed the charts, Ted Nugent and his cohorts remained an in-demand concert draw.

By the mid-1970s, Ted Nugent decided to ditch the Amboy Dukes name and set out on his own, assembling a first-rate backing band that included second guitarist/vocalist Derek St. Holmes, bassist Rob Grange, and drummer Cliff Davies.

The band immediately struck a chord with the heavy metal/hard rock crowd from coast to coast, due to the band’s over-the-top stage show. By the release of 1977’s “Cat Scratch Fever” (which spawned the hit single title track), Ted Nugent and his band was one of the top rock bands in the United States – storming the charts and selling out arenas coast to coast.

Ted Nugent continued to tour and crank out albums throughout the 1980s (including such forgettable releases as “Intensities in 10 Cities,” “Nugent,” “Penetrator,” “Little Miss Dangerous” and “If You Can’t Lick ‘Em...Lick ‘Em”), but it appeared as though the Nuge was trying to keep pace with the burgeoning pop-metal crowd instead of sticking to the raw and raging rock that brought him success in the first place.

By the end of the decade, Ted Nugent joined the rock supergroup Damn Yankees resulting in the quartet’s self-titled debut in 1990, which became a surprise hit due to their Top 10 power ballad, “High Enough.” But ultimately, the union proved to be short-lived; after only one more album the band called it quits.

Ted Nugent returned to his solo career, issuing his best album in over a decade, 1995’s back-to-basics “Spirit of the Wild.”

The Nuge was also the subject of an interesting VH1 Behind the Music episode. He continued to tour well into the 21st century (landing the opening slot on Kiss’ Farewell United States Tour in 2000), and issued the third live collection of his career, “Full Bluntal Nugity,” in 2001.

In addition to music, Ted Nugent has gotten involved in politics, hosting a number one morning radio show in Detroit, operating his own hunting camp and producing instructional videotapes (as well as the “Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild” PBS video series). He owns his own hunting supply store, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association, writes columns regularly for a number of different magazines, and even sells his very own beef jerky – Gonzo Meat Biltong. In 2001, the Nuge penned his own autobiography, the aptly titled “God, Guns, & Rock n’ Roll.”

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