AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ted Nugent

Artist:Ted Nugent

Song:Cat Scratch Fever

Album:Great Gonzos!: The Best of Ted Nugent

These days Ted Nugent probably gets more press for his political views than his music. But back in the 70s, he was a favorite of hard rock fans. Without that success, no one would care about his politics. The 1977 single Cat Scratch Fever was his biggest chart hit. He was born Dec. 13, 1948 in Detroit. His father was a US Army Sergeant. He was transferred to the Chicago area in 1965 and Nugent attended St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. He formed his first band The Amboy Dukes in 1965. They had success with the 1968 album and single Journey to the Center of the Mind. They did well enough that Nugent moved to a ranch in Michigan in 1973. Nugent signed with Epic in 1975 and dropped the Amboy Dukes name. Only bassist Rob Grange remained from The Amboy Dukes. The other members were Derek St. Holmes on vocals and guitar and Clifford Davies on drums. This was the band for the albums Ted Nugent (1975), Free-For-All (1976), Cat Scratch Fever (1977). Cat Scratch Fever was the most successful of those albums because the single Cat Scratch Fever reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. Nugent wrote Cat Scratch Fever and sang lead. But most of the songs were written by the band and St. Holmes sang lead. St. Holmes claims that Nugent took sole credit for most of the songs so he could avoid paying royalties to the band. Many bands split the royalties evenly to keep the band happy. St. Holmes left in 1976. Grange left in 1978. Davies left in 1982. The band lineup was not consistent after that. So maybe the band was more important than  Nugent would admit. Nugent's albums weren't as successful after that and he moved to Atlantic in 1982. This comp covers the Epic years and three bonus tracks were added when it was released on CD in 1999. Nugent's decline continued on Atlantic. There was a brief detour to the "supergroup" Damn Yankees featuring Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Tommy Shaw of Styx. Their 1990 album Damn Yankees was certified 2XPlatinum and the single High Enough reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. But their second album didn't do as well and they split up. Nugent left Atlantic in 1995 and signed with the video producer Eagle Rock. He last released an album in 2022. Nugent announced his retirement in 2023. But he changed his mind and is still touring. As I said, these days he's known for his political beliefs along with various TV appearances including his own reality TV shows. Here's Ted Nugent performing Cat Scratch Fever in London, England.