He has made a number of statements against advocates of gun control; in one case, the Secret Service investigated him based on his comments about Barack Obama.

In 1977 and 1990 interviews with High Times magazine and the Detroit Free Press, Nugent claimed he deliberately failed his draft physical by eating nothing but junk food for days beforehand, and urinating and defecating in the same pair of pants for one week.

[20] The first lineup of the Amboy Dukes played at The Cellar, a teen dance club outside of Chicago in Arlington Heights, Illinois, starting in late 1965, while Nugent was a student at St. Viator High School.

The following year, Tooth Fang & Claw (which contained the song "Great White Buffalo") established a fan base for Nugent and the other Amboy Dukes.

Retaining only bassist Rob Grange from the previous Amboy Dukes lineup, Nugent added Derek St. Holmes (guitar, vocals) and Clifford Davies (drums).

St. Holmes was replaced by Charlie Huhn and Grange by multiple bassists, with Nugent eventually settling on Dave Kiswiney for a three-album stretch in the 1980s.

Davies left around 1982 after staying on to record Weekend Warriors (1978), State of Shock (1979) and Scream Dream (1980), all three of which charted in the US Top 25, plus the live album Intensities in 10 Cities (1981).

[28] During the period of 1982–1988, Nugent released four more solo albums (to declining critical favor and commercial performance) and also began assuming a more prominent role as lead vocalist.

In 1989, he joined the supergroup Damn Yankees, with Jack Blades (bass/vocals, of Night Ranger), Tommy Shaw (guitar/vocals, of Styx) and Michael Cartellone (drums).

[30] The second and final Damn Yankees album, Don't Tread (1992), reached gold status in the U.S., but was not as well-received as the band's debut and the group dissolved soon after.

'I Still Believe' throttles the animal spirit of rugged individualism in pure MotorCity ultra high-energy rhythm and blues and rock and roll.

[39] On April 13, 2023, Nugent announced that his upcoming "Adios Mofo" tour would be his last, stating that "the logistics are just too complicated" in reference to being away from his dogs and grandchildren.

[40] Nugent has been cited as a key influence in the straight edge movement, a punk rock-associated lifestyle that developed in the early 1980s and discourages drug and alcohol use.

In response to this, Nugent invited Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder to appear on his television show, Spirit Campfire, and discuss gun policies.

[52] In 2008, Nugent was a guest on the episode Southwest Road Trip Special of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, where he spoke against obesity and public health care.

The complete "Full Bluntal Nugety (Director's Cut)" episode is available in its entirety in the Undeclared DVD box set, including some extra Ted Nugent scenes that had been deleted.

[citation needed] Nugent made a guest appearance on the television series Aqua Teen Hunger Force, in the episode "Gee Whiz", on Adult Swim.

Coincidentally, Nugent would later lend his voice to an over-the-phone appearance in the season 19 episode of The Simpsons, "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", where, in a humorous jab at his political stance, inmate Dwight picks up his call for voting no to the fictional Proposition 87, which bans crossbows in public schools.

In 2005, Nugent agreed to pay $3,500 in monthly child support for a son fathered with a woman named Karen Gutowski while he was married to Deziel.

[100] In April 2012, Nugent agreed to a plea deal to plead guilty to transporting an illegally killed American black bear in Alaska.

He described black South Africans as "a different breed of man" who "still put bones in their noses, they still walk around naked, they wipe their butts with their hands".

[113][114] In November 2008, coinciding with the election of Barack Obama as America's first black president, Nugent appeared on The Political Cesspool, a white nationalist radio show.

[122][123] At a 2009 West Virginia rally, sponsored in part by the coal extracting company Massey Energy, Nugent "defended mountaintop removal mining", according to reporters on the scene.

He claimed that rejecting the idea of the right to self-defense being expressed in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which Nugent called "gun control" policies, is most likely to destroy American society.

[135] In March 2018, Nugent criticized the survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting who became gun control activists, calling them "mushy brained children" and stating that "the evidence is irrefutable: They have no soul.

"[136] In June 2018, Nugent said that "evil, dishonesty and scam artists have always been around and that right now they're liberal, they're Democrat, they're RINOs, they're Hollywood, they're fake news, they're media, they're academia and they're half of our government, at least ...

"[85][86] In 2008, Nugent was a guest on the episode Southwest Road Trip Special of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, where he spoke against obesity and public health care.

On Facebook, he shared a video depiction of Clinton being shot by her 2016 Democratic presidential primary opponent, Bernie Sanders, commenting "I got your gun control right here bitch.

[14] In July 2008, Nugent declared "I was serious when I threatened to run for office in the past if I cannot find a candidate who respects the U.S. Constitution and our sacred Bill of Rights.

"[91] When asked by Imagineer magazine in a 2010 interview about what he would do if elected to political office, he responded: "Slash the living hell out of the waste and corruption and the outrageous army of do-nothing bureaucrats.