Wild Man Rocker Performs Sept. 26-27

Throughout his lengthy career, guitar wild man Ted Nugent has reveled in the controversy and criticism that always seems to follow in his path. However, there is no denying his exceptional talent on the six-string, his knack for penning arena rock anthems, or his standing as one of rock's top live acts. Come see him perform during Street Vibrations in the Grande Exposition Hall at Silver Legacy Resort Casino on 9 p.m. Sept. 26 and 8 p.m. Sept. 27.

Tickets
$65, $55 and $45 and go on sale April 24 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased online at silverlegacy.com and ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-MUST-SEE or 775-325-7401 or at the Box Office located on the main casino floor.

About the Nuge
Born in Detroit,Mich., Nugent became interested in rock 'n' roll early in the game, picking up the guitar as a youngster. In the '60s, Nugent formed his first bands, Royal High Boys and Lourdes, drawing inspiration from such British blues-rockers as the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. But it wasn't until the formation of the Amboy Dukes that the Nuge got his first taste of stardom.

The other members of the group didn't exactly share Nugent's clean-living lifestyle, as proven by their psychedelic hit single Journey to the Center of the Mind, which Nugent claimed he didn't know at the time was about being "under the influence." The band managed to issue several albums throughout the late '60s -- 1967's self-titled debut, 1968's Journey to the Center of the Mind, and 1969's Migration.

Albums to follow
With band members coming and going at an alarming rate, Nugent remained the only constant member -- eventually officially changing the band's name to Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes by the '70s, and issuing 1971's Survival of the Fittest, 1973's Call of the Wild, and 1974's Tooth, Fang & Claw. While none of these releases exactly stormed the charts, Nugent and his cohorts remained an in-demand concert draw.

Ted goes solo
By the mid-'70s, Nugent decided to finally ditch the Amboy Dukes name and set out on his own, assembling a first-rate backing band that included second guitarist/vocalist Derek St. Holmes, bassist Rob Grange, and drummer Cliff Davies. By 1975, the new band was signed to Aerosmith's management company (Leber & Krebs), as well as the same record company, Columbia, resulting in the release of Nugent's self-titled debut in November of the same year.

The band immediately struck a chord with the heavy metal/hard rock crowd from coast to coast, due to the band's over-the-top stage show. But the band members' relationship with Nugent was rocky at best -- Nugent wanted complete control of the band, while the others wanted it to be more of a democracy. The end result was St. Holmes leaving the band prior to the sessions of their sophomore effort, 1976's Free-for-All.

Big hit, big fame
St. Holmes returned, however, in time for the album's ensuing tour, and by the release of 1977's Cat Scratch Fever, which spawned the hit single title track. Nugent and his band were one of the top rock bands in the U.S., storming the charts and selling out arenas coast to coast.

The Caveman cometh
By now, Nugent had assumed the stage persona of a caveman -- hitting the stage dressed in nothing but a skimpy loincloth and knee-high boots, and would often begin his show by swinging out on a rope.

Like other rock acts of the '70s, Nugent used a live album to catapult his career to the next level of stardom with 1978's classic Double Live Gonzo. Despite all the success, the members of his band began deserting him one by one over the course of such albums as 1978's Weekend Warriors, 1979's State of Shock, and 1980's Scream Dream.

The 1980s
Nugent continued to tour and crank out albums throughout the '80s (including the releases Intensities in 10 Cities, Nugent, Penetrator, Little Miss Dangerous, and If You Can't Lick 'Em...Lick 'Em, but it appeared as though the Nuge was trying to keep pace with the burgeoning pop-metal crowd instead of sticking to the raw and raging rock that brought him success in the first place.

Nugent also tried his hand at acting around this time, appearing in an episode of the hit TV series Miami Vice in 1986. By the end of the decade, Nugent joined the rock supergroup Damn Yankees (joining former Night Ranger bassist/singer Jack Blades, former Styx guitarist/singer Tommy Shaw, and drummer Michael Cartellone) -- resulting in the quartet's self-titled debut in 1990, which became a surprise hit due to their Top Ten power ballad, High Enough. But ultimately, the union proved to be short-lived; after only one more album (1992's lackluster Don't Tread), the band called it quits.

Damn the Yankees, one man show
Nugent returned to his solo career, issuing his best album in over a decade, 1995's back-to-basics Spirit of the Wild, while several archival releases turned up throughout the '90s: 1993's three-disc box set Out of Control, 1997's Live at Hammersmith '79, as well as his first three albums re-issued with added tracks and newly re-mastered sound in 1999 by the Epic/Legacy label.

The Nuge in the new millennium
The Nuge was also the subject of an interesting VH1 Behind the Music episode. He continued to tour well into the 21st century (landing the opening slot on Kiss' Farewell U.S. Tour in 2000), and issued the third live collection of his career, Full Bluntal Nugity, in 2001.