''Ted Nugent'' is the debut studio album by American rock musician

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock an ...

. The album was released in September 1975 by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. It was Nugent's first release after the disbanding from his former group

The Amboy Dukes The Amboy Dukes were an American rock band formed in 1964 in Chicago, Illinois, and later based in Detroit, Michigan. They are best known for their only hit single, "Journey to the Center of the Mind". The band's name comes from the title of a ...

Background

Tired of

' lack of effort and discipline, Nugent decided he had enough and left the group. He took a three-month vacation (his first ever) clearing his head in the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

wilderness, spending his time deer hunting and enjoying the outdoors. Renewed, Nugent returned to civilization in search of a new direction and a new band. Joining him in the Ted Nugent Band were former Amboy Duke

Rob Grange Rob Grange (born 1950) is an American bassist, best known for his work with psychedelic rock band The Amboy Dukes and with Ted Nugent, as well as his unique phase bass lines in the song " Stranglehold". Career Sonny Hugg Grange was a memb ...

on bass, along with Cliff Davies (ex- If) on drums and finally, from a local

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

band called Scott which had opened for the Dukes previously, a singer/guitarist named

Derek St. Holmes Derek St. Holmes (born February 24, 1953) is an American rock musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitar player for Ted Nugent's early solo career. After splitting from Nugent in 1978, St. Holmes worked with various artists, mo ...

. The new group hit the road and then the studio, forming the songs which would send their first album into the Billboard Top 30 and into the multi-platinum range. The first track, " Stranglehold", would set the stage for Nugent's career: an eight-minute plus guitar attack with vocals by St. Holmes and Nugent, a long solo played on Nugent's

Gibson Byrdland The Byrdland is an electric guitar made by Gibson. Its name derives from the names of guitarists Billy Byrd and Hank Garland for whom Gibson originally custom-built the guitar. Thinline series The Byrdland is the first of Gibson's Thinline se ...

guitar recorded in one take and a unique phase bass guitar effect by Grange. St. Holmes' sang tracks such as "Queen of the Forest", " Hey Baby", "Just What the Doctor Ordered" and "Snakeskin Cowboys", the latter featuring an 8-string

Hagström Hagström () is a musical instrument manufacturer in Älvdalen, Dalecarlia, Sweden. Their original products were accordions that they initially imported from Germany and then Italy before opening their own facility in 1932. During the late 1950s ...

bass played by Grange, which would prove to be staples of the band's concert tours for years to come. "Motor City Madhouse" is an ode to Ted's hometown of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. The album was produced by

Tom Werman Tom Werman (born 1945) is an American former record producer responsible for many hard rock and heavy metal albums. Early life and education Werman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Newton. He earned a bachelor's degree and an ...

and former If manager

Lew Futterman Lewis Futterman is an American record producer and manager, who was most active in the 1960s to the early 1980s. Commencing as of 1977, he has increasingly been involved in real estate development, primarily in New York City. History Following g ...

. Nugent said about the album, "If anyone wanted to know what rock 'n roll was all about, that's the only album they'd need". "One had to recognize that there was a definite synergy between the band and Nugent", said producer

Reception

In 2005, ''Ted Nugent'' was ranked number 487 in ''

Rock Hard "Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...

'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''. "Stranglehold" has been ranked 31st greatest guitar solo of all time by ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

''.

Track listing

All songs are credited as "written and arranged by

", except "Hey Baby", which is credited as "written and arranged by

". In

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionally ...

's book ''Epic Ted Nugent'', Nugent admits that "Stranglehold" was co-written by

, who never received a royalty share. Derek St. Holmes claims the album was co-written by the whole band, and that Nugent took sole credit as a way to not pay them royalties.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

Personnel

;Band members *

– lead vocals on all tracks except "Motor City Madhouse" and "You Make Me Feel Right at Home", rhythm guitar, arrangements *

– lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, percussion, arrangements, lead vocals on "Motor City Madhouse" *

– bass, eight-string bass on "Snakeskin Cowboys", bass phase effect on "Stranglehold", arrangements * Cliff Davies – drums,

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

, backing vocals, arrangements, lead vocals on "You Make Me Feel Right at Home" ;Additional musicians *Steve McRay – keyboard *Brian Staffeld – percussion *

– percussion, producer ;Production *

– producer *Anthony Reale – engineer, mixing *Howard Fritzson – art direction *Al Clayton – photography *Gerard Huerta – lettering *Bruce Dickinson – producer (1999 reissue) *Vic Anesini – remastering *Stephan Moore – 1999 reissue project director *

Gary Graff Gary Graff (born 1960) is an American music journalist and author. Biography Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Graff attended Taylor Allderdice High School where he wrote for school newspaper ''The Taylor Allderdice Foreword''. He receiv ...

– 1999 reissue liner notes

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

References

External links

Official Ted Nugent website
{{Authority control 1975 debut albums Ted Nugent albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by Tom Werman