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

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

[MarkL]

I remember when Jimmy Page and Robert Plant released a CD in the 90's one reviewer declared it would sell well with little more than the two of them snoring for 45 minutes. And most of these other artists are in the same boat and I'm one of the ones who would be buying.

I believe that a series part of the "magic" that was Led Zeppelin will never be recaptured, because of the combination of John Paul Jones and John Bonham. They had a terrific rapport, and both were really masters of what they did. In their case, they were both terrific, but their combination was even greater than the sum of their parts. While most people talk about Bonham's huge sound, and many try to capture his sound by playing hard and loud, they never quite get it right. It's because Bonham was able to play subtly as well, and added little subtle bits to many of his parts. And that subtlety is usually missed by people who try to sound like him.

And John Paul Jones was probably the best all around musician in the group, and he added quite a bit to the raw playing of Page, and the talents of Plant. Frankly, I've never cared much for any of them alone, but much like the combination of Lennon, McCartney, and George Martin, the four members of Led Zeppelin were capable of far more than any combination or the three.

Mark

[Vision]

If I remember correctly, he talked about enjoying fresh game with african wine around the campfire and “do our spirits soar.”

[MarkL]

If I remember correctly, he talked about enjoying fresh game with african wine around the campfire and “do our spirits soar.”

If you saw the VH1 show "Supergroup," you would have seen Ted and Shemane having wine with dinner on more than one occassion.

As I said, having a drink now and then does not mean one isn't sober.

Mark

[budwiesest]

I think that Ted would agree with the statement that Jimi Hendrix was in a different class as a guitarist than Ted.

Yup, he played with soul and sang with soul. A rare combination.

I saw Jimi when I was 16yo in Wash. D.C. As a left-hander who has learned to play guitar right-handed, I'm still amazed at what he did by simply turning a strat over and playing it left-handed. Trying to imagine chords, scales, and riffs played that way causes a brain cramp.

Been into bluegrass since '78 so, haven't kept up with rock and may have missed Ted's contributions. I've played blues, then folk/rock, and now bluegrass. My ability to digest 'electric' music has diminished significantly these last many years. But if it's played with 'soul', I'll give it a listen.

[Vision]

Ok, so how do you deal with the past interviews of Ted saying he smoked joints or tried some coke?

[MarkL]

Ok, so how do you deal with the past interviews of Ted saying he smoked joints or tried some coke?

Haven't seen them. And if he did, so what. The fact is that it seems he never allowed drugs to take over his life. I'm one of those who really don't care if other do drugs, as long as they stay the hell away from me... I'm no drug warrior. If people want to ruin their lives with drugs, so be it.

While I wouldn't say that Ted's led his life in a way to be emulated, I do like his stance on drugs, and the fact that he tells people not to use them.

Mark

[BikerTrash]

Good reply, as usual.

To say you don't like Ted's music is fine and a matter of personal taste. To say he can't play guitar, at all, not even a little, is just lippin' off.

Personally, I think Clapton is overrated, but I would never say he was without talent and I like a few of his works.

[Vision]

I don’t care either, but he runs around saying he’s never done drugs.

I was a huge bowhunter. Ted is a favorite of mine. But, I suppose, his drive to keep kids from drugs has never made sense to me and reduced his credibility.