Six decades into a career built on volume and showmanship, Ted Nugent has crossed paths with just about every big name in rock — and he’s more than happy to list them off. Asked by “Meltdown” of Detroit’s WRIF radio station to single out some of the best bands he’s shared a stage with, the guitarist didn’t so much pick favorites as unload the whole roster.
He said: “Boy, talking about the best. Oh, come on. I mean, I’ve had every greatest band in the world open up for me. I’ve toured with Kiss and Aerosmith and ZZ Top and Cheap Trick and Journey and Mark Farner. And AC/DC… Def Leppard. I’ve had Bon Jovi open for me at Cobo Hall [in Detroit, Michigan]. I’ve had the best bands in the world share a stage, and I always pay attention. The Amboy Dukes played with The Who in 1969 at the Southfield Gymnasium High School [in Southfield, Michigan]. We’ve played with the best bands in the world. I’ve had Lemmy and Motörhead open up for me over in Europe. Just the best bands…”
From there, he kept going, folding in the all-star jams and one-off collaborations that have dotted his career:
“I’m so lucky. I’ll tell you what, you name all your favorite bands, and I’ve shared the stage with them. I mean, you look at the rosters of these different jams where there’s been 100,000 people. Sammy Hagar. My God, Van Halen. I’ve played with everybody. I jammed with John Entwistle [The Who] and Brian May [Queen] at the NAMM Show. [I’d] get up on stage and jam with them. I mean, yikes, how lucky can I be? And I take that to heart, because they’re all incredibly dedicated, virtuoso, world-class musicians, but they’re all really great people. They’re really fun people to hang out with, so I’m a lucky guy.”
Now 77, Nugent has spent more than fifty years as one of rock’s most bombastic live acts, with tens of millions of albums sold and thousands of shows behind him. Yet for all the stages he’s shared with rock royalty, one honor has continued to elude him — and he’s got his own theory as to why.
Nugent has been eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist since 2000, but he has never been inducted, something he has repeatedly chalked up to his politics rather than his music.
During a recent appearance on “The Adam Carolla Show“, host Adam Carolla offered the opinion that Joan Jett was inducted into the Hall of Fame solely based on her gender and sexual orientation. Pushing back slightly on that specific claim while still criticizing the institution’s priorities, Nugent stated at the time:
“I know you like shocks in life. I’m gonna shock you, because I think Joan Jett should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame just because of her music. But not yet, because you have to get Styx in first, you have to get Night Ranger in first, you have to get Triumph. Triumph should be [in there]. I can name a hundred [deserving] bands [that aren’t in there].”
Expanding on his thoughts regarding Joan Jett and her placement on historical music lists, he recalled a previous media interaction:
“I’ll never forget — somebody brought up during an interview, they said we saw the Rolling Stone list of top 100 guitar players, Ted, and what do you think that Joan Jett is in there? And I go — it’s on tape — I said, ‘I love Joan Jett.’ She’s a garage-band, dirty, nasty, uppity… She’s my favorite lesb**n. And some of my greatest memories include lesb**ns. The point is, is that she’s not in the top 100 guitar player list because I’ve got a hundred guitar players that are really virtuosos and adventurous… [Joan] plays a great rhythm guitar.”
When the conversation shifted back to his own lack of a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction, Ted Nugent insisted that the ongoing exclusion does not bother him:
“It doesn’t affect me at all, except I like honesty. I’m a big fan of honesty and it’s all so dishonest. But I’m having the greatest musical year of my life… So I don’t need no Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame… I am having the time of my life. Not only is 2026 gonna be the best year in my life, but it’s gonna be the worst for my enemies. And I’m not gonna put any energy into pissing off my enemies just by having a good life. It drives them batty. What a dream.”
Long outspoken about his conservative beliefs, which he has proudly described as “radical”, he has become as well known in recent years for his political commentary as for his guitar work, and has taken aim at acts on the other side of the spectrum, including Green Day and Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello.
In September 2023, he was asked if his chances had improved following the removal of Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation‘s board, and the addition of Tom Morello.
Addressing the administrative shift at the time, Nugent explained:
“Had you not posed that question to me about whether I should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, I would never even think about it. I’m too busy playing my guitar and making great music with my amazing musicians, playing for the greatest music-loving audience in my life.”
He added: “So whether I am ever in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame now that the lying, misogynistic, rac*st Jann Wenner has been thrown off the board, and my good friend, quite honestly, an ultra-leftist, Tom Morello from the band Rage Against The Machine is on the board, some people have mentioned to me that they’re considering putting me in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.”
He further criticized the foundation’s historical selection process, explicitly calling out acts he felt did not belong in a rock-focused institution:
“I don’t care. I don’t care that I’m not in it. I just wish that Triumph, Grand Funk Railroad, so many killer rock and roll bands that somebody is giving the finger… I think it was Jann Wenner [who] was giving the finger to real honest-to-God rock and roll bands to assist inducting his st**er friends. That’s my belief. I believe he got people that got high with him and that hung out with him and that spent time with him. I don’t think it’s really about rock and roll. And my point is, is that a Hall Of Fame that has Little Richard and James Brown and The [Rolling] Stones and The Beatles and The Who and The Kinks and Tom Petty and Prince and Bo Diddley, for a Hall Of Fame to have them in it, and then put in Grandmaster Flash, who, he’s anti-rock and roll, and ABBA, which is just pop music; I don’t really think there’s even a drum in the song. I’m, I’m being facetious now.”
Closing his thoughts on the matter, Nugent warned the committee of what would happen if he ever were to be officially recognized:
“So, I want honesty, and if someone decides that Ted Nugent should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, all I can tell you is that if they do induct me, my acceptance speech will be very, very special and it will make fun, fun, music-loving people feel really good, and it’ll make idiots squirm.”
In a video clip which was uploaded to Nugent’s official YouTube channel on January 1, titled “Talk Music With Uncle Ted,” Nugent reflected on artists he feels have made an impact musically, while simultaneously accusing some of them of betraying what he believes America stands for.
Throughout the video, Nugent named multiple Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame–inducted artists, including Jack White, Green Day, Eminem, and Tom Morello.
Discussing Jack White and Eminem, Nugent said at the time: “The guy in The White Stripes, I can’t think of his name, but he played the halftime show with Eminem for the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. A big deal…Don’t they always lose? The Lions are a football team in Detroit, by the way…”
“Jack White, is that his name? Jack White. No, I think The White Stripes, is that his name? Anyhow, he was great. It wasn’t like a 10 like Sammy Hagar or James Brown. I think Sammy Hagar and James Brown and Steven Tyler, those are tens. Angus Young of AC/DC, that’s a 10. The guy’s a maniac. Billy Gibbons in the blues, rhythm, and blues, soul music category, he’s a 10.”
“Now, is that his name, Jack White? Jack White, he’s not a 10. He’s like a four and a five, but he really delivered real rock and roll. Real Detroit piss and vinegar. And Eminem, the guy’s a… Both of those guys, Eminem and Jack White: total idiots.”
Nugent then shifted his focus squarely to politics, accusing the artists of holding views he strongly opposes: “They don’t want their country to have secure borders. They think men should destroy women’s sports. Well, that’s not… that’s exactly what they stand for. When you hate Donald Trump, you you want men in women’s sports to destroy women’s rights. That’s what these guys stand for. They don’t think our border should be secured. They think we should invite j*hadists in who announce they want to kill the infidels. They announce they want to kill Americans. And Jack White and Eminem say, ‘Yeah, that bring them in. Bring those guys in.’ Freak idiots.”
“But their music is soulful. Just like Green Day. Green Day, there’s not a brain amongst them, I don’t think. But man, can they play really, really killer stuff. Like Tom Morello, Is that his name? Tom Morel? Morello, who played with Springsteen and Rage Against The Machine., when actually they are the machine. Come on Tom, you got to know that. You’re not raging against the machine. You are the machine.”
“They don’t believe that America should have secure borders, which means they don’t believe in America. Which means they want to have a great successful life in America, but they don’t think you should be able to have one. Hey, Tom, come on my show. Explain… make your case. Good luck.”
In a 2017 interview with The Guardian, the Rage Against The Machine guitarist described Nugent as a friend despite their ideological differences, saying: “Ted Nugent’s a good friend to me. We have very similar views on freedom of speech. His libertarian edge and my anarchist edge overlap considerably. Sometimes, if he says something outrageous that will fire up his rac*st base, I’ll text him to say, ‘Dude. What are you on about?’ We’re able to talk about it as friends as opposed to people on the opposite sides of the barricade.”
