Ted Nugent Blames Hippies for Divorce, Abortion, Drugs and Crime

The Rolling Stone ^ | July 3, 2007 | Zachary Weiss

[DogByte6RER]

Ted Nugent Blames Hippies for Divorce, Abortion, Drugs and Crime

7/3/07, 2:22 pm EST

It was only a matter of time before Ted Nugent decided to rain on the Summer of Love’s anniversary parade. In an article from today’s Wall Street Journal titled “The * Summer of Drugs,” the notoriously opinionated guitar god took some time off his busy hunting schedule to blame “stoned, dirty, stinky hippies” for “rising rates of divorce, high school drop-outs, drug use, abortion, sexual diseases and crime, not to mention the exponential expansion of government and taxes.”

* Highlights (including some choice words for Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin) after the jump:

* On the Summer Of Love: “Honest and intelligent people will remember it for what it really was: the Summer of Drugs.”

* On Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Mama Cass: “I often wonder what musical peaks they could have climbed had they not gagged to death on their own vomit.”

* On the hippie movement: “Turned off by the work ethic and productive American Dream values of their parents, hippies instead opted for a cowardly, irresponsible lifestyle of random sex, life-destroying drugs and mostly soulless rock music that flourished in San Francisco.”

* On life as the Nuge: “Clean and sober for 59 years, I am still rocking my brains out and approaching my 6,000th concert. Clean and sober is the real party.”

-- Zachary Weiss

[DogByte6RER]

This is almost a month old, but I just stumbled on it and thought this might make some good debate among the FReepers...

[DogByte6RER]

“The Summer of Drugs”

By Ted Nugent

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118342613870356143.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

[dfwgator]

I love Ted, but considering his track record of infidelity, it seems a bit hypocritical coming from him.

[wastedyears]

While I’m only 21 and admire the Nuge for his clean lifestyle, I have no problem having a few drinks with friends every now and then. I’ll never touch any drugs, though.

Drugs are for losers.

[RightWhale]

Hippies were just another symptom, not the cause.

[mtbopfuyn]

While I agree with most everything Ted said, I must say the music wasn’t all soulless.

[gdani]

Has Nugent ever responded to allegations from Courtney Love that she "serviced" him back stage at one his concerts when she was something like 12 or 13-years-old?

[dirtboy]

I love Ted, but considering his track record of infidelity, it seems a bit hypocritical coming from him.

It's a Boolean thing.

Ted is opposed to sex and drugs. Not sex OR drugs.

[dfwgator]

I remember hearing Ted boasting about the fact that he would do other guys’ girlfriends while the guys were too stoned out to “perform.”

[AppyPappy]

Oooohhh..Courtney Love. Always the voice of piety there.

[DogByte6RER]

Divorce? Abortion? Drugs? Crime? Yeah! Right on, man!

[gdani]

Oooohhh..Courtney Love. Always the voice of piety there

If it's not true, I can't imagine why Nugent hasn't sued her.

[stuartcr]

This from a guy that penned such classy songs as “Cat Scratch Fever” and “Wango Tango”?

[Wolfie]

Some people blame all those things on Poverty.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

I love Ted, but considering his track record of infidelity, it seems a bit hypocritical coming from him.

C'mon, you can't really hold someone responsible for acts committed when they were suffering from Cat Scratch Fever, can you?

[AppyPappy]

Never, never, NEVER sue a nut.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

He left off illegal immigration, and massive legal third world immigration which are existential threats to this country. And, yes, I blame it on the sixties counter-culture.

[Wolfie]

Courtney Love or not, Ted liked ‘em young. He had the parents of one minor he was diddling sign over guardianship to him.

[mrmargaritaville]

Once again Eric Cartman nails it (regarding hippies).

[caver]

I like the Nuge.

This article of his goes along with all the boomer bashing threads here on FR. We are overun with boomer bashing lately.

[dfwgator]

This from a guy that penned such classy songs as “Cat Scratch Fever” and “Wango Tango”?

You left out his tender, love ballad, "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang."

[zencat]

Hendrix was a far better guitarist than Nugent.

[RushCrush]

What’s there to debate? The title says it all. :)

[HockeyPop]

We all have our vices...when a brick falls from Century Tower let me know ;-)

[proxy_user]

“Hippies were just another symptom, not the cause.

You mean to say, that given human nature, if a highly affluent, generous, and orderly society happens to have large numbers of children, this sort of thing is likely to happen?

[dfwgator]

Hendrix was a far better guitarist than Nugent.

No doubt Ted would agree, but Ted's still here and Jimi is not.

[DogByte6RER]

[Gay State Conservative]

Damn dirty hippies! I hate 'em,I hate 'em!

[flashbunny]

“was” being the past tense.

[JackRyanCIA]

I always thought hippies were licentious pukes with no morals or scruples. So take a journey to the center of the mind. You may not come back.

[RightWhale]

No.

[stuartcr]

You’re right, he is an accomplished lyricist.

[bray]

The Truth is never Politically Correct.

Pray for W and Our Troops

[BallyBill]

"The Summer of Drugs"

Ahhh, but it was fun. I think, I'm not quite sure.

[dfwgator]

If you remember it, you weren’t there.

[BuffaloJack]

Yeah, that’s who I’d blame too.

[zencat]

No doubt Ted would agree, but Ted's still here and Jimi is not.

True, but we're all not going to be here at some point. Just saying, drug use doesn't automatically make one a talentless loser or socialist.

Ted's just getting a little preachy for my taste. Shut up and play, Ted.

[dfwgator]

“I often wonder what musical peaks they could have climbed....”

Seems to me here Ted is admitting they had tremendous talent, but just that they pissed it away on drugs.

And I too wonder what Hendrix could have done had he lived, I still consider him the most amazing guitarist ever.

[Beckwith]

We are overun with boomer bashing lately.

They got it coming -- selfish narcissists.

[Beckwith]

Oh, I left out spoiled.

[dashing doofus]

I applaud ted for his pro 2A stance, but google the lyrics to “Wango Tango” before people turn him into a Father Knows Best figure.

[shuckmaster]

Is this the same Ted who once made an album with about 30 hash pipes on the cover art? Just what kind of journey to the center of the mind is this guy on?

[ObadiahLynch]

Hmmm. So there was no sex or drugs or high school dropouts or abortions before the hippies?

[NRA1995]

And I too wonder what Hendrix could have done had he lived, I still consider him the most amazing guitarist ever.

I have to disagree; I think Stevie Ray Vaughan beat Hendrix out, and he didn't need a stack of Marshalls to do it. That said, I DID admire Hendrix a LOT!

[dfwgator]

Is this the same Ted who once made an album with about 30 hash pipes on the cover art? Just what kind of journey to the center of the mind is this guy on?

That was the "Amboy Dukes," not Ted. Ted got his anti-drug views from seeing what they did to his fellow bandmates. He was only 17 when that album came out, and he admits he was naive about the cover, as well as to the lyrics of "Journey to the Center of the Mind."

[Doctor Raoul]

The Summer of Love is long gone.
All that's left is Sex, Drugs and Geritol.

[dfwgator]

But I say, no Hendrix, there would have been no SRV. But I definately would put SRV, if not #2, in the Top 5 easily.

[Dr.Deth]

Hendrix was a far better guitarist than Nugent.

Not after 1970 he wasn't. I think that's Ted's point.

[dfwgator]

We Are The Old

[NRA1995]

We all have our opinions.....